Transcribed in Aug. 2002 by: Neal Du Shane
http://iagenweb.org/mitchell/localdat/logcabin.htmLog

 

Cabins and Sod Houses
of
Mitchell County, Iowa

The first Mitchell county homes were of log construction, with a few built of prairie sod. Because of excessive rains, the latter were not so common.

The log cabin furnishes material for an interesting and a fascinating story and comprises an important link in the lives of the pioneers. The log house was the first house in America, from the Atlantic Seaboard across the plains and mountains to the Pacific. Such men as Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the famous Kirkwood of Iowa, spent their childhood days in log cabins. The Hamlin Garland family spent their first year in Burr Oak Township in a log cabin. As the frontier moved westward, so did the log cabin. As soon as saw mills were constructed and native lumbers was sawn from logs, then frame houses build of boards began to appear. But it was after the Civil War and when the railroads were constructed and Lumber could be shipped in, that the log house began to disappear.

In Mitchell County many were built. The first home in Osage was a long house built by Hiram Hart on the sough side of Main Street on the site of the present Cleveland Hotel. The first home in Mitchell was built of logs on the sough side of the river road as it enters Mitchell, one block east of the Tom Thompson home. The first place of abode in St. Ansgar was a log cabin erected by Claus L. Clausen just southwest of the present site of St. Ansgar. The first home in Union Township was a log house erected on the Halsley Boyd farm, then the Woolworth farm and now the Max Patterson farm. This home was also a stop on the stage couch line from Stacyville to Austin, MN.   It was used until 1917.  Stacyville, McIntire, Otranto, Riceville, and every other settlement in the county, to say nothing of the many farm, had log houses as their first places of abode.

These old log houses blend in any landscape because they are a part of the natural surroundings. They were cut from the sturdiest oak and walnut timber. They were solid and immovable. These first log houses illustrated the hospitality and friendliness of the early pioneers. The latch string was always out to the travelers and the neighbors. A cabin, 16 by 20 feet in size, would often house a family of eleven children and wayfarers besides. Often a second cabin was built, as on the Galen Docken farm, to accommodate people who were traveling through. The early log house was practically indestructible--withstanding Indian attacks, as well as the ravages of the elements, the sun, the wind and rain by summer and the blizzards by winter.

House building bees were common. The logs were cut and dragged to the site of the building. Then they were squared by the use of the broad axe with a curved handle and by the use of an adz. All of it was hand labor. The most important and intricate part was to fit and mortise the corners, so the matched places would angle downward and shed water, and to slope inward, to hold the log in place. When properly made, the greater the pressure, the tighter the logs would grip and hold. Shakes or boards lapped would make a waterproof roof. These were used as soon as sawmills had been installed, although some were split by hand. In the absence of wood for roofing, hay made from the long prairie grass was substituted.

The first log houses were often built without floors. Then later, a puncheon floor would be added; it consisted of split logs matched together with the flat side up. When lumber became available, logs would be used for stringers or joists and the newly sawed boards covered over for a floor. Quite often, if time and material were short, the south side of the cabin would be left open for awhile. Windows were usually covered with waxed paper until glass was available. One story homes were called "cabins," while those with an upstairs were called "log houses."

Ranking as early as the log house, but not as common, was the sod house. Some of the early settlers in St. Ansgar area did use them as their first place of abode, the Frank Zemanek family, the John Bohach family, the Beduer family, and the Tollefsons family lived in sod houses. They were constructed if time and material did not permit a more permanent home. The prairie sod was cut in strips and blocks, and the side walls laid up much like a masonry wall. The roots would hold and bind the blocks together. It is understandable that this type of structure would be very warm in winter and cool in summer. The one drawback was the danger of washing away during periods of heavy rainfall. They were more commonly used in the Dakotas, where a drier climate prevailed.

Probably the one greatest thing to make the log house in American Institution, was the fact that the pioneer built it himself, with an axe, a hammer, an adz and a saw, together with more tireless effort than we would spend today. The pride of accomplishment has been typical of Americans, and is our heritage today.