Drywall was invented in 1894 but didn’t become widely popular until the late 1940s and 1950s, when a massive postwar housing boom made its speed and affordability impossible to ignore. For roughly half a century after its invention, builders and homeowners resisted it, viewing it as a cheap substitute for traditional plaster. It took two world wars and a housing crisis to change their minds.
The 1894 Invention Nobody Wanted
Augustine Sackett patented the first version of drywall on May 22, 1894. His “Sackett Board” was built from alternating layers of paper and plaster of paris (calcined gypsum), pressed into rigid sheets. The concept was simple: instead of applying wet plaster to wooden lath strips nailed across wall studs, a process that required skilled tradesmen and days of drying time, you could nail a prefabricated board directly to the framing.
Builders weren’t interested. Plaster walls had been the standard for centuries, and tradesmen took pride in the craft. Sackett Board looked thin and flimsy by comparison. Homeowners associated it with cheapness, and contractors saw no reason to abandon a method they already knew. For the next two decades, drywall remained a niche product with almost no market share in residential construction.
World War I Opened the Door
The first real opportunity for drywall came during World War I. The military needed housing built fast for troops and support personnel, and traditional plaster was too slow. The United States Gypsum Company (USG) had rebranded Sackett Board as “Sheetrock,” and its fireproof qualities and quick application made it the specified choice for government buildings during and after the war. Gypsum is naturally fire-resistant because it contains chemically bound water that slows heat transfer, a property that gave drywall a clear safety advantage over wood lath and plaster.
This was an important turning point, but it didn’t translate to widespread residential use. Most American homeowners still preferred plaster, and builders continued to market plaster walls as a sign of quality construction. Drywall remained largely confined to commercial, industrial, and government projects through the 1920s and 1930s.
World War II Created the Tipping Point
World War II changed the equation in two critical ways. First, millions of skilled plasterers left the workforce to serve in the military or work in defense manufacturing, creating a severe labor shortage in the construction trades. Second, the war effort consumed enormous quantities of building materials, putting pressure on builders to find efficient alternatives.
Drywall solved both problems at once. It required far less skill to install than plaster and used fewer raw materials per square foot of wall. A team could hang and finish drywall in a room within a day or two, while a professional plasterer needed several days to complete the same space, applying multiple coats with drying time between each one. With fewer plasterers available and demand for housing climbing, drywall went from a compromise to a practical necessity.
The 1950s Housing Boom Sealed the Deal
The period that truly cemented drywall’s dominance was the postwar suburban housing explosion of the late 1940s and 1950s. Returning veterans needed homes, the GI Bill made mortgages accessible, and developers like Levitt & Sons were building entire communities at unprecedented speed. Levittown, the iconic suburban development on Long Island, began construction in 1947 and produced homes at a pace that would have been physically impossible with plaster.
The math was straightforward. Drywall cost less in materials, required fewer labor hours, and allowed builders to move through houses faster, which meant more homes completed per month and more revenue. By the mid-1950s, drywall had overtaken plaster as the default wall material in new American homes. The shift was remarkably fast once it started. A material that had struggled for acceptance over five decades became the industry standard within roughly ten years.
Why Plaster Held On So Long
The resistance to drywall wasn’t irrational. Plaster walls are genuinely harder, more soundproof, and more durable than standard drywall. A well-applied plaster wall can last the lifetime of a building without significant damage, while drywall dents and punctures relatively easily. Plaster also has a slightly irregular surface texture that many people find more attractive than the flat uniformity of drywall.
What plaster couldn’t compete with was speed and cost at scale. A skilled plasterer was an artisan who applied wet material by hand, built up layers, and waited for each to cure. That process produced a superior wall, but it didn’t fit an economy that needed millions of new homes built in a single decade. Drywall won not because it was better, but because it was fast enough to meet the moment.
How Drywall Evolved After the 1950s
Once drywall dominated the market, manufacturers began developing specialized versions for different environments. Fire-rated drywall (Type X) became standard in building codes for areas like garages, utility rooms, and shared walls between apartments. This thicker board contains glass fibers that hold the gypsum core together longer during a fire, buying extra time for evacuation.
Moisture-resistant drywall, commonly called “green board” for its colored paper facing, addressed one of drywall’s biggest weaknesses: its tendency to absorb water and grow mold. In 2003, USG introduced panels with advanced moisture-resistant technology that the Chicago Tribune called “one of the biggest drywall breakthroughs since 1890.” By 2007, the company had developed mold-resistant panels specifically designed for high-humidity areas like bathrooms and kitchens, as well as panels rated for extended moisture exposure during construction before a building’s exterior is fully sealed.
Today, drywall accounts for the vast majority of interior wall surfaces in North American homes and commercial buildings. The material Augustine Sackett patented in 1894 took over 50 years to find its audience, but once it did, it reshaped how the entire world builds interior spaces.