Pair-house facts for kids
A pair-house is a special type of three-room house. It was built in the 1800s by people who moved to the US from Scandinavia (countries like Sweden, Norway, and Denmark). They designed these homes like the ones they knew from their home countries.
You can find many pair-houses in Utah. They are important because they show how different cultures lived together. At that time, many people in Utah wanted everyone to be very similar, especially if they were part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But these houses show that people kept some of their old traditions. Many pair-houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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What is a Pair-House?
Pair-houses are a unique style of home. They are based on old Scandinavian traditions. You can find most of them in early settlements in central Utah.
A pair-house has three rooms. These rooms are almost the same size. They are built side by side. You can get to the two outer rooms from the main center room. The front of the house usually has a door in the middle. There are windows on both sides of this front door. Each end room also has one window. A gable roof runs along the entire length of the house.
The Fredrick Christian Sorensen House in Ephraim, Utah is a good example. It was built around 1850 by Fredrick Christian Sorensen. He was an immigrant from Denmark. This house is made of adobe. Its roof has log purlins and sawn rafters. Many other pair-houses were built by Scandinavian immigrants. You can see them in Ephraim and throughout Sanpete County, Utah.
Where Does the Name Come From?
The name "pair-house" comes from the Swedish word parstuga. This word literally means "pair-house." It describes a center room with a pair of rooms on each side.
A Swedish parstuga also has three rooms in a line. But its center room is narrower. It is used as the entry and kitchen. In a pair-house, the center room is the main living area.
The name "pair-house" was first used by a Swedish expert named Sigurd Erixon. He was from the University of Stockholm. In Denmark, a similar house is called tvillinghuser, meaning "twin-house." In Norway, it's called dobblethus, or "double house."
There is also a style called the central-passage house. It started in early America. It also has three rooms in a line. But its center room is narrow. It is only used as a hallway.
Some people also describe the pair-house as a smaller version of a Danish Herregård (farmhouse).
History of the Pair-House Design
The design of the pair-house began a long time ago. It started in the 1500s in central and northern Sweden. It also appeared in central and western Norway. This style was the main type of home on larger farms until the 1800s.
By the late 1700s, its use spread to Denmark. It became common there over the next 50 years. At first, it was a home for richer families. But over time, it became a common farmhouse for middle-class families. It showed that families were doing well financially.
Similar Homes Around the World
Three-room houses with a center entrance were not only found in Scandinavia. The German Ernhaus had a central room used as a kitchen. It had a living area and a stable on its sides.
Similar three-room homes with a central kitchen were built in France. They spread from western Europe to southwestern Russia. German-Russian settlers brought them there. You can find long three-room houses all around the Baltic Sea region. This includes Scandinavian countries, Finland, Russia, Poland, and Germany.
Where Pair-Houses Are Found in the US
Most pair-houses that we know about are in Utah. But you can find them in other places too. Danish immigrants in the Great Plains often built popular American-style homes. But they also built pair-houses in the 1870s and 1880s. These houses sometimes had a neoclassical look on the outside. Just like in Utah, these homes showed that families were doing well. They also showed their cultural background.
German-Russians built one-story, gable-roofed, three-room homes in Emmons County, North Dakota. Some people call this style the "Baltic three-room house." Pair-houses have also been found in Arizona and Idaho.
Why Pair-Houses Are Important
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Scandinavian-American Pair-house Thematic Group
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 Location in Utah
Location in the United States
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| Location | central Utah, (Sanpete, Sevier, Millard, and Salt Lake counties) |
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| Built | c.1860-1880 |
| NRHP reference No. | 64000873 |
Some pair-houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by themselves. There is also a group of these houses in Utah. They are called the Scandinavian-American Pair-house Thematic Group. These houses are not all next to each other. They are spread across four Utah counties. They show the "multi-cultural nature" of early Mormon society. This means they show how different cultures lived together.
These houses are some of the oldest in Utah. Few of them still exist today without being changed or damaged. Many Scandinavian immigrants in Utah used to be poor farmers. But in Utah, they could own land. They could build a house that they saw as a middle-class home. These homes were different from other local houses. Those were usually based on English styles. The pair-houses were also much better than their old peasant homes.
Utah pair-houses all had the three-room layout. But they were different in other ways. For example, the windows and chimneys were placed differently. Their sizes and building materials also varied.
While found throughout Utah, pair-houses are most common in "Little Scandinavia." This area is in Sanpete and Sevier counties. This is where most Scandinavian immigrants settled. Over 90% of Utah's known pair-houses are in this area.
More than 20,000 Scandinavians moved to Utah in the 1800s. The Mormon church at the time wanted people to be similar. They did not encourage keeping old traditions from other countries. But the pair-house shows that some cultural differences were allowed.
Some pair-houses were even built for or used by Anglo-American Mormons. This shows that non-Scandinavians also found them useful and popular.
Examples of Pair-Houses
The Utah State Historical Society studied many pair-houses. They suggested some for listing on the NRHP. Most of them were listed individually. Some are part of a larger historic district. A few were not listed because their owners asked for them to be removed. Many others were too damaged or changed to be listed.
Here are some examples of pair-houses that were identified:
- Claus P. Andersen House (Ephraim, built 1865)
- Lars S. Andersen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Andrew Barentsen House (Fountain Green, built 1875)
- Peter Hansen House (Manti, built 1880)
- Anders Hintze House (Salt Lake City, built 1865)
- Hans C. Jensen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Jens Jensen House (Spring City, built 1865)
- Rasmus Jensen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Martin Johnson House (Glenwood, built 1880)
- Peter Axel Johnson House (Monroe, built 1876)
- Christen Larsen House (Pleasant Grove, built 1876)
- Oluf Larsen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Hans Ottesen House (Manti, built 1870)
- Peter Honson House (Spring City, built 1875)
- Jens C. Nielsen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Soren Simonsen House (Monroe, built 1880)
- Dykes Sorensen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Fredrick C. Sorensen House (Ephraim, built 1870)
- Thuesen-Petersen House (Scipio, built 1870)
The Annie Birch House, near Hoytsville, Utah, was built around 1875.
Types of Pair-Houses
The Utah State Historical Society found four main types of pair-houses. Some types also have smaller differences. These four main types are:
Type I
Type I houses are most like the oldest pair-houses in Norway and Sweden. The central room is about two-thirds the size of the two outer square rooms. The center room has a door. The end rooms are the same on both sides, with one or two windows. The center room is about 12 to 13 feet wide. This is twice the width of a central-passage house's hallway.
Type II
Type II houses are the most common in Utah. In these houses, the center room is larger than the end rooms. The main room might be a square. Then the end rooms are three-quarters or two-thirds its size. Or the main room might be a slightly larger rectangle with square end rooms. This type usually has windows on the sides of the entry door. This creates a group of window-door-window. There is also one window in each end room.
Type III
Type III houses are similar to Type II. But the windows and doors are spaced evenly across the front of the house. This means the inside rooms are not perfectly symmetrical.
Type IV
In this type, all three rooms are square. But the center room is smaller. It is set back, creating a covered porch area in the front. The center room might have the usual window-door-window setup. Or it might just have a window-door because it's smaller. Each end room has either one or two windows.
