THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST, Chapter 16

Chapter 16 describes the Pacific Northwest as "a land not just of forest, but of exquisite expanses of tall trees reaching straight for the sky, trees that are among the largest on earth, trees that encourage people to stand and stare in awe or admiration..." (Pg. 327)

Pacific Northwest forest

Pacific Northwest

And trees that supplied pioneers with ample materials for building homes.

Horace Baker Log Cabin; Carver, Oregon, 1856
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

If you settled on the South Dakota prairie rather than traveling west on the Oregon Trail to the Pacific coast, you soon discovered trees were virtually non-existent.

Treeless South Dakota Prairie

To adapt to the scarcity of lumber, homesteaders built their houses from blocks of sod. Soddies were made by cutting large blocks of earth from the land and using them to build. The tough, thickly-rooted prairie grass was sturdy, and these dwellings remained cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Sod House, South Dakota

Sod houses were constructed by cutting patches of sod in rectangles, usually 2 feet by 1 feet by six inches, and stacking them into walls. Different materials were used for the roofs, and sod houses could accommodate normal doors and windows. Some pioneers lined the interior walls with canvas or plaster, and stucco or wood panels might be used to bolster the outer walls. Problems with sod houses were that during times of rainfall the walls leaked or the floors became muddy, and snake or insect infestations were common.

Homesteader's Sod House, South Dakota

Modern Sod House, South Dakota

Inside of Sod House

Log house with sod roof

www.rmi-realamerica.com
www.nasa.gov/...2006/forest_changes.html
www.projects.ups.edu/.../NWACC/forest%20habitat.html
www.gettyimages.com
www.americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/i/photos/sodcavern
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baker_Log_Cabin