Dog-Trot Log Cabin

Dog-Trot Log Cabin. First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site. , What Is This? , The dog-trot log cabin was once one of the most common log homes seen on the rural American frontier. The most identifiable feature is the breezeway, or "dog-trot," separating two rooms connected by the same roof. Doors into each room are usually in the breezeway and each room has its own chimney. The breezeway had several functions. It provided shade and cool air in the hot summer weather and kept each side of the cabin completely separate. If one person was cooking in one side of the cabin, the heat would not affect the other side., Where Is It From? , The dog-trot cabin that is now part of the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site is not original to the property. It was relocated to the site in 1969. The structure was built in Hillsboro, Missouri before the 1870s, possibly as early as 1850. An exact date of construction is not known. , How Did They Move It? , Workers completely disassembled the cabin for transport. They labeled each piece individually. Later, they pieced the cabin back together on First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site grounds. The entire process took about two months., Who Lived Here? , Joel Prior Booth was a farmer from Connecticut. He moved his family to Missouri sometime between 1860 and 1870. Joel and his wife, Phoebe, had four children. In birth order, they were Joel Cephas, Asa Prior, Ada Medora and Charles Sumner. Charles married Lily Wittram and had three children. Their oldest child was Zoe Booth Rutledge. According to Zoe, the family moved into the log structure 10 weeks after her birth in 1890. Her younger siblings, Medora and Charles Wittram were born in the cabin. Zoe was the last member of the Booth family to live in the home., Why Is It Here? , Zoe Booth Rutledge made the decision to sell the Booth property, including the cabin, in 1968 due to her advancing age. The new owners of the property reached out to Missouri State Parks, who agreed to accept the cabin as a donation the following year. Missouri State Parks officials then moved the cabin to the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site. Today, we use the cabin to represent the contrast between living on the Missouri frontier versus urban St. Charles during the 1820s.