National Register of Historic Places

Chipman Potato House

Laurel, Sussex County, Delaware
Listed
November 15, 1990
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
90001691

About this property

The Chipman Potato House was located near Laurel, Delaware, one of the last surviving examples of its building type. The southern part of Delaware saw a sweet potato boom from 1900 until blight struck in the 1940s. In order to store the crops, potato houses were built. The Chipman House was built in 1913 by Joseph and Ernest Chipman on their property with the assistance of Alva Hudson. The 2½ story balloon-framed house was furnished with sparse, shuttered windows and slatted floors, allowing adjustment of air circulation. Two stoves provided heat during the winter, one of which survives. The Chipman potato house was modified for tractor access. Windows were once glazed beneath the shutters, a very unusual feature in a potato house. The internal structure used samson posts, a kind of capped column that is normally employed in mill construction to bear heavy loads, leading to speculation that the feature echos construction in the adjacent, now destroyed Chipman's Mill. The Chipman house was also unusual in plan, divided into four quadrants with 2.5-foot (0.76 m) walkways between. Each quadrant was divided into at least three bins. The attic was divided in two with a center aisle, for a total of 50 bins, typically 9 feet (2.7 m) by 3 feet (0.91 m). The Chipman Potato House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The structure was removed from the site in late 2017 or early 2018.

Location

Laurel, Sussex County, Delaware
38.56039, -75.53687

Categories

AGRICULTUREARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Rider Potato House
Industrial
0 mi
Old Christ Church
Industrial
0.1 mi
Chipman's Mill
Industrial
0.2 mi
Spring Garden
Industrial
1.6 mi
Laurel Historic District
Listed
1.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Chipman Potato House listed on the National Register?

Chipman Potato House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Chipman Potato House?

Chipman Potato House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Chipman Potato House?

The period of significance for Chipman Potato House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Chipman Potato House?

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