Custom Cabin Kits

Some people ask if we make custom log cabin kits. Most are looking for a miniature version of an old cabin on their property or a replica of their original family homestead. We have even made kits of historical cabins, like the Apple River Fort cabin. The original stands in Elizabeth, IL, a few miles outside of Galena.

Usually, the customer has an old photograph, a property description, an old deed or even a drawing. Based on the factual information, we do our best to guesstimate height, dimensions, placement and size of doors/windows, etc.

Our latest custom project was replicating a Pennsylvania family farmhouse from the early 1700s. The original log cabin was built atop a stone spring house. The family had an old photo of the house, from the 1950s. The cabin had been sheathed with clapboard and the chimney (which was originally on the outside wall had been enclosed during an enlargement of the structure.

Luckily, the customer discovered the original length and width of the cabin from an ancient property deed.

We shipped the custom kit around Christmas 2009. The customer ordered custom-made windows and doors from another supplier. As you can see, the cabin is shaping up nicely. . . . on top of what will appear to be the springhouse’s stone foundation!

Log Cabin Kitchen

In the past, a log cabin home was a pioneer family's first shelter. As the family grew and prospered, a new home might be built. In this case, from the 1840s, the new home was a frame structure with wood siding. Our pioneers, being frugal, usually saved the log cabin, using it for other purposes. In this case, it was used as a cookhouse. The lchimney is interesting. You'd think a wood chimney is a fire hazzard. But the split wood shell you can see serves as the support for a fire-hardened, mud-lined inner flue. This type of chimney construction was common in Jamestown, Plymouth and other English settlements of the 17th century. Cooking could be a big job in the 18th and 19th century as families were usually large and additional hired hands might be needed at certain times of the year to care for livestock, tend fields and harvest crops. Almost everything in the kitchen was made fresh daily. Ummm, I can almost smell the fresh bread baking!

Log Cabin Barn

In the old days, the barn was as important as todays’ garage. It housed some of the livestock, equipment (like saddles, mowers, plows) and food (hay, corn and oats) for the farm animals and seeds for next years' crops.
This pioneer barn, typical of structures built around 1845, is located at the Thomas Lincoln Farm in Lerna, Illinois. Thomas Lincoln was the father of President Abraham Lincoln.

As you can see, the barn (a reconstruction) is a large structure made of long logs notched at the corners. The walls are not chinked, as the animals living inside do not require any additonal protection from the changing Illinois weather. The barn is high and dry, with two large doors in the middle.

Pioneer Hotel

This old inn reminds me of log cabins I've seen in Virginia, Missouri and other parts of the country. Originally, this log cabin had two large, public rooms on the main floor and two rooms upstairs. As it stands in southern Illinois, an inn very much like it, might have had a guest named Abraham Lincoln as he traveled from town to town serving as a circuit court judgeIn the past, frontier inns had one second-floor sleeping chamber which was exclusively for women. The room was reached by a staircase inside the inn. A second upstairs bedroom, was only for men . It was reached by another separate staircase. There was no access from one bedroom to the other.Travelers slept together, sometimes several to a bed. There was no inside plumbing. Instead, there was an outhouse or two. Inside (usually stored under the bed) was a chamber pot or two. Water for drinking and washing was drawn from a well. A pitcher of water was placed, along with a basin, on a table in each bedroom. A guest could pour a little water in the bowl to wash their hands, face and more using a chunk of home-made lye soap and a wash cloth. Cologne or perfume was lavishly used by some travelers, as little extra clothing was carried in their saddlebags, or trunk.As rough and rugged as this inn appears to us today, it offered a welcome respite to people who might have been sleeping on the ground for days, cooking over a campfire, freezing in winter or being eaten alive by bugs in summer.Here, one could buy a hot meal for a penny or two, enjoy a drink, catch up on the news and sleep in a soft bed.

Jamestown residence

In 1607, three English ships embarked from London and rocked and rolled across the Atlantic Ocean. . . finally landing on a small island 60 miles up the James River in what was to become the Virginia Colony. The voyage took 114 days. On this small island, the English built James Fort, a triangle of palisade walls, several houses, a warehouse and a church.

This photo is one of the buildings, based on archaeological evidence. It is a timber frame structure. The plastered areas are constructed of waddle (small sticks woven into a mesh-like pattern) and daub (mud plastered over the waddle). A coating of lime (made by burning oyster shells) covered the outside to waterproof the house from rain and snow.

The windows had bars (offering protection from bigger critters like bears and raccoons) and probably oiled paper or animal skins to keep out the winter winds and the rain of summer.

The floor was dirt. A door or two, a large fireplace and wood chimney lined with clay finished the structure. The Englishman's' home. . far away from home!

James Fort Barracks

The earliest buildings at James Fort appear to have been “mud and stud” structures. Post holes were dug along the length of each wall and the end of the main structural posts were buried. This construction technique is similar to the method used to build the fort palisade walls. The walls are tied together with horizontal studs and the open spaces between the main structural posts are filled with smaller saplings.

Likely, the vertical members were further strengthened by weaving small, flexible saplings or vines into the walls,

The roof structure was built of rafters and covered with light-weight thatch or reeds. The walls were covered with a thick coating of mud. Likely the outside surface was covered with a plaster or clay to waterproof the structure. The floor was dirt. A large fireplace and chimney was constructed in the middle of this structure as it served as a barracks.

Like the log cabin, this ancient post-in-ground building technique is still in use today!

Jamestown Fort

In May, 1607, the first permanent English Settlement was started on a small, wooded island in the James river. Until recently, It was believed that this portion of the island had eroded and the tiny walled community destroyed. In 1994, the site was discovered. Since then, much exploration of the site has been conducted.

I find this photograph interesting. It shows how a wall (in this case the wall of a fort) was constructed without nails. A shallow trench was dug and one end of the logs, making up the palisade walls, were buried. The soil was firmly tapped down to anchor the logs in place. The top of the walls were secured by attaching planks to the logs using wooden pegs. . . dozens of them. . that were driven into holes drilled through the plank and into the log.

This same wooden pin technique was used, centuries later, in the construction of log cabin homes.