The Beauvais-Amoureux House is one of the rarest architectural survivals in North America: a poteaux-en-terre structure, where vertical logs are set directly into the earth rather than onto a foundation sill. This older French technique — brought from Canada and the Illinois Country — was gradually superseded by poteaux-sur-solle construction as settlers realized the buried posts rotted over time. Most poteaux-en-terre buildings have long since collapsed; this one survived.
The house is now part of the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park and is interpreted by park rangers. The exterior gives an immediate sense of how different French colonial construction was from the Anglo-American styles that eventually dominated the Midwest. Its survival is partly down to the good fortune of having caring successive owners and partly to the dry conditions of its site.