Early Versions of Suburbia: Beavercreek Bungalow Belt

Knollwood is sort of the genesis community of Beavercreek, as this collection of plats is where Beavercreek as a suburb was born. What's interesting is that suburbia here goes back well before the postwar boom era.



We'll take a look at three Knollwood streets as representative of proto-suburban Beavercreek; Longview, Central, and Shady Drives.

People don't usually think of pre-war suburbia when thinking of Beavercreek, but it is that old.

The first suburban era was the 1920s and maybe earlier, when the interurban railroads and then (more likely) widespread auto ownership and paved roads opened up the Dayton-Xenia corridor to suburban settlement.

This was the era of the bungalow, hence "Beavercreek Bungalow Belt":



The first house, here, on Central Avenue, isn't a bungalow but something just as common in Dayton, the foursquare. Something you'd find in Linden Heights or maybe off Lakeside Avenue in Dayton proper. Here, well out in the country (at that time). The street is, I think, Longview.


Another foursquare


A less elaborate bungalow, but with the charactersistic brick porch. Nice pinstriping and spoiler on that car, too...


Classic midwest bungalow on a large lot. Recall that these houses didn't have water or sewer until the 1960's.

Not sure what to say about this one. Its sort of a mix of dutch colonial and foursqare....

Yet another good bungalow example.

Landscape of bungalow land. Wood frame, dormers, little bay windows, partial brick porches....you'd see this in Dayton, but much closer together.


Bungalows can be spotted on Dayton-Xenia Road, too...


...but this one doesn't have a porch, which is a typical bungalow and foursquare feature. These two house style were the last to make a substantial porch a feature of the exterior design.