Thruston House
History
The house is a 2-story dog-trot house, a style common in the 19th century across the American South. Before the adaptation of electricity for cooling; a house could be heated with the use of individual fireplaces or stoves. There was no way to cool a home in the southern summers. This house was designed to take advantage of any breeze.
Water was obtained through a cistern off the back porch. Rain water was funneled into the cistern through gutters from the roof. As many homes were adapted to modern uses, the cisterns were abandoned, generally filled in, and public water pipes were run into the homes to provide approved water. This house was never adapted for running water (until the 2003 restoration). The cistern, a bell-shaped brick-lined tank, 4 feet wide and 20 feet deep, remains in good shape.
Architecture Style
Restoration
Major funds for restoration were given by Betty Klein, the Mike and Janet Jordan family, the late Virgie Beth Hughes, and Charles and Annette Rutherford. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lowry and the Mt. Vernon Economic Development Corporation arranged donations to allow contruction of the pavilion to the west of the house.
