In pioneer days, when shelter was needed, it was common to build a rustic log cabin. A crew of lumbermen might need winter quarters in the area where they were cutting virgin timber. A miner or trapper, merchant or farmer had moved into a new territory and needed a safe, cozy shelter. With a minimum of tools and time, a log cabin home could be constructed. No nails were used in this structure. The log walls are interlocked and the thick roof shingles are held in place by a crude external framework of saplings. Often the floor was dirt. As there is no chimney visible on this rough structure, it might have been 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. As the community grew, the pioneer families might build a rustic log cabin church, school, grist mill or barn.
