[The following review of Built in Texas was written by R.G. Dean for publication in the East Texas Historical Journal.]

Things built in Texas are as diverse as the people who built them. The early folk came to Texas, some driven by necessity, some fired by ambition, but, once here, they needed shelter and safety and they desired comfort and convenience, so they built.

In twenty-four essays, Built in Texas, describes what they built, how they built, what they built from, why they built the way they did, and some efforts at preservation and restoration of Texas’ built treasures.

Described are types of shelter Texans built, from tepees to tie structures, from dugouts to double-pen dogtrot houses, from lean-to’s to log houses, shotgun houses to salt-boxes, sotol to catslide-adobe, board-and-batten, rock, brick, palisade, and anything else available.

After shelter, other necessities discussed in this volume include fences to keep things out and to keep things in, stiles, gates, cattleguards, wells, windmills, cisterns, tanks, ponds, barns, cribs, smoke houses, root cellars, and outhouses.

To provide a measure of comfort, Texans built fireplaces, porches, bridges, balconies, and such furniture as tables, chairs, benches, and beds.

The book describes how they did all of this with the axe and broadaxe, adze and foot adze, maul and wedge, mallet and froe, and draw knife, plane, and chisel.

Editor Francis E. “Ab” Abernethy, also wrote the priceless preface and introductions to the seven sections; the book is generously illustrated with over 250 photos and about fifty line drawings. Most of the photos were taken by “Ab,” many running full page - and many of the drawings are by Reese Kennedy with some by Ben C. Mead.

When the opportunity presents itself to be entertained and to become better informed about how things were and how they got to be as they are, one should seize it. Built in Texas is just such an opportunity.