Homesteader Cabin

Homesteader Cabin. . , This cabin was moved here from the George Schreibeis ranch on the Tongue River. It’s made of hand hewn cottonwood logs. As you can see the cabin builder was not a practiced log home builder. He used the materials that were readily available and cost the least, as did most homesteaders. The small paned windows are original and the glass shows the imperfections of the glass of the 1890’s. Nevertheless, the window was expensive and therefore a luxury. Many cabins simply had openings with oiled paper over the openings, to let in light., Men and women of the homestead era worked from “kin see to can’t see”. Living in a cabin such as this meant hauling water for washing and cooking, chopping and splitting wood for heating and cooking, tending a garden and milking a cow. Most of this was done by the women. As one woman wrote of her life, “All I can remember about those days is being tired, no tired woman should be a mother.”