When rugs were too expensive, colonial Americans made sand art on their floors.

U.S. History

I f you were a well-to-do family in colonial-era America, you may have draped your floor in richly painted oilcloth, a tightly woven fabric with a waterproof coating, to reduce draftiness and make walking around more comfortable. If you were very affluent and had a taste for the finer things, you might have imported carpets across the Atlantic. Most people, however, settled for simpler floor coverings, such as straw matting or sand — if they opted for any at all.

Sand, ideally fine white sand, came with a bonus feature: You could turn it into decor if you were feeling creative. Some households created fun designs in the sand, including scrolls, feathers, herringbones, and wreaths, as a temporary decoration. And while tracking sand inside a house is usually frowned upon today, sand was actually an extremely practical floor covering in the 18th century. Before paved roads and regular bathing, a lot of mud and grime would build up on floors very quickly. Much like sawdust on a tavern floor, the sand would absorb dirt, oil, and moisture, allowing the mess to be swept away more easily — and it was a more pleasant walking surface than the hard, cold floor. Sanded floors weren't exclusive to poor families, either. Some households scattered their sand daily with a special sieve, and writer John F. Watson observed chambermaids with "a genius for drawing" making sand designs with a broom. Still, sanded floors eventually waned in popularity during the 19th century, in favor of woven rugs and painted hardwood floors.

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By the Numbers

Length (in miles) of the longest recorded sand sculpture

Weight (in metric tons) of sand and gravel produced in the U.S. in 2023

130 million

Did you know?

George Washington had fake stone siding installed at Mount Vernon.

Faux stone may seem like a recent invention, but it actually dates back centuries. When George Washington expanded his family mansion at Mount Vernon in 1758, the new addition included siding made from pine boards beveled to look like stone blocks, then painted with a sand finish. Washington called them "rusticated boards," and said the technique was "designed to answer two purposes — durability, and representation of Stone."