History

Today, log cabins symbolize humble beginnings and a connection to the "common man."  Eight presidents were born in log cabins, including one of the most beloved, Abraham Lincoln.  The log cabin did not originate in America, however.  In fact, log cabins had been built for centuries in Europe.  It is believed that Swedish immigrants introduced the log cabin to America.  The English, Scotch-Irish, and Irish immigrants were quick to adapt the structure to their own style as well as to the land in which they lived.  Log cabins spread quickly throughout the U.S., except in New England, the Chesapeake, and the Great Plains where trees were not as plentiful.

Log cabins were considered less permanent than log houses; log cabins were typically one and one half stories and log houses were usually two stories and had a complex design.  Both were made with materials that were available in the area.  In the Rochester area, log structures were built from ash, beech, maple or poplar logs.  James Graham and his family built the first temporary home in Oakland County, near Third Street in 1817.  The Grahams later built a permanent log home on Avon and Livernois.  The log structures were one-room spaces called "pens."  They had earthen floors and the walls were constructed of horizontal logs laid atop each other and interlocked with notches at the corners.  The average log house dimensions were about sixteen feet by six feet or eighteen feet by twenty-two feet, depending on how much a couple of men could hoist.  If glass was not available for the windows, the settler used oiled paper, or in bad weather, wooden shutters. Typically, there was loft space in the attic, an exterior chimney, and one central door.  Openings for doors, windows, or fireplaces were sawed or chopped out after the logs were in place.  Bark was stripped off the logs in order to keep insects from nesting.  Occasionally, these structures were whitewashed or covered with weatherboards because it looked more fashionable (which also helped to plug the holes and protect the logs from the elements).

The log cabins, and the more permanent log house, were relatively cheap and quick shelters.  It was also well insulated, keeping out the cold in the winter and the house cool in the summer.  They were built on a continuous basis throughout the early part of the twentieth century.  Contrary to popular belief, in many regions of the country, these dwellings were more than just temporary; they were often built as permanent houses.  However, most families could not remain comfortable in a one-room house.  Instead of building another home, some people retained the existing structure and added on another story or more rooms to the back.  In the nineteenth century, separate rooms became the norm.  Log houses are not noticed as much today because most were incorporated into frame structures or are located in unpopulated regions.  Today, people enjoy the "rustic" feel of log cabins; some use them as vacation or second homes.