Early log shelters were called cabins. They had only one room, no windows, and a single door and were made of round logs. The chimneys were often made of sticks and mud. This temporary shelter was used until a strong hewn log house could be built.

Basically two types of log houses existed. The Appalachian Log House, sixteen by twenty feet, had one room. It had a stone chimney at the end. It had one or two doors and a few windows. The hewn logs were squared with a broad ax instead of being left round. The roof was made of split oak shingles. The floor of the house was either smooth wooden boards or hard packed dirt.

The German settlers often built a little different type of log house. It was called the Pennsylvania German Log House. It usually had three rooms with the chimney in the center of the house. Roofs were sometimes made of a grass called thatch.

This new home soon became filled with the family and the things they needed to exist. This included the spinning wheel, a loom, tables, chairs, benches, and maybe a bed. The children slept in the loft on a cornshuck mattress covered with quilts. Their parents would sleep below in a cord bed. They built most of their furniture. It was simple and plain. The quilts and coverlets added some color to their home.

To make another room, a lean-to shed was often built onto the back of the house. For even more room, another log house could be built right up against the first house on the fireplace side. The chimney was used in both houses. This was called a "saddlebag" house.

A second house could also be built close to the first house. The roofs of the two houses would be joined together. The people and the dog could walk between the two houses. This kind of house was called a "dog trot" house.

  The log house was held together by notches at the ends of the logs. This was done very carefully. Different kinds of notches were the dovetail, the half dovetail, the square, and the round. Some log houses have lasted for 200 years. The ends of the logs were often sawed off next to the building. Rain and water would not collect and rot the logs.

The most important place in an early log house was the fireplace. At the fireplace, the pioneer family cooked their food and kept warm. The fireplace gave out light to see inside their home. Candles were also used for light.

At first, most candles were made by dipping the wicks again and again into a pot of melted wax. The candles had to be cooled after each dipping. The pot of melted wax had to be kept at the right temperature. If the wax was too hot, It would not stick to the candle. If it was too cold, the candle would come out lumpy. Candle molds came later and making of candles became easier to do. A wick was put in each tube. The mold was then filled with hot wax and allowed to cool.

The log home and its furniture were made of wood. There was lots of wood to use. The pioneer used the tools he had to make the things his family needed.

The ax was the most important tool. With an ax, the pioneer could clear the land, build a house, cut firewood, and build fences. Different tools were used to do different kinds of tasks. A felling ax was used to cut down the tree. The logs were squared or hewn with the broad ax. The adz made the floor boards smooth.

Splitting wood was done easily with a froe. Roof shingles were made this way. A mallet or maul was used like a hammer on the top of the froe. A drawknife could be used to make handles for axes, rakes, 6'Loe and many other tools. The drawknife was also useful in making furniture.

After building a home for the family and harvesting the first crops, the mountain farmers then built the farm buildings and fences. These buildings were the barn, spring house, root cellar, corn cribs and chicken house.

Some barns were made of hewn logs that were square. Other barns were made of round logs with a saddle notch. This kind of barn could be built faster. To protect the animals from the cold, the space between the log were filled just like the log house. The logs in the loft or the upstairs of the barn were often not filled. The hay that filled the loft kept out the cold winter winds and snow.

Fences were made of either wooden split rails or stones. These rails were usually split from the chestnut tree. Chestnut rails lasted a long time. The common types of rail fence were the snake, post and rail, and buck. Look at the pictures below. Miles of stone fences were built in the mountains. These fences helped to keep their hogs where they belonged.

Many pioneer families feared Indian attacks. At first, their log homes provided them some protection. As more settlers came and lived together, 1og structures were built for protection. These places of defense were known as blockhouses, stockades, or forts. The blockhouse was a two story building with the upper story reaching out beyond the first story. This kept Indians from easy climbing of its walls. Stockades were often a place with a strong fence of upright logs built around it. A fort may have had both the blockhouse and stockade around it with homes built inside of it.

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