Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous for her books about pioneer life. Her stories were the basis for the popular TV series, "Little House on the Prairie". Laura was born in 1867 in a log cabin near the village of Pepin, in Western Wisconsin. Today, the area is rolling hills, dotted with fields of maturing corn and grazing cattle. The Mississippi river, wedged between two high ridges, is a few miles away.
A replica of Laura's birth cabin was built outside Pepin. As you can see, the log walls are tightly fitted together. There is no chinking. The top side of each pine log is "cupped" along it's length with the bottom of the next log rounded to fit. I wonder how this skilled construction was possible in the days of hand tools?
The cabin was divided into three rooms. You can see the log ends of the dividing wall protruding through the outside wall. Above this wall was an loft. I suppose this space was used for sleeping and storage. A massive stone fireplace was used for warmth and cooking.
1 comments:
I often wonder at how people managed to make things with the tools they had available before the modern day, the log cabin is perfectly formed a fantastic example. Looks like a lovely area it is in too, I am a big fan of log cabins and would like to have my own one day.
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