Rustic Log Cabin

In the past, when shelter was needed, it was common to build a rustic log cabin. A crew of lumbermen might need to build winter quarters close to an area where they were cutting old growth timber. Perhaps a miner or trapper, merchant or farmer had moved into a new area and needed more substantial shelter than a canvas tent or a lean-to of branches. With a minimum of tools and time, a log cabin home could be built. No nails were used in this structure. The log walls are interlocked and the thick roof shingles are held in place by a rough external frame. Often the floor was dirt. As there is no chimney visible on this rough structure, perhaps it was used for storage rather than "living space"? Over time, additional structures might be raised to be used as a stable, barn, chicken house, spring house, smoke house. The community might even work together to raise a rustic log cabin church.

Log Cabin Inn

This old inn reminds me of log cabins I've seen in Virginia, Missouri and other parts of the country. Originally, this log cabin inn had a large, public room on the main floor and two bedrooms upstairs. As this inn was built in southern Illinois, it might have had a guest named Abraham Lincoln from time to time. Prior to becoming president of the United States, Lincoln served as a circuit court judge and was required to travel from town to town.

In the past, frontier inns had one large, second-floor bedroom which was exclusively for women. The room was reached by an enclosed staircase inside the inn. A second upstairs bedroom, was exclusively used by the men. It was reached by another separate staircase.

There was no access from one bedroom to the other. There were no accomodations for married couples.

Complete strangers slept together, sometimes several crammed into a bed. There was no inside plumbing. Instead, there was an outhouse or two. Inside (usually stored under the bed) was a chamber pot. 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 could be 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 campfires, 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.