Porches throughout most of history have been places of community and family interaction. Families chatted with one another and with people in the community; the neighborhood was their front porch. In Iowa, this sense of community not only brought people together, but it helped create a sense of responsibility in the community -- neighbors kept their eyes on one another. In Southern America, porches took on another meaning, particularly for the African American communities following the Civil War; porch-sitting became a uniquely southern pastime. A culture that prided itself on family and on heritage utilized home and store front porches to reinforce this.

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*************Iowa Porch Life ******************************Southern Porch Culture