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Quebecois Architecture
Source: The French-Canadian Heritage in New England, Gerard J. Brault, pp. 10-11A few fieldstone houses with steep roofs, which dated back to the French regime, could still be found in some areas, and log cabins were plentiful in the backcountry. (The rugged life in pioneer settlements around Lake St. John is described in Hemon's Maria Chapdelaine.) Some habitations were indistinguishable from contemporary farmhouses in other parts of Canada or in the United States, and in many cases their construction and appearance had been influenced by them. However, a large number of French-Canadian homesteads were unlike any of these.
A popular type of dwelling in the area surrounding Quebec City consisted of a rectangular frame structure resting on a foundation several feet high with an open porch and steps front and rear (galerie) protected by an overhang. The siding was clapboard and the double-sloping roof, in which three or more dormer windows (lucarnes) were set, was generally covered with tar paper, asbestos shingles, or tin. A chimney usually protruded from each gable. (Mansard roofs were also fashionable about this time, but the vogue was relatively short-lived in Quebec.) The raised porch facilitated access in the winter when snow accumulated on the ground and the eaves offered protection from sun and rain the rest of the year. Narrow wooden pillars and a railing were sometimes added to suggest the form of a veranda. Windows and doors were often outlined in colour.
Even houses located in the village usually had a number of attached or detached annexes associated with rural living: a barn, a privy, a shed, and a stable. Farmhouses had more such structures spread over a larger area: a henhouse, a pigpen, storage buildings, a summer kitchen, and so on. A bed of flowers often decorated the frontage. Vegetable and herb gardens could be found in sunny spots on the side of the house or at the rear. A swing was another fixture here.
Inside, the two-storied building contained, on the first floor, a kitchen, dining room, parlor, and one or two bedrooms; the second level, reached by a staircase, was divided into bedrooms and a storage area. All rooms except the kitchen were wallpapered or painted white. Most houses also included a cellar and attic.
****With many many thanks to Dalton for having referred me to this fine book.
Pictures to be posted at a later date....
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Originally Posted by Arctic Fox
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