Appalachian Settlers and Their Dwellings - short and interesting

[DeepseekerADS]

A wee bit of history here for the Appalachians....



I found this quite interesting, as here are pics of my forefather's house. Late 30's, early 40's, or perhaps a lot earlier.



Me in front of the old house, circa '54 or a bit earlier.



And me in 1954, I was always a gun rights advocate

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

 

[DeepseekerADS]

 

[DeepseekerADS]

 

[DeepseekerADS]

 

[releventchair]

A wee bit of history here for the Appalachians....



I found this quite interesting, as here are pics of my forefather's house. Late 30's, early 40's, or perhaps a lot earlier.

View attachment 1450243

Me in front of the old house, circa '54 or a bit earlier.

View attachment 1450246

And me in 1954, I was always a gun rights advocate

View attachment 1450248

( Despite my long interest in log cabins, much of the following is from an article from Jim " Crow" Smith. Fits the region better).
Even though multiple cultures drifted west following immigration due to the more eastern lands being well occupied , cabins ( and other structures) were in the Smoky Mountains usually hewn square logs. Despite the greater labor of squaring all sides. And pre chestnut blight there being a agreeable to work medium aside; the precious greater labor was still required.
Chimblys often followed a common to a culture masonry ,the expense of an iron blacksmith made lintel was not uncommon despite again the multiple cultures....While cultures were very different in origins it is interesting to note some of the commonality of a harsh region with tough sinewed people populating it. Networking ,yet keeping their own traditions.

A type of notching cabin log ends has been noted as not being seen as much elsewhere. Notching requires water having a place to go ,rather than stand , and can hold logs tighter too. I'd need to look it up ,but the unique notching had a near flat top ( though a slant to one side) and a dovetail bottom (?).

Small cabins were the norm with several people in a single room. Maybe in time the luxury of an addition ....Tradition shows in how an addition and it ' s type came into being.
Windows were small if even more than a " granny hole" to peek through.
Honest cultures ,but not casting aside traditions simply because life was now in America( among the Scots for one) could create a life for a life scenario and sitting near a window at night might make someone a big target.
Later windows became larger , or modified on older structures. Siding added to some , ect.

Them old cabins have much to tell. Many were razed when the Smokies became a park though.

 

[JimJ]

Thank you for sharing the videos and pictures. Very interesting and informative.

 

[Indian Steve]

You were a cute kid. What Happened?

 

[releventchair]

You were a cute kid. What Happened?

Prolly from drinkin too much... ..city water.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

A wee bit of history here for the Appalachians....



I found this quite interesting, as here are pics of my forefather's house. Late 30's, early 40's, or perhaps a lot earlier.

View attachment 1450243

Me in front of the old house, circa '54 or a bit earlier.

View attachment 1450246

And me in 1954, I was always a gun rights advocate

View attachment 1450248

"Open Carry", eh...? GREAT info!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

You were a cute kid. What Happened?

Yankee livin'

 

[DeepseekerADS]

"Open Carry", eh...? GREAT info!

 

[Geobound]

So are you a lefty, or a double gun slinger? LOL.....

Nice videos, I quite enjoyed watching them.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Small cabins were the norm with several people in a single room. Maybe in time the luxury of an addition ....Tradition shows in how an addition and it ' s type came into being. Windows were small if even more than a " granny hole" to peek through..

There was a 2nd cabin when I was very little. My only memory there was Granny got electricity, one light hanging from a wire in the ceiling. There were two rooms, but barely - basically wide open. This was one of my very first memories, maybe 1952. On up to the sixties the cabin was still there, had a root cellar beneath it full of Granny's canning. There were no windows that I remember, so I don't know which was earlier, but because of the basics of the cabin, I think maybe it was first. The logs were different from the house I'm pictured in.

The house I'm pictured in front of, Granny sold the logs off when I was overseas. I guess people were paying good bucks for them back then. The chimney still stands today. With the large window, it was certainly erected after the danger from Indians - Mom says her great grandmother was full blooded Cherokee.

I've always thought that the big house was very early 1800's. But we were original settlers, and the area was first surveyed by William Penn in 1730.

That cabin may have been the first, or there was one before. Mom says the cabin was a store when she was a child before the major roads were put through. My driveway was part of the original road through there to other homesteads, there's old homesteads back further up the holler from my homestead.

I hit one of them up on the ridge last Summer and only found a 1919 wheat. In this neck of the woods, folks didn't have money to lose. Granny traded eggs for sugar & coffee, and probably snuff too - she dipped.

Now here it is I'll be 68 in two months, so those are memories from a while back.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

So are you a lefty, or a double gun slinger? LOL..... Nice videos, I quite enjoyed watching them.

Hey, I was a bad dude then you know, two guns! I'm right handed

 

[Geobound]

I mean this with full respect, but I've always enjoyed listening to stories of yesteryear no matter who is telling them.

My father-in-law (no longer with us) would always tell us stories of his home growing up, and how the government had to move them off of the island they were living on because they couldn't be serviced in the winter months.

Loads of families had to quite literally move their houses onto log rafts, and tow them to the mainland.

We chartered a boat to take us to where he grew up, and aside from a few rock outlines of old buildings there is nothing there...........well aside from old cemeteries.

The stories of life back then was always fascinating to me, and we could listen to them for hours at a time.

Thanks again for sharing some of your history.