Influence of German and Dutch style houses in todays America

German settlers came to North America in the late 17th century, they settled mainly in Pennsylvania. Germans built large, lasting houses of wood and quarry stone. Dutch settlers came, more than a century earlier, to the New World. Their first settlements were in New Amsterdam, now known as New York City and the Hudson Valley to the north. Dutch immigrants used stone and brick to build their homes. Their homes were large according to colonial …

…their homes. The Dutch also had dormer windows that are still widely used today. Dormer windows are windows that are projecting through a steeply sloping roof. While doing this report we found that not many houses can be influenced by only one group of people. Shingles from the English settlements and dormer windows from the Dutch can be used on the same house. Although many houses have different characteristics they still have a distinct style.