German colonial

German Colonial sytled houses were developed roughly around 1675 when the immigrants from Germany and other European nations settled along the Delaware River Valley area. Some of these houses were built as a means of temporary shelter until a better home could be built. Another name for this architecture is a bank house (if the house was built on a hillside). The bank house was popular because it protected the inhabitants from harsh winter and summer climates.

Features

 * Most often found in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland
 * Two-feet thick walls made with sandstone
 * Reinforced stone arches above the first floor windows and doors
 * Hand-hewn beams pinned with wodden pegs
 * Exposed half-timbering
 * Flared eaves
 * Massive wishbone-shaped chimney

History
The European method of half timbering was the initial way of constructing these houses. The walls of this structure were made of braced timbers and filled in brick of stone. This method eventually was updated to include covering the first floor with field stone and the second floor and roof were made of timber or logs. Slowly, the use of timber in these style of building was phased out, leaving field stone to become the primary means of building one's home. Also, the houses grew from being one or two room houses to being large farm houses.

A two-story "country townhouse" became more popular in Pennsyvania during this time. No matter the size of the house, all German colonials had a symmetrical facade, this stone walls, a wood or clay roof (that was steep with end gables), and usually had an attic story with windows on the end.

The windows, once small casement windows with battened shutters, were later replaced with double-hung windows. A porch usually was found at the gabled end of the house or in the front.

Architects
Notable architects associated with this style include: