Continental Pennsylvania German House

The "Continental plan" consists of an asymmetrical layout with a door leading to a long, narrow kitchen anchored by a large hearth. Opposite the kitchen lay a stove room and behind it a kammer or bedroom. Though its provenance is complex, this type is associated most with Pennsylvania Germans. The exterior diagnostic features include an asymmetrical facade, off-center roof-ridge chimney, and roof "kick". Variations on the three-room plan persisted through the 19th and into the 20th century in heavily Pennsylvania German regions.

Immel house, Jackson Township, Lebanon County, 1759
Immel house, Jackson Township, Lebanon County, 1759.
(Site 075-JA-004)


Floor plan, Fort Zeller, Newmanstown, Lebanon County, 1745.
HABS photo. HABS PA,38-NEWM.v,1-(sheet 2 of 7)