This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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

The hewn-log house is a classic of early American architecture, evocative of the pioneer experience and westward exploration. Charles McRaven has been building and restoring hewn-log houses for 60 years. Accompanied by photography and illustrations, this book shows every step of the process. Learn to hew a log with a broadaxe, make a dovetail notch, replace rotten logs, mix chinking mortar and install it properly, find and use vintage logs, use pioneer hand tools, build a stone foundation and fireplace, and install modern utilities.