Rustic Shelters

On the frontier, it was common to build a rustic log cabin. A crew of lumbermen needed a bunkhouse close to where they were cutting old growth timber. A miner or trapper, merchant or farmer needed shelter when they moved into a new area. With a few tools and a little time, a rustic log cabin could be built. No nails were used in this structure as the log walls are interlocked and the shingled roof is held in place by an framework of saplings. Often the floor was dirt. As there is no fireplace in this rough structure, perhaps it was used as a storehouse. Over time, additional structures might be built such as a stable, barn, chicken house, spring house, smoke house. As the community grew, the settlers would raise a rustic log cabin church.