ABSTRACT
Many of the earliest historic reconstructions in Canada and the United States represent efforts to remake landmarks of the colonial eras, both military sites, and sites that demonstrate European 'civilization' inscribed upon the North American landscape. This use of historic reconstructions has, in fact, curiously continued throughout the twentieth century. The motivation to reconstruct such sites is explored through detailed studies of: Fort Ticonderoga, New York; the Port Royal Habitation, Nova Scotia; Mission La Purísima, California; and the town of Louisbourg, also in Nova Scotia. The challenge to architects involved in many of these projects, usually architects with no experience in the area of historic sites, is also addressed, including the work of Alfred Bossom, Kenneth Harris, and Frederick Hageman. In an analysis of the major studies, reference is also made to several other reconstructed sites, the product of similar motivation. These include: the Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg, Fort King George, in Georgia, Tryon Palace, in North Carolina, and Sainte-Marie-among-the Hurons, in Ontario.
