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Refinement And Architecture In Early Ypsilanti, Lynda Mccarron

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this work is to examine refinement and architecture in nineteenth-century America with a focus on rural areas and Ypsilanti, Michigan in particular. The research utilized consists of an analysis of primary and secondary sources. Included among the primary sources are architectural style books such as those by Andrew Jackson Downing, pioneer writings such as those of Caroline Kirkland and Solon Robinson, historical buildings, and probate record inventories of Washtenaw County. Ypsilantians did not assume the genteel refinement that developed in the nineteenth century. They instead modified gentility to become a form of respectability that suited their needs. …