| OCR Text |
Show Europe, but to devise ways to minimize its preparation. 1147 In the Sanpete Valley, while the builders• problem was the reverse in that there was ample labor but wood was in short supply, their solutions were generally the same. One sees in the houses here a definite progression during the late nineteenth century toward the simplification and standardization of building techniques. Whereas in the first years of settlement, adobe, stone, and timber framing were used to build the house's walls, by the 1880s brick everywhere became the common material. Also at this time the balloon frame and common rafter roof became standard, replacing older New England, Scandinavian, and Germanic traditions. This reduction in building practices was not so much the adoption of one immigrant technique as it was a move from the complex to the simple. It is ironic that the early pioneer structures, often considered expedient and primitive, are the most sophisticated in terms of their actual construction, exhibiting many different national and regional building styles and techniques. 286 |
