George W. Lawrence House (1891)

The Folk Victorian or Victorian Vernacular style refers to houses built during the Victorian era that are relatively plain and regular in their basic forms (without unusual floor plans or complex additions like turrets). Instead, they are often embellished with elaborate decorative trim that was often prefabricated by machine and could be shipped throughout the country in the later nineteenth century. A good example of this type of a house is the George W. Lawrence House, located at 18 Main Street in East Berlin. Erected about 1891, it was acquired in the early 1890s by Lawrence, a farmer who had extensive landholdings in the area inherited from his father, Alexander P. Lawrence. The house has a typical L-shaped floorplan and features a variety of ornamental woodwork.