Updated March 25, 2024
Back in the early days of the world, people built homes out of strong and sturdy logs. Carefully notched together and sealed in-between with a caulking agent like mud or clay, Log Cabins were sturdy and reliable, and could stand the test of time. Admittedly, you’d have to change the roof out every so often, but ultimately there was nothing like them. They were especially popular in the frontier days of the American migration west, and seven of the American Presidents were born in them. Log Cabin Day celebrates the history of the Log Cabin and commemorates this most humble of homes.
Log Cabins go back a lot further than just the America’s though, anywhere there were tall sturdy timbers the Log Cabin became a mainstay of habitation. The Wood Museum in Trondheim displays multiple forms of log cabin, fourteen in total. But Log cabins appeared all over the northern reaches of Europe in an incredibly range of styles.
- Middle ages -People in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe build cabins from logs of wood.
- 1643 – Settlers have been building Log Cabins in America since the 17th century. The oldest known example is the Nothnagle Cabin, which is in New Jersey and thought to have been built between 1638 and 1643 by Scandinavian settlers there. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. A newer extension was built in the early 1900’s but the early structure still remains with all but one of the logs being original.
- 1840 – The idea of making the log cabin a political symbol was used first in 1840 by a presidential candidate called William Henry Harrison, despite the fact Harrison was not born in such a house. It became a trend as other political candidates recognized its promotional value and continued to use the concept as a symbol for their campaigns.
- 1923 – The largest log cabin in the world is in Michigan. At 26,000-square-foot this impressive log mansion and farm lies by the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan. It was built by Louis G Kaufman in 1923 and consists of 23 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.
- 1986 – Log Cabin Day was founded by the Log Cabin Society and the Bad Axe Historical Society in Michigan in 1986.
- Queen Elizabeth II owns a log cabin. It won’t surprise you to learn that many of the rich and famous own a log cabin, Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey and Ralph Lauren own cabins in Colorado, while Sylvester Stallone has a 10,000-sq-foot log mansion in California. Perhaps the most famous person to have a log cabin is Queen Elizabeth II.The luxurious royal retreat on the Balmoral Estate in the Scottish Highlands was much favoured by the late Queen Mother and is ideally situated to take advantage of the stunning views of the river Dee.
- The oldest standing log cabin is 384 years old and has great historical value.
- 7 US Presidents were born in a log cabin. The first president to be born in a log cabin was Andrew Jackson in 1767, followed by Zachary Taylor, the 12th president, who was born in Virginia in 1784. The man who took over as the 13th president, Millard Fillmore, was also born in a wooden cabin in New York. These were followed by James Buchanan and the most famous log cabin baby of them all: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Born in Kentucky in 1809, there is still a model of the original building at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park. Ulysses Grant, who was president during the Civil War, was also born in a log home and the list of frontier log home born presidents is completed by James Garfield, who was assassinated just 200 days into his term.
- The origin of log homes. This is a much debated topic and the origin of log cabins is uncertain. It is thought that the first log cabins were built over 5000 years ago during the Bronze Age in Northern Europe.
- The classic children’s construction toy Lincoln Logs was developed in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous American architect and has won lots of prestigious awards.
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