"During the earliest settlement of Pennsylvania, settlers from various backgrounds converged. Initially they produced houses according to traditions of their countries of origin. These were 'folk buildings', which followed well established rules of form. In particular, the early houses of European settlers echoed medieval designs established centuries earlier. Cross-fertilization developed from this juxtaposition of diverse forms,and regional styles quickly emerged, leaving surviving earlier buildings as rare examples of the seeds of this progression. By 1760, this process was well under way in Eastern Pennsylvania. Two early building types associated with the Pennsylvania Germans will concern us, the Continental Central Chimney House, and the Swi Bank House, as they compare to an early log house in YorkCounty, the Messerschmidt-Dietz Cabin." [from the introduction]
