Log Cabin Floor Plans

Cedar Log Cabins

Cedar Log Cabins

The History of Log Cabins

When you think of log cabins, you no doubt think of them as rustic, and identify them with rural America, but actually they began in Europe and Scandinavia. Records show that the first one was built in 3500BC in Northern Europe. When the Europeans settled in this country, they already had a long history of using logs for houses. Settlers first built log cabins in 1638. They stacked tree trunks on top of each other, and made corners that interlocked by putting notches in the ends. The style of the notches had to do with the settlers' ethnic background. Some logs were also nailed together. Notching or nailing provided a strong base, and the settlers filled the cracks between the logs with moss, mud, or other soft substances, called "chinking".

In the coldest part of the country, keeping houses warm was of prime importance, and it was found that the solid wood had an insulating quality, lacking in timber frame construction covered with shingles or animal skins. In future years, the joints were improved to make them more weather-tight, but round logs were still used. A log cabin became very popular as pioneers settled in the north and in Canada, due to the inclement weather.

Where the cabin was to be located was important. Sunlight had to be available, and there had to be proper drainage. The early pioneers had their choice of the best logs from straight trees with old growth, and few limbs. This meant the logs didn't have to be hewn to fit together properly. They normally chose logs that were the length of one wall. The further away the sources of the timber, the smaller the cabin. Rocks were used to support thresholds and along the sill and the corners. Rocks were also used as foundations to keep the cabins out of wet ground, and also allow a place for storage. Bark was often used for roofs, and common construction was a purlin roof, which was logs that were notched into wall logs.

In 1787 the Pittsburgh Academy started as a log cabin. According to Pittsburgh historian Agnes Lynch Starrett, there is "plenty of evidence that classes were held in a log building, even before the charter was granted."

Not many 18th century log cabins are still in existence, but they were not built for permanent residency. When settlers built larger homes, the cabins were relegated to serve as outbuildings, or even chicken coops or dog houses. During the depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps built log cabins in the west for the Forest Service and the National Park Service. In 1930 the largest cabin in the world was constructed in Montebello, Quebec, Canada and became the Chateau Montebello Hotel.

In the 20th century, cabins had 2x4 rafters covered with sheeting and cedar shingles. In rural locations due to the lack of milled lumber, purlin roofs were covered with long shingles which had been split by hand. In the Midwest and parts of Canada log cabins were covered with clapboards, and cabins in the nineteenth century had interior plaster. In Illinois the Illinois Historical Society operates an 86 acre historical site which contains an accurate reproduction of Abraham Lincoln's two-room log cabin. It was built in 1935 on the original site of Lincoln's cabin as a Civilian Conservation Corps project.

Modern European log cabins are often constructed in gardens to be used as a summer home, an office, or an added room. In this country today, kits can be purchased for construction of a fancy log cabin, and the manufacturers of these kits consume the majority of the logs in the American west.<!--UdmComment--><!--/UdmComment--><!--[CDATA[ function google_ad_request_done(google_ads) { var s = ''; var i; if(typeof ea_gata == 'function') { ea_gata(3, google_ads.length, 10, 19); } if(google_ads.length == 0) { GA_googleFillSlot("EA-AdSenseALT160"); ea_alternate_gad_displayed = 1; return; } s += 'Ads by Google</a></div>'; for(i = 0; i < google_ads.length; ++i) { s += '

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