Once too numerous to attract attention, the log buildings of Texas now stand out for their rustic beauty. This book preserves a record of the log houses, stores, inns, churches, schools, jails, and barns that have already become all too few in the Texas countryside. Terry Jordan explores the use of log buildings among several different Texas cultural groups and traces their construction techniques from their European and eastern American origins.
This deluxe unabridged reprint Legacy Edition of Building With Logs is full of old-time tips and methods from the forest experts on how to build log cabins, shelters, houses, and buildings with the natural materials from the woods.
Although the log cabin is widely believed to be the one expression of indigenous American architecture, it is, in fact, of European origin, having been first introduced in the New World by Swedes and Finns who settled the lower Delaware Valley in the seventeenth century. Log buildings were unknown to the English colonists of Jamestown, Plymouth, and St. Marys, or the Dutch founders of New Amsterdam, who built the kinds of dwellings they had known in their homelands. Because it was perfectly adapted to the needs and resources of pioneers as they advanced the American frontier south and west through forests and across mountains, the log house became the means whereby a man could keep moving and yet maintain a home and family, and much of America's historycan be traced in the cabins left behind in the westward trek.-- book jacket
In part one, "the Log Cabin Tradition," the origins and history of log cabins are explained. In part two, "the Log Cabin Preserved," the authors offer a photographic record of log buildings.
“A stunning, image-driven examination of the "uniquely American symbol of home and hearth” —BuzzFeed (Books Gift Guide) "Lavishly illustrated, this book by a Cincinnati native tells the story of America through its iconic structure — the log cabin. In lively prose," —Columbus Dispatch "The perfect holiday gift for grown-ups who graduated past Lincoln Logs," —Mother News Network Like a wooden security blanket that Americans reach for when times get tough, the log cabin has endured as a uniquely American symbol of home and hearth. This strain of cabin fever is no fleeting trend: It has struck at regular intervals since the early 1900s, when log cabin vacations first became an option for an increasingly mobile America. Now the cozy cabin aesthetic is found, like a collective fantasy, in every corner of our national culture. But how did it all begin? This is an image-driven history of log cabins in America. Exploring the log cabin’s hidden past, this book draws on colonial diaries and journalistic accounts, as well as paintings, illustrations, and graphics to show how the log cabin—once derided as a poor immigrant’s hovel—became an American institution and a modern ambition. Bursting with quirk, charm, and fascinating trivia, The Log Cabin is the perfect companion for cabin dwellers, vacationers, and daydreamers alike.
Today log homes enjoy a new wave of popularity, and this book picks up on this trend. First published in hardcover 1986, it has sold more than 50,000 copies. Now in an affordable paperback edition with updated lists of designers and builders, it is a valuable resource for anyone interested in owning a log home. 214 photographs and 24 houseplans.
For roughly a century, the log cabin occupied a central and indispensable role in the rapidly growing United States. Although it largely disappeared as a living space, it lived on as a symbol of the settling of the nation. In her thought-provoking and generously illustrated new book, Alison Hoagland looks at this once-common dwelling as a practical shelter solution--easy to construct, built on the frontier’s abundance of trees, and not necessarily meant to be permanent--and its evolving place in the public memory. Hoagland shows how the log cabin was a uniquely adaptable symbol, responsive to the needs of the cultural moment. It served as the noble birthplace of presidents, but it was also seen as the basest form of housing, accommodating the lowly poor. It functioned as a paragon of domesticity, but it was also a basic element in the life of striving and wandering. Held up as a triumph of westward expansion, it was also perceived as a building type to be discarded in favor of more civilized forms. In the twentieth century, the log cabin became ingrained in popular culture, serving as second homes and motels, as well as restaurants and shops striking a rustic note. The romantic view of the past, combined with the log cabin’s simplicity, solidity, and compatibility with nature, has made it an enduring architectural and cultural icon. Preparation of this volume has been supported by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund
Homesteading is a lifestyle that people around the world gravitate toward—and for good reason. In today’s high-stress world, many people dream of heading off to their own cabin in the woods or to their large rural oasis to escape the anxieties and complexities of daily life, to live in a more natural state. Others have embraced the agricultural lifestyle of farming as a career, serving as fundamental contributors to sustaining society. With this classic guide from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), learn about the architecture of rural life and the design elements of these amazing structures. This manual, originally published and distributed in 1972, includes government-issued designs and requirements for log cabins, farmhouses, firepits and barbecues, greenhouses, storage sheds, stables, and more! Black-and-white diagrams and illustrations fill these pages, displaying the intricacies and dimensions of these incredible structures in their entirety. Brimming with ideas and inspiration, Log Cabins and Outbuildings is the perfect starting point for building your new rural retreat.