Our log house was built around 1870. Notice that I called it a log house and not a log cabin. That is because a log house has a wood floor, and a log cabin only has a dirt floor. These are the homes that were built by the first settlers in an area, long before there were any Home Depots to buy finished lumber.

The family simply had to cut down long, straight trees, square off the ends, and rest them on top of each other to build the walls. Then cracks or chinks were filled with mud to seal it. All this had to be done as quickly as possible so that the family would have a warm place to spend the winter. Then the family could concentrate on building a larger, fancier home that would be permanent. Often the first cabin would later become the family barn.

What do you think? Could you spend the winter in this one little room with your parents and brothers and sisters? Everything has to be smaller and more compact to fit here. To help the long, cold days of winter go by; there would still be plenty of work to do carding wool, spinning yarn and thread, and knitting, weaving, and sewing.