Historian shares log cabin expertise

A former two-story single-pen barn located on a ridge top above the Wade – Woods house. This structure was built of pine poles that have rotted and caused the second story to settle upon the first. This building was likely built during the second half of the twentieth century. Mike Pulice investigates a former horsedrawn cultivator. MONTEREY — On July 8, Virginia Department of Historic Resources Architectural Historian Mike Pulice spoke at a meeting of the Highlands Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia at the Highland County Public Library. The topic of Pulice’s illustrated presentation was log cabins, which featured a number of log structures from southwest Virginia.

He described single-pen log cabins as being the most common as a single, four-walled structure with logs notched at the corners. These may have been single story, one and one-half story, or two-story structures. These structures all featured an external chimney on one end with a second on the opposite end if the cabin was divided into two rooms.

The Wade – Woods homestead is an example of a larger two-story single-pen log cabin. The end seen covered with sheet stock had originally featured a large stone fireplace/chimney that had been totally removed during a renovation when a two-story addition was added. Occasionally a second single-pen cabin was built adjacent to the first, which appears initially to be a double-pen but a log partition wall can be seen notched into the front and back walls dividing the structure into two separate rooms.

The common dogtrot log cabins were two cabins built with an open space between them but joined under one roof. Another common variation is the saddlebag house, which is comprised of two single-pens built on either side of a large central fireplace.

Mike Pulice admires the Addie Jane Milton Cabin located on Route 84 near Mill Gap. Pulice went on to describe the various corner notching methods noting the v-notch was the most common. He described chinking and daubing techniques, agricultural log structures, the preferred species of trees used, clues for dating the cabins, and interior details. He noted it is unlikely any log building from the first half of the 18th century in Virginia has survived. Log structures were likely not built in the western part of the state before 1730 when the frontier (and yes, we were in the frontier) was opened for settlers.

Further information can be found in an article written by Pulice titled “Notes on Defining and Documenting Early Log Structures in Southwest Virginia” in the June 2010 Quarterly Bulletin of the Archeological Society of Virginia available from the Society at http://asv-archeology.org.

Pictured is a dogtrot style double-pen log barn in the southwest corner of Highland County connected by a single roof. (Photos courtesy Mike Wilke) Prior to the evening meeting, Pulice and Chapter President Mike Wilke toured Highland County visiting eight log structures. Included were a dogtrot style barn, the Wade- Woods house, a late pine two-story barn, the Addie Jane Milton cabin, the Attic in Monterey, Dwayne Hylton’s log barns, the former Vance’s Country Store, and the restored/ renovated Hicklin house. Each of the structures has a story to tell and is an example of a number of different construction, reconstruction, and renovation techniques.

The next meeting of the Highlands Chapter will be Sept. 9, at the Highland County Public Library at 7 p.m. The featured speaker will be Dr. Robin Brown of McDowell who will offer a presentation on Shamanism. Brown has previously given presentations on the Windover people of Florida and the replication of Native American crafts. He also provided hands-on programs to elementary students in Highland on Native American crafts during Archaeology Month.