why do they call those houses shotgun shacks?

Question

I remember when i was in new Orleans they called the one story long homes shotgun houses...I think tthey did it because a shotgun could be fired from the front and reach the back I read that in a book by Barry Switzer...bootleggers boy is it true??

Answer 1

there are plenty of them out here in the california desert. they used to build them when people got free land that had to be improved. The used to just build a little shotgun shack.

Answer 2

You are absolutely correct with what you remember! The term is generally only used in the South anymore, but is quite common in any Southern town, in which these types of homes are still prominent in many neighborhoods!
The homes are generally narrow and long, with a hall running down the center and one or two bedrooms off to one side! However, most were all one big room, with a woodburning stove int he center and a kitchen towards the back half. Most weren't wide enough to have much more than that! And yes, you can see the back door while standing at the front door!
And the term came about because, like someone else said, when you came in the front door and saw the milk man or whomever else running out the back door (from being with your wife), you could fire one shot and make it all the way through the house and hit the person leaving out! They originated back before the Civil War days! They were generally used as slave houses, which is why they are more prominent in the South!
However, now a days, they have been remodeled and walls have been added and are used as guest houses, or bed and breakfasts. And many people still live in these houses,a s I said, mostly in the south!

Answer 3

Have them in the oilfield too. They were small one room houses on the utility line in the alley. The one behind my house was 10x14 with two doors,two windows and a stove pipe through the roof. I tore it down when it got too old, just a tin shack.

Answer 4

True it is. Usually, the front door lines up with the back. You can come home through the front door and shoot the milk man running out the back.

Answer 5

i always heard the same thing, that they were called shotgun houses because you could fire a shot straight through without ever touching the house itself.

Answer 6

yep. That's what they are called and are still. Although you don't hear the term too often anymore.