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The Farmstead
Venoge Farmstead occupies 30.1 acres
along Indian Creek and State Route 129 just west of Vevay in Switzerland
County, Indiana. The 1 1/2 story farm cottage (c. l 805-I815) is centered on
a broad alluvial terrace between steep, heavily wooded valley sides — one
mile from the Ohio River and above all historic flooding. It is a rural
landscape not significantly altered since 1805 when it was purchased and
developed by Swiss immigrant, Louis Gex Oboussier. The acreage surrounding
the existing farm cottage has always been farmland, and so it has great
archaeological potential for improving our knowledge of how the Swiss
lived, farmed and established their vineyards and wineries. The site is
still relatively isolated; even in winter there are only two other
rooftops within the cottage’s view shed.
The cottage is of a French Colonial style typical of
the lower Mississippi Valley but extremely rare (if not unique) in the
Ohio Valley. It is raised two feet above grade on stone pillars, with its
timber frame built posts-on-sill. All major joints are mortise-and-tenon,
fastened with wood pegs (treenails). Its structure was precisely measured
and symmetrical. It is side-gabled, rectangular in plan, 18 feet wide by
38 feet including integral front gallery (porch). Originally the cottage
had whitewashed weatherboard siding, board-and-batten doors, a wood
shingled roof and an exterior stairway. Brick nogging between posts
insulates the single plastered downstairs room, though a newer hall and
stairs now intrude across the back. Upstairs, hand-split accordion lath
supports the wall plaster of the back sleeping room; a larger unfinished
storage space occupies the front.
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Corner of timber frame |
Brick Nogging |
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Alterations have not
detracted seriously from the cottage’s integrity, as
examples of nearly all missing original elements have been
found — reused in the later additions. The rest of the built
environment, except possibly one outbuilding, has been
removed. But so little has changed in the agricultural use
of the land, hillsides and the yard surrounding the cottage
that much of the information needed to complete the picture
of Swiss immigrant life can be recovered.
The Venoge cottage faces almost due north. Approaching
from the front, the gallery is seen to occupy more than half of the
original 25’ elevation. The c.1870s addition to the West with clapboard
and shed roof has been removed. The front slope of the cottage’s roof
(covered with 20th century asphalt shingles) continues over the gallery.
The surrounding soil has been built up at least one foot higher than the
time of construction.
| The gallery and cottage floor is
still about one foot above grade. The timber frame structure is intact
throughout, including the four solid gallery posts. Sparse decoration
typical of French construction include chamfering of the posts with lambs’
tongue detailing, and beading on exposed beam edges, on a single front
weatherboard and vertical along the building corners.
There are presently unused
mortises on the gallery posts indicating the former presence of the
typical double rail and others suggesting partial closure of the
weather side (west). No front step is now evident. All c.1870s and
later clapboard has been removed from the cottage in preparation for
restoring of its original 9 inch whitewashed weatherboard. |
 
Gallery before restoration
.......... after |
The north facade of the cottage retains its original
centered front door and window openings and frames; the door and sash are
late 19th century. The altered opening to the right of the window was
apparently used when the first interior stairway was built against the
masonry chimney — now also removed. This stairway is probably the same one
now in the c.1930s back hallway.
From the east elevation the foundation pillars of
roughly trimmed local limestone are clearly visible. Recent stripping of
the 1870s clapboard reveals the structural symmetry of the timbers placed
on exactly measured centers. The rubble bricks in the nogging were
apparently made from at least three distinct clays and show all degrees of
firing, suggesting they were not made on site and were only for
insulation. (Excellent bricks were known to be produced nearby at the
time.)
The door and its opening are c.1930s and the first
floor window is in an early (but not original) door opening. Accordion
lath covers the back section of the second floor and the two original
window openings on that level are symmetrically arranged. The broken
pitched roof, typical of French vernacular architecture, dominates the
east elevation silhouette.
To the south or rear of the cottage are seen two
original first floor window openings; sill notches in the posts are
identical to the extant example in north elevation. One has been converted
to a door and the other walled in behind a later stairway (early 1800s,
moved c.1930s, based on Art Deco hardware and newspaper). A c.1930 kitchen
has been removed from the rear as has the c. l 870 addition to the west.
Again, with the later clapboard removed the timber frame and brick nogging
on the first floor and the accordion lath on the second can be clearly
seen.
The west elevation of the original cottage was
partially hidden by later (c.1870) additions. Two symmetrically spaced
windows, originally holding 6 over 6 sashe
The west elevation of the original cottage was
partially hidden by later (c.1870) additions. Two symmetrically spaced
windows, originally holding 6 over 6 sashes are divided in half by the
roof of the addition. A second floor doorway is next to the southern-t
window. The exterior stairway would have gone to this door from the front
of the cottage. The c.1870 addition used the timber frame of an
unidentified outbuilding identical in length and parallel with the
cottage’s west side. |
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