Custom Log Homes

As settlers began to move into and explore the rural, undeveloped lands of the United States, it quickly became clear that shelter was an absolute necessity — protection from the weather, the rough terrain surrounding their homesteads, and the wild animals constantly on the prowl for food. The elements they faced were harsh and often unforgiving, creating a true live-or-die way of life.

The land was unsettled, unexplored, and uncivilized. Fortunately, in most areas, there was an abundance of timber, which naturally led to the construction of log homes across the country. With such plentiful resources, settlers began using timbers in many different ways — horizontally as logs for homes, and for the exterior structures of barns, smokehouses, blacksmith shops, schoolhouses, and other essential outbuildings.

It wasn’t long before settlers discovered that by combining timbers both vertically and horizontally, they could create large, open post-and-beam barns. Most homes were built from logs hewn flat on the sides, with chinking (or mud) packed between the logs to seal them. The corners were typically joined with some variation of a dovetail-type notch. This simple yet effective technique was developed out of necessity — and remains both practical and highly relevant even today.