It is possible to add “ranch homes” to the common phrase “as American-as baseball and apple pie.” The new phrase would have a different ring, however. The ranch-style, one-story ranch-style house was first built in the 1930s. It has a simple, open layout and is low to the ground. Ranch homes started to appear all over the United States during the 1950s, but it was only after the post-World War II economic boom.

The ranch house was a family home that offered both a comfortable lifestyle and likability. It had bedroom wings that extended into the yards and courtyards and patios that mingled with the interior spaces. 

In the 1970s, land prices rose and people wanted more space and larger living spaces. Multi-story homes became the norm. The sprawling ranch was soon out of fashion for decades.

You’ll see ranch homes as the “it thing” again if you fast forward to the present.