When the Pilgrims landed on the shores of New England, they brought building traditions from medieval England. Using whatever materials they could find, they constructed timber-framed houses with steep roofs. Other settlers from Great Britain spread through Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York, building rustic dwellings like the ones they had known in their homeland.
The earliest dwellings were likely hastily-constructed sheds and cabins. Then, shoring up against the cold New England winters, colonists built single-story Cape Cod houses with massive chimneys placed at the center.
