This classic work on early Canadian architecture explores the evolution of urban and rural house construction from settlement to conquest. It illustrates the ways climate, local materials, legislation and customs merged to shape original techniques and unique forms - and some of the most distinct and enduring buildings in the New World. This book also explores the day-to-day lives of craftsmen and those early Canadians whose nation was under construction. The result is a lively mix of insight and anecdote, and a vivid portrait of laying a unique foundation on North American soil. As Professor Moogk concludes, "more than a house was being built, a cultural nation was being built."