Log Cabin Tool Shed

This photo is of the inside of a tool shed located at the home of Thomas Lincoln. Thomas Lincoln was the father of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the U.S.A. As you can see, a lot of cutting and shaping tools were needed to build and maintain an 1840s farm. See the big, two-man cross-cut saw with it's huge teeth. This saw was used to quickly tear through large logs. In the corner is a sickle used to cut hay and crops like wheat. There are also an assortment of axes and adzes and smaller finishing saws. I don't see any awls, augers, planes or chisels. . . these tools might have been stored elsewhere as they were more refined and required care in maintaining their razor-sharp edges. A carpenter might have dozens of planes, each with a different cutting profile that could be used to create grooves, rounded edges or smooth the surface of a board.

Little (Log) House on the Prairie

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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.