Christian David’s House

Written by Robert Kurtz and Amanda Hamilton

The architecture of Old Salem reflects not only the Moravians’ style and building technique, but a community committed to building standards and control of their built environment. This is evident in the building regulations set forth and adopted in 1788. These regulations were adopted for safety and to ensuring that the Moravian artisans and materials were exclusively used for buildings. The regulations also meant that the Moravian community could control what was built from nails and boards to the exterior appearance. These regulations would have been followed in 1835 when Brother Schulz announced that he planned to build a small house for his enslaved Afro Moravian man Christian David. Referencing these regulations, using archaeological evidence from 1977, archival evidence, and comparisons to existing buildings in the community have led to the present day speculation of what the architecture and appearance could have been for the house built for Christian David. This information and speculation have been used collectively to digitally create a 3D model of the Christian David house. The present essay presents the process of determining the building methods, architectural features and appearance of the Christian David house.

Process

Collecting data to build a 3D model of a structure that no longer exists forces the historian to gather evidence using traditional methods of research. The sources used to create the 3D rendering of the David house include Sanborn maps, an archaeological report, surviving materials lists written by the builder, extant structures that show the building methods of the Moravians, and a list of the Moravian building codes during that period. Using these sources, we were able to determine, with close proximity, the size of the building, the materials used in its construction, how it was assembled, and the locations of openings. The end result is based on our interpretation of the above sources and gaps were filled based on the information we know about the Moravians building traditions. 

The Moravians prided themselves on their traditions. Terry G. Jordan argues that the Moravians of Old Salem began training apprentices at the age of twelve. Jordan also states that Moravians were so serious about their carpentry traditions when they arrived in colonial America that there are no examples found of them using the simpler square notching types in their log houses. They are known to only use notches that only a skilled carpenter could achieve. This skill transferred over to the extant timber construction that remains in Old Salem today. Moravians were so skilled that in 1775, one member of North Carolina’s provincial congress “wanted to bar the Moravians” from receiving “sponsored premiums for home manufacturing” because “they would win all the premiums.” The style of building that became prominent in Old Salem was timber framing with “nogging,” or brick inlay (image 4). 

In 1788, after nearly twenty buildings had been erected in Salem, building codes were put in place to protect the brethren due to the use of “outside help.” Master craftsmen were to control and, if using outside help, to ensure that they are working within the regulations set forth by the Council. Every aspect of the journeyman’s day was accounted for and every building that was to be erected must get approved by the master and the Council. The use of scaffolding, appearance, safety, sanitation, privacy, affordability, and fire prevention were all subject to approval. With this type of strict enforcement and regulation in their building practices, it is likely that the exterior walls were constructed in the same manner as the one in image four. 

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map provided basic information needed to locate the Davy home. This would have been used by the 1977 archaeologists to determine where they were going to concentrate the excavation.  The edited image below is from the 1895 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Winston-Salem (Image 1). In this map you can see the Administrator’s house (large red building), the Wash house (the second red building immediately to the right), and the Smoke house (the small, square red building just below it). Attached to Smoke house is an overhang that is indicated by the dotted, in yellow, and just below that is the David house that is also in yellow. The red means that the structure was brick, and the yellow indicates that it was constructed from wood. The (x) identifies the roof as being shingled. Considering that Christian David died in 1839, the home was most likely repurposed. The Sanborn Map confirmed the location, orientation, that it was framed from wood, and had a shingled roof. 

In 1977 an archaeological excavation was conducted on the site that is now known as Lot 7. The excavation confirmed the David’s house location, size, and orientation. Prior to the excavation, Old Salem removed a framed garage built where the David house was located.  A field sketch also indicates an anomaly in the foundation (image 2). The south foundation wall extends just over eight feet beyond the main foundation. The archaeological report suggests that this could be a retaining wall or the remnants of another room, considering that there is a sixty-year gap between when the home was built and the 1895 Sanborn Map. 

As assiduous record keepers, the Moravians left behind two receipts (material lists) written by the builder of the Davy home, Jacob Holder (image 3). These lists determined and confirmed the size of the building, the pitch of the roof, and the materials used in its construction. Researchers digitally reconstructed the building in several different ways in order to determine the correct number of materials and to determine whether or not the materials could be used in other applications. The square footage of the clapboard siding was used to determine the existence of the doors and windows. From these lists, it was determined that the building was eleven feet wide by thirteen feet long (this was also confirmed by the archaeologists). There were enough materials to build the walls and the roof, but there was not enough for the floor. This required further research into the surrounding buildings and a look into the methods of construction used by the Moravians. 

Paving bricks were commonly used in outbuildings in Old Salem and bricks played a large role in Moravian building techniques. The wash house, which is still standing and was built just before the David house, uses paved bricks for the floor. It would not be unusual for the builder to use the same bricks in the David house. Moravians operated their own brickworks and often hired outside help because it was much cheaper than paying one of their own. The “outside help” included the renting of the enslaved from outside of Old Salem. Bricks were already inexpensive compared to the milled timbers and Moravian brickworks had to keep the cost low in order to make a profit. It is the most likely scenario that the floor resembled that of the wash house. The use of bricks did not only keep the cost down, but they also retained heat in the winter months and stayed cooler in the summer.

Appearance

After examining the research and the evidence from the available sources mentioned, we deduced that the Christian David House was a rectangle measuring thirteen feet by eleven feet with a gable roof running North to South. The Northern gable end housed a three foot by six-foot entrance door as well as the smaller two-foot by three-foot loft door. The roof was pitched at a 45-degree angle or 12/12 pitch to allow for the loft. The roofing was wood shake, possibly cedar or white oak. The brick chimney would have protruded from the roof several feet. The framing and nogging would have been covered on the exterior by wood lap siding and considering it was located behind the Administrator’s house, it would have been either whitewashed or painted as not to detract from the property. The foundation would have been stone and constructed so that there was not more than one step into the house and minimally visible from the ground. The interior of the house, based on similar existing buildings, would have consisted of a brick paver floor, exposed framing and brick nogging, and brick fireplace. The interior, with the exception of the floor, would have been whitewashed. Based on the similar existing buildings and an original door in the Old Salem collection, the doors would have been constructed of wood and painted on both the exterior and interior (image 5).

Conclusion

While the process leads us to what the probable appearance of the Christian David house, more information is needed to conclusively determine the certain attributes of the original structure. New technology, such as Ground Penetrating Radar, along with an expanded excavation would reveal more details about the house. More archival research should be done to determine if there are any more descriptions, material lists, or receipts to aid in the process of determining the building methods and appearance of the Christian David house. While there are multiple ways the house can be depicted, the resulting 3D model (images 6-8) is the best representation of the Christian David house that can be discerned to date based on the available information.