When land in Alabama went on sale at the U.S. Land Office in Milledgeville, Georgia, in August 1817, thousands of people purchased land and headed to Alabama to settle. Many traveled on the Federal Road to Alabama in wagons, carts, on horseback, and even by foot, bringing their families and as many of their possessions as possible. Since wood is plentiful in Alabama, early settlers quickly built one or two room log cabins when they arrived. This Log Cabin was built in south Montgomery County about 1820 and gives a glimpse of frontier life. It was donated and moved to Old Alabama Town as a 1976 Bicentennial project.
The skilled men who built this cabin dovetailed the corners and scalped the logs. The original chinking between the logs was made of clay and a mixture of feathers, horsehair, and twigs. This Log Cabin is a single pen (room) home with a loft that served as sleeping quarters for the children. The fireplace kept the home warm in winter and cross ventilation between the doors helped cool it in summer. A porch on each side of the Log Cabin provided shade in the morning and the afternoon.
