The Sleeping Porches of York

In April of 1912 the York Daily News carried a story about York County Surveyor Anson Codding’s construction of “a sleeping porch on the west roof of his home at 909 Iowa Ave”.  An unnamed doctor was quoted as saying “It’s a great thing as far as health conditions are concerned.” Mr. Codding and a few other residents of York were joining an early 20^th century building trend that was an attempt to deal with a health issue that concerned many Americans. However, the articles sub headline reported that “the fad has not become popular in this city”.

According to Mortality Statistics-1905, a report prepared by the then Department of Commerce and Labor, between 1900 and 1904 pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) killed 172 of every 100,000 U.S. residents. The respiratory disease thrived in urban areas where poorly nourished people mixed freely with their infected neighbors in overcrowded housing. Among the leading causes of death, tuberculosis ranked second only to influenza

While a large percentage of those who died of TB in those years were residents of urban areas; rural America was affected also.  Nationwide 130 of every 100,000 died of TB in rural areas, with Midwest numbers being somewhat lower. For instance, Omaha experienced TB deaths at a rate of 108 per 100.000. Still alarming, but much lower than the national average.

At the time the medical community was prescribing sleeping in fresh air as a preventative measure in the fight against the tuberculosis epidemic. A New Jersey doctor condensed the thinking of the time into a short article in the April 1917 Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey. In his article about sleeping in a well-ventilated room, Dr. McClay asked; “Why not by open air sleeping prevent nearly all tubercular disease and thus practically eliminate the disease.” He conclude with; “Good health, good appetite, rosy complexion, and freedom from disease of the bronchial mucous membrane rest on proper sleeping in a constantly refreshed atmosphere.”

A “constantly refreshed atmosphere” in the age prior to air conditioning was provided by a sleeping porch. These porches were commonly placed on the second floor to provide for a secluded place for sleeping. They were ideally placed on the side of the house where they were most apt to catch a breeze. They captured the breeze through screened windows on two or three sides of the porch.

In the older neighborhoods of York one can find numerous examples of this natural approach to prevention of a dreaded disease. Some are integral to the original design of the house, while others were obviously added later. Some of the later additions seem to cling precariously to the roof of a preexisting porch.

An example of a sleeping porch that was built as part of the original construction of a home can be found at 613 East 6^th Street. Fred and Hannah Van Wickle built their home sometime between 1911 and 1915. At that time Fred Van Wickle was running a grain and lumber company at the corner of 4^th and Lincoln Avenue. As the accompanying photo shows the porch, which is over a driveway, is accessed from the second floor. Windows on the north, east and south allowed fresh air to flow through the room.  

 

It is not known how well the porch addressed the Van Wickle’s physical health, however their financial health faltered and the home was foreclosed on by the First National Bank in 1925.

An example of a sleeping porch that was a later addition can be found at 424 Nebraska Avenue. The home was built around the turn of the 20^th century.  A retired farmer named Martin Price purchased the home in 1917.  Price had moved to town from his farm located on the southeast edge of the city.

It was most likely Price who added the home’s wrap around front porch and built a sleeping porch above the existing back porch. The sleeping porch has windows facing north, east and south. According to Sanborn Fire Maps both porches were built sometime between 1915 and 1922. 

Private homes were not the only buildings with sleeping porches. A local history, York County, Nebraska and Its People, engaged in a bit of boosterism as it described the McCloud Hotel which was built in 1917. The author Theron E. Sedgwick writes; “The hotel has something unique in the way of sleeping porches. No other hotel in Nebraska has looked after the comfort and the housing of guest better than the McCloud Hotel.” The porches can be seen on west side of the top floor of the current Towne House building.

The McCloud Hotel sleeping porches were an elaborate example of a lodging promotion used by others offering public accomodations. Mrs. Cox’s Home Boarding House at 323 W. 6^th Street advertised “Good Airy Rooms and Meals” in the 1915 City Directory.

The sleeping porch “fad” long ago succumb to modern medicine and air conditioning.  None the less that awkward room at the back of the house that is not heated or air conditioned, and has likely become a catchall space, has an interesting history. Under the right conditions, embracing that history might provide for a good night’s sleep.