A History of Log Cabins

If you’re building a vacation home, you might consider a log cabin. You just can’t beat the coziness and down-to-earth appeal of a log cabin home! Whether you want to build a vacation home or a major home for you and your family, log cabins are a great investment. They also have a rich history throughout the world.  

 

Log cabins are shelters typically made of logs hewn together. Traditionally, these houses were single roomed or storied. Log cabins are believed to have their original roots in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe and were probably first built in the Bronze Age period. Straight pine and spruce tree trunks in the Scandinavia facilitated construction of the cabins, and this still goes on today.

 

Europeans continued building log cabins as frontier shelters when they migrated and settled in North America. Some historians believe that the settlers built their first cabin in 1638 in New Sweden. Construction of log cabins continued in other colonies.

 

As the early settlers built more formal houses, log cabins served as animal shelters and outdoor stores. Some famous personalities like Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson among others were born in log cabins. Cabins have currently transformed into leisure homes but their interesting history remains unforgotten.

Foundation

Pioneers of log cabins had to choose an ideal site to offer the inhabitants good drainage and access to sunlight. Cabins foundation was set on stones. Large stones were used especially for the corners. More stones were also used along the sill or bottom log for very large cabins. The stone foundations kept the shelters from damp soil. Space between earth and the cabin served as storage. Cabins that were constructed on earth floors needed no stone foundations. Cabin floors were normally made from hard-packed clay.

Walls

Traditional log cabins had walls that were made out of straight tree trunks placed one on top of another. The trunks or logs were later interlocked at the corners and notched at the ends. This made the structures very strong as no nails were used, just like today’s log houses.

 

Complex joints were developed over the decades. Spaces that were left between the trunks and at the joints were sealed using moss or other soft materials from surrounding plants. Small window openings were allowed on the log walls to allow in some light and warmth. A fireplace also existed in the cabin for more warmth which also served as a cook stove.

Roof

As for the roofing, log cabin pioneers used rows of overlapping short boards. The size of the house depended on the length of the tree trunk. Similar sealing was used on roofs to keep away moisture. Traditional log cabins also had smoke allowance which served as chimney.

 

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