USA > Illinois > Menard County > Petersburg > Record of the restoration of New Salem, New Salem State Park near Petersburg, Illinois, 1932-1933 > Part 2
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As a general rule, in the erection of their permanent cabins, the fireplace was placed toward the north or west, and this determined the ends of the cabin, as the fireplaces were always built at the ends of the cabin and rarely on the sides, for the reason that the gable end helped to support the chimney.11 The north and west exposures were the cold-
8 Briek for the restored cabins have been moulded with clay taken from a pit just southeast, and within a stone's throw of the hill. Good brick was found in all old basements, and measured 2" x 41%" x 81%". They were hand moulded and each brick varied slightly in size. Duplicate bricks of the same size have been used in the restorations.
9 The fireplace was usually constructed of logs and sticks plastered or "chinked" with clay, and the construction of an addition on the fireplace end was considered a fire hazard. During the cold weather it was necessary to watch the exterior of the chimney at intervals, to make sure it was not on fire.
1ยบ See description of Miller-Kelso house-Page 48.
11 The writer has never seen, nor heard of a pioneer cabin with the fireplace on the side ; however, there may have been some.
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est and for this reason, these walls usually contained no doors or win- dows, and were left unbroken except for the fireplace. The south wall faced the sun most of the day, hence it was the preferred wall for win- dows and doors. East walls were often pierced with windows, due to their mild exposure. Of course, the tendencies outlined above, applied to examples not affected by town lots, and other artificial causes. Our restorations were made, bearing in mind the above rules and at the same time, considering the location of the house on the lot and whether the house was on the north or south side of the street. Cabins on the south side of the street, facing north, provided many complicated problems for us to solve.
The interior arrangement of the one-room type was simple and adapted to the three major family activities: cooking, eating and sleep- ing. The meals were cooked in the fireplace, the table and chairs were placed in the center of the room. and the beds were located at the oppo- site end of the cabin. The windows were placed on the side walls at the fire place end, for it was there that daylight was needed for cooking and dining. The door was placed close to the windows, leaving blank corner spaces at the other end of the cabin for the beds.
The two-room type functioned in the same manner, with one of the rooms serving as a kitchen and dining room, and the other the bed- room and parlor. One fireplace was used for cooking and the other for heating the bedroom. Attics or lofts. reached by a ladder, were some- times constructed, and used for additional sleeping quarters and storage of the numerous "traps". Windows were small and usually fixed in place, avoiding the use of hardware. Windows that opened were not weatherproof, allowing the wind and rain to enter and therefore avoided. Windows were installed for light and not ventilation. The fire- place was an excellent ventilator. exhausting foul air in great quantities. The spaces between the roof shingles and at the doors, provided means for fresh air to enter the interior during cold weather. During the hot summer months. the door remained open on clear days for additional fresh air. One wonders how they put up with the flies which had such easy access to the interior. The solid wood walls, six inches thick, were an excellent insulator against heat in summer and the cold in winter, and we read that the old cabins were really quite comfortable, when properly kept in repair. The mud or lime mortar between the logs naturally washed out or cracked loose in time, and it was necessary to patch the walls periodically. The roof "clapboards" or shingles, warped badly and in time leaks occurred which were remedied by replacing the warped shingles with new straight ones.
We, of the twentieth century, are prone to think of the pioneer cabin as a rustic structure, and of course. gauged by our standards of living, it was. We find, however, that with the limited materials and methods of construction at their command, the results were surprisingly finished.
CABIN CONSTRUCTION
FOUNDATIONS
At the beginning, it was decided whether or not the cabin was to have a basement. If not, stone piers about two feet square, and deep enough to rest on solid earth.12 were built at each corner of the cabin. to carry the walls. Large cabins, with long walls, required intermediate piers. If a basement was to be built, two methods were employed. The first was to erect piers as described above, and within the enclosure dig the basement with sloping earth sides.13 The sides of the basement wall sloped in from top to bottom, so that the floor area below was smaller than the upper portion at the grade. This was done to avoid having the sides cave in later on. The second method was to build continuous stone walls under the log walls, with the basement under the entire cabin. Sometimes they dug a basement under one room of a two-room cabin, the log walls of which were supported by a continuous stone wall. and the log walls of the other room were supported by piers. An out- side entrance to the basement covered by hinged doors, was often built, but as a general rule, a trap door in the cabin floor served as the means of entrance to the basement. This portion of the cabin, below ground, served mainly as a cold cellar and a source of clay for chinking be- tween the logs. The foundation stones were laid in good lime mortar, which, after one hundred years' service, was found to be clinging tena- ciously to the stone.
WALLS
Good straight trees, either of oak or walnut, were felled, trimmed and cut to the proper length. Two sides were then adzed, so that the finished thickness was about six inches, and the ends were notched with the axe and saw.
Opposite walls were started first by placing the sill logs on the stone walls or piers. Next. the other two walls were started by placing the lower logs upon the ends of the sill logs. The end notehes fit into each other and the process was continued until the walls were carried to their proper height.
Usually the foundations were built, the wall logs and roof rafters adzed, notched and made ready for erection, when the neighbors turned out to help. The "log raising" was a gala occasion, and comparable to "threshing day". The families gathered for the occasion, the men rais-
12 At New Salem this depth was about 2 to 3 feet.
13 If close to the sloping sides, the piers were extended down to the basement floor level, which was five or six feet below grade. Sometimes the piers were built entirely outside the basement, and other times they were erected at the side of the basement and partially exposed from the inside.
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ing the logs in place, and the women preparing the meals.14 One day usually sufficed to erect the largest cabin, and it was a day, not only of work, but of fun and merriment. Sach log was supported at the end notches only, and spanned from end to end. At the end of the day, after the log-raising. the cabin appeared much like a corn crib, with the setting sun shining through the logs and roof poles.
The next operation was to cut the window, door and fireplace open- ings. Wood blocks to support the logs were placed between them. on each side of the opening to be cut, and portions of the logs were then cut away to form the openings. Adzed or sawn jamb pieces of the proper length were placed vertically against the cut log ends, then a hole was bored through the jamb and into each log, and an oak pin about one inch in diameter was driven into the hole. The blocks be- tween the logs were removed after the log ends were securely held in place by the jamb pieces and pins.
ROOF
The roof was formed next and two methods were employed. One was to continue the logs up at the cabin ends, each log shorter than the the one below. In this fashion. the triangular "gable" was formed at each end. From gable to gable, long straight saplings were laid, about two feet center to center. across which the "clapboard" shingles were placed. The other method was to place sapling rafters at right angles to the side log walls, following the slope of the roof. They were "halv- ed" at the ridge and joined together with a pin. About halfway be- twoen the ridge and eave, cross ties were placed horizontally, each side of the rafters, and secured to them with wood pins, forming a ernde wood truss. These trusses were spaced five or six feet center to center, with one over each end wall forming the gable ends. Roof poles running the length of the cabin. were placed across the trusses about two feet center to center, to carry the clapboards. The gable ends were closed with sawn boards or planks placed vertically, or sawn sheating run hori- zontally, secured to vertical hewn studs. The trussed rafter method was employed on long cabins and on the finer ones, erected after the mill was in operation.
SHINGLES
Shingles or "clapboards" were made next. Logs about fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, were sawn into thirty inch lengths15. A thirty inch unit was then split lengthways in two or four equal parts, and each half or quarter was further split into clapboards, each piece radiating from the center. At this stage, each clapboard was thirty inches long and seven and one-half to nine inches wide, five eights to three quarters inch thick on the onter side and the opposite long side was a feather edge (being the center of the log). This feather edge of heart wood. was trimmed down about three inches, with a draw knife until this
14 This custom applied to towns such as New Salem, and to areas well settled. The lonely pioneer was forced to raise the walls with the aid of his family.
15 In some cases they were much longer, depending upon the determined length of the clapboard.
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side of the shingle was about one quarter or three eights inch thick and the width of the shingle was about four and one half to six inches. Larger logs produced wider shingles, but as a rule, the widest shingle never ex- cceded seven or eight inches, while the narrowest was never less than four inches. In laving "clapboards" they were started at the bottom and each row was two layers with the joints staggered. Each row lapped the other about six inches, exposing twenty-four inches to the weather. The top row on the north or west side, was carried up past the ridge line about six or eight inches, to form a ridge protection. There was no gutter at the cave, except, perhaps, in some cases a crude affair made by nailing two boards together, pitched to a rain barrel, to pro- eure the "soft water", for washing purposes. Shingles were usually laid loose and held in place by log weights. In New Salem, nails were available. hence most cabins were roofed with shingles nailed in place.
FLOOR
Now that the cabin was roofed over, the floor came next. Many pioneer cabin floors were of dirt, but most were floored with wood. There were two types, the "puncheon" floor and sawn planks. The former was constructed by splitting logs and adzing smooth the split face. These smooth faced "puncheons" were trimmed along the edges and laid together face np. They were secured to cross beams below with wood pegs ent off and smoothed down. The sawn plank floor was either pegged or nailed down, and since it was the smoothest and truest, the finest floors were constructed by this method. When no outside cellar entrance was constructed, a trap door was framed in the floor, usually in the center of the room. Here it was usually under the table and out of the way.
CHINKING
Next came the "chinking". Split wood sticks about three quarters of an inch thick and two inches wide. were placed diagonally between the logs and forced into place by hitting them with a hammer. They were placed leaving small spaces between each chink, to form a "plaster key". Mud or lime mortar mixed with cattles hair or some other tie, was forced between the chinks, brought out to the wall line, and smoothed down. When the mud or mortar dried and the log walls seasoned and shrunk, cracks appeared, but the hair helped to hold the pieces to- gether. Both the inside and outside surfaces were chinked as described.
FIREPLACE
The fireplace was constructed next, and the simplest type was built of wood and fireproofed with clay. The lower logs were heavy and notched into the cabin wall. each side of the opening. The chimney was carried up outside the gable wall and was a separate unit. The opening in the end of the cabin for the fireplace was ent just large enough to contain the mantel. Most chimneys were built of small sticks, notched and laid to form a rectangle or square, and chinked
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with mud. Occasionally, tie pieces were let into the cabin wall to hold it against the cabin. The inside surfaces were plastered with mud. The hearth was invariably of brick or flat stones.
Some cabins had stone mantels and stone exterior lower portions with wood chimneys above. Others were the same, except the mantel was of brick. Still others were constructed entirely of stone, or all stone except for the brick mantel. Inside fireplaces between two rooms were usually built of stone throughout because of the fire hazard.
The fireplace heated the cabin and also served for cooking. A swinging wrought iron crane was usually built into one side of the fire- place and pots and kettles were suspended from it over the hot wood fire16. The crane was hinged at the side and kettles were placed and removed after it was swung out into the room. Other fireplace utensils were the long-handled frying pan, Dutch oven, barbecue spit, poker, shovel. brush, etc. Above the mantel was the shelf, sometimes of wood and often of brick or stone. Pegs of iron or wood were driven into the . shelf and from them, many articles were often hung. Some were used to support fireplace utensils, while on others articles were hung to dry.
WINDOWS
The windows were usually small and the sash were handmade and very crude. Glass, oiled paper or thin skins were held in place by wood stops, and the panes were small, rarely more than twelve inches square. The sash was fixed in place with wood stops or by the inside trim.17 The simple cabins had no wall trim on either the outside or inside of the window, while the more pretentious had a simple plank trim inside, and some even had trim on both sides.
DOORS
Doors were usually constructed of hewn or sawed boards, held to- gether by cleats, wood pins or nails. Hinges were usually of wood and the lock was invariably of the latch type, with the traditional latch- string protruding through a hole to the outside by day, and pulled in- side by night. In some of the finer and later homes, iron hinges and locks were used.
The foregoing is a description of construction details of the typical cabin. This does not imply that all cabins were built as described, be- cause each builder had his own ideas of cabin construction, and quite often arranged things to suit his own fancy. In restoring the cabins, where direct evidence, either in written records or as deduced by the excavated site, did not definitely determine various details, they were worked out according to the general rules of cabin building. as hereto- fore described.
Each cabin will now be described, pointing out the special prob- lems and how they were solved.
16 Although coal was discovered later at New Salem, the pioneers here at this time burned wood.
17 A side sliding double window was sometimes used and two such windows were used in the restorations.
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DR. JOHN ALLEN'S RESIDENCE
"Dr. John Allen came to New Salem about the year of 1830, and engaged in the practice of medicine . . . . On the 18th day of August, 1831, he purchased lots three and four, south of Main Street, (Note : first survey) in the town of New Salem, from James Pantier, and later in 1835 he bought the east half of lot one, ad joining lot four on the west."
"He was married to Mary E. Moore on March 27, 1834, and lived in the three room dwelling honse which he had previously erected on lot four, above mentioned."15
This would establish this house as being erected sometime during 1833 or in the early months of 1834. The former date seems the most logical because the winter months were not usually spent in erecting log cabins.
"He continued to live in New Salem until about the year 1838. when he moved to Petersburg, where he lived the rest of his life, and it is said, he was a non-active partner of MeNamar in his store at New Salem and also at Petersburg."18
After the doctor moved out, the house was occupied by a tenant whose name is now unknown, for about one year, 1839 to 1840, and later Henry Traylor lived there from 1840 to 1842. Mrs. Clary, daugh- ter of Traylor, told Mr. Reep that as a girl she remembered moving to New Salem and that the doctor's house at the time was occupied. Her family lived at the House by the Well, across the street to the east. for three days, waiting for the house to be vacated19. No record exists of the house being moved and no doubt it was wrecked, the basement filled in, and soon after 1842 Bale's crops were growing over its site. This house then, served three families for a total period of nine years- 1833 to 1842.
The doctor was an interesting person and his character had much to do with the general character of his house.
"At this house he established the first, and possibly the only Sun- day School, and organized the Temperance Society; and here the Rev. William Berry, father of that proffigate son who was to become the business partner of Lincoln, frequently raised his voice in exhortation . A touch of gracious, if plain living and high thinking were here, no doubt. For the silk hat and well-made saddle bags of Dr. Allen. still in evidence, attest the gentility of his way of life."20
"With all his religions fervor Dr. Allen was a shrewd business man and a good collector. If his patients were short of money (most of
18 Reep, Lincoln At New Salem, P. 108-9.
19 At this time Jacob Bale and his family occupied the House by the Well.
" Chandler, New Salem: Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life-Journal of the Illi- nois State Historical Society, P. 523-4.
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them usually were), and had produce of any sort. he would take his pay in such produce."21
across the street ( Note: from the Rutledge Tavern) that godly man, Dr. John Allen. came to be its neighbor: to do battle with chills and fever, the peculiar pathologie hardship of the pioneer in this section : with all the ills that youth and age are heir to, but particularly to those demanding pains of birth and death. To the cure of bodies, he sought to add the cure of souls. His Presbyterian faith laid its un- yielding discipline over all who came beneath his care."2"
Onstot sums up by saying: "He came to Salem in an early day and soon had the leading practice in the country. He was a Christian gentleman of the highest type and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He was very aggressive in all his views. He soon had a Sunday School going. There being no school, he would open his house."22
It seems then, that the house erected by the methodical. precise and business-like Dr. Allen, would be well constructed and of the better class of cabins in this village. His manner and mode of living points to his desire to possess the finer things of life and his house would be one of the best.
AAs previously stated by Mr. Reep, the house possessed three rooms and the excavations proved this statement. A basement existed under the large room and the excavations established the basement to have been sixteen feet east and west, and fourteen feet north and south, measuring from the outside surfaces of the stone piers which supported the flloor and log walls above. Six piers were discovered, three on the north wall and three on the south wall. The basement floor was about five feet below the grade level, and between the piers the arth sides of the basement probably sloped inward toward the center at the bottom. The old basement floor level has been maintained. In reconstrueting these foundations to last for many years to come, we were afraid that the restored sloping sides would not remain in place very long (the original sides were ent away in 1918 for the first restoration) so the pier founda- tions were changed to a continuous wall with thicker portions at the points where the old piers existed. These ticker portions and the old piers are the same size and to the observer will recall the former stone piers. This continuous wall was placed around the basement only. with isolated piers supporting the balance of the cabin. No trace of an out- side cellar door to this basement was discovered.
To the west of this basement for a distance of nine feet, the virgin soil was found to be deeper by two feet than the general level of the virgin soil surrounding the cabin. This led us to believe that a second room was constructed over this portion.
On the south side of the cabin and to the east. a 12' x 12' room must have been built because the virgin soil here was also found to be below the surrounding level of the untouched clay. This accounts for the three rooms. The main portion of the house must have existed over the two rooms on the north side, with the gable running east and
21 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 109.
22 T. G. Onstot, Lincoln and Salem, P. 152.
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west and the third room was added on the south in the form of a lean- to.
At the time of the original excavations, fifteen years ago, quantities of brick and stone were discovered, but no definite location of the fire- place was determined. However, it was logical to locate the fireplace be- tween the two northern rooms, the larger of which we believe was the living room, and the back of the chimney would heat the western room which might have been used as a work room or office. The southern room must have been used as a bedroom, and derived heat from the main room through the large opening between the two rooms.
The house faced north on Main Street, and it is quite logical to suppose that the main door to the house was located near the center of the living room on the north wall.
We have placed a small window just west of the Main door and another on the east wall, both occurring in the living room. The two other windows are located on the south walls where the exposure was the mildest-one in the bedroom and the other in the office.
In a cabin of this size, and tenanted by a family of Dr. Allen's tastes and mode of living, it is likely that a rear door existed on the south, for larger and finer cabins had two doors: this door has been shown leading from the living room to the rear yard.
This cabin, we imagine, due to reasons heretofore explained was built in the best manner : hence, we have used the flush notched corners and the floors are of sawn plank boards. The entire fireplace and chimney has been shown of stone. for two reasons: first, because it existed between the two rooms and the fire hazard would be lessened by this material, and second, because it is the more expensive. and we know Dr. Allen could have afforded this type of fireplace and chimney.
This cabin at times served as the church and Sunday school of the town, and since the living room was not large enough to contain many people, it is quite probable that the opening between the living room and bedroom on the south was very wide with portieres hung at the top. which could be closed to provide the necessary privacy of the bedroom. During these meetings the portieres probably were opened, which would allow people to sit in the bedroom and be able to sce and hear the speaker in the living room.
It will be noticed that the south eave of the main portion is higher than the north eave. This was done so that the roof of the loan-to to the south could be built high enough to provide sufficient head room. If the south eave had been made the same height as the north eave, the loan-to roof would have been so low that it would have been almost unusable. We find precedent for doing this in a photograph appearing in the MeClure's Magazine of December, 1895. This photograph ap- peared in connection with an article by lda Tarbell on "The Early Life of Lincoln". The original was a water color by Miss Etta Aeker- man, of a cabin built in 1824 in Clary's Grove, not far from New Sa- lem, belonging to George Davis.
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THE BERRY-LINCOLN STORE
About 1830 ". . . George Warburton purchased the west half of lot 5 on the north side of Main Street in the first survey, and erected a frame store building thereon, it being the first frame building erected in the town. (Note: It is now thought to be the only frame building. ) Warburton engaged in the mercantile business for a short time, when he sold out to the Chrisman Brothers, one of whom, Isaac P., became post- master in November. 1831. They operated the store but a short time and sold out. or were sold out by their creditors, and William Green, Jr .. bought the half lot, early in 1832."
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