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The research hypothesis of this study states that the springhouses of Montgomery County, Virginia, are part of an established, regionally specific, rural vernacular building tradition. Over the one-hundred and fifty-year period examined for this survey, the form and design of springhouses remained consistent, but the size, number, construction materials, and functions of springhouses changed, in response to economic, social, and technological developments. The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to document existing springhouses in Montgomery County, Virginia, using photographs and an evaluation form; and secondly, to provide analysis and interpretation of regional springhouse design, construction, and use, based on fieldwork. While springhouses appear to be relatively few in number in comparison with other farm structures, such as barns, many were adapted and maintained for decades, and some are still being used today. Their continued survival, however, may depend upon sympathetic property owners who recognize the significance of the springhouse to the rural landscape. This work will comment on the physical and material contexts of the springhouse as a building type; describe springhouse characteristics; and provide a catalog of fifty existing springhouses in Montgomery County, Virginia. / Master of Science

This project documents the Ludwick-Swope Farmstead's architectural development from 1833 until 1994. Technology, economics, and local preferences all impacted this process. There was no set year when the farm "appeared" in full blown form. The evolution occurred over many decades.House histories and county histories are common in Rockbridge County, but no research has focused on farmstead history. Court records, historic photographs, area histories, the farmstead, and oral histories were examined. Each source provided information on the farmsteads development. This information was combined into a historic structures report, which documents the findings and the farmstead's current condition.Complete farmsteads are becoming scarce and few people remember what structures were once part of a working farm. Although some museums have farmstead reconstructions, no attempt has been made to show farmstead development over a broad period of time. This paper was designed to remedy this oversight by documenting one farmsteads development through the past century and a half. / Department of Architecture