The Log Cabin Structures of Faulkner County 
By W.C. Jameson, G.A. Howard, and Joe Halsey Department of Geography University of Central Arkansas
 
 
Early settlers in Arkansas came from a variety of geographic locations and from a variety of cultures. Faulkner County, like much of the rest of Arkansas, was visited and settled by representatives of these cultures as their members migrated westward. The county, like any location, became the product of the varied cultural influences as they interact with terrain and climate and begin to assume its own individual character.
 
When folks migrate from one area to another, they carry with them many elements of their culture - including religion, language, crafts and architecture. Folk architecture is one of the most visible aspects of a people's cultural history, and the products of this culture often remain on the landscape as evidence of a time that has long since passed. The traditional log structures found throughout Faulkner County and all of Arkansas are manifestations of certain historical and cultural links that are important in any interpretation of the cultural heritage of the state.
 
All log structures are not the same. The variations in style, hew and notching are often quite diverse and vary in relationship with the cultures that settled the region.
 
Because these architectural manifestations of our cultural heritage are disappearing from the landscape, sometimes at an alarming rate, and because they are perceived to be important links to our cultural past, the geography department at the University of Central Arkansas has undertaken a project designed to locate, map and inventory pertinent features of as many log structures throughout the state as is practicable. Faulkner County was selected as the first county to be surveyed and the results of the study are presented herein.
 
METHODOLOGY
 
In order to achieve as complete a survey of existing log structures in Faulkner County as possible, virtually all passable roads existing in the county were traveled during the sampling period. Using a current county highway map supplied by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, all primary and secondary roads were traveled in search of log structures. The advantage of this method is that a great deal of the county area can be covered rather efficiently, and it places the investigator in the environment of the log structures. The disadvantage, and it is a minor one, is that several structures are assumed to be located some distance from any existing road and therefore are unknown or unavailable to the surveyor.
 
Once a log structure was located, a locational indication was made on the county map and an identification number was assigned to the building. This was followed by an inventory of certain architectural elements manifested by the structure. Using a form designed to carry into the field, information was gathered on:
 
(1) The type of structure (cabin, barn or outbuilding).
(2) Number of stories
(3) Notching Style
(4) Kind of wood used
(5) Hew
(6) Chinking
(7) Floor plan
(8) Chimney
(9) Roof
(10) Orientation and other pertinent information available at the site.
 
Once all of the roads had been traveled and all of the information collected, a map of the location of the log structures located in the county was prepared. Following this, an examination of the architectural elements manifested in the log structures ensued in order to determine differences and similarities.
 
ANALYSIS
 
A total of 34 log structures were located in Faulkner County and were utilized in the analysis. Contemporary log buildings constructed from kits were ignored as they provide no historical insight to the cultural past. Figure No. I shows the distribution of the sampled log structures found in the county.
 
There appeared likely other structures that were missed in the survey, but the coverage of the county in this manner insures a representative sample from which conclusions can be drawn. Curiously, nearly all of the log structures sampled occurred in the Northwestern half of the county.

 
LOG TYPES
 
Of the 34 structures sampled, 28 (87.5%) were built of oak logs, two were of pine and two were unidentifiable. This breakdown is consistent with the natural materials available throughout the county - oak being the dominant tree in the area.
 
It is not until one travels some miles to the north in VanBuren County that pines begin to replace the oaks as the dominant material utilized in the log structures. Likewise, if one were to travel westward into Perry County, one would find clusters of log structures built of cypress, the dominant vegetation along the settled areas paralleling the lowlands of the Fourche La Fave River.
 
CHINKING
 
It was difficult to arrive at any specific conclusions regarding chinking in as much as there were several instances where the original chinking had apparently been replaced by more modem cement.
A space between the horizontally laid logs is called a chink, and the material used to fill in that space is referred to as chinking. Many different types of material are used for chinking, including commercial cement, thin slats of wood wedged into the spaces, clay, thin slats of rocks, moss and grass. In a follow-up field survey of the Faulkner County log structures, the chinking was examined on 15 cabins, 11 barns and five outbuildings.
 
Of the cabins, six had cement chinking and evidence indicated that in each case it had replaced the original material. Two cabins displayed mortar chinking, three had clay, and four cabins had no chinking at all. It may be important to note here that cabins were not always chinked, usually because of a lack of concern or skill of the builder, and the residents of the structure usually had to endure the cold winds of winter.
Of the 11 barns examined on the second field survey, no evidence of chinking was found on any. It is rare that one finds a chinked barn in Arkansas as it is not as important to keep the wind and cold out of that structure as it is out of a dwelling.
 
Five outbuildings invested (two chicken houses, one potato house, a crib, and a smokehouse) all displayed original clay chinking.
 
Cabins constructed such that the hewed logs rested tightly against one another so that no chinking was required are rare in Arkansas. Such structures normally require a great deal of skill and time, and quite often there was not enough time to become involved in this kind of work when a cabin needed to be built.
Another reason presented for leaving spaces between the logs was to accommodate any subsequent warping or significant differences in the taper of the logs.
 
The chinking technique for dwellings was found to be original in Europe, in Scandinavia, and in the United States in areas of settlement by German-speaking residents of Swiss or Alsatian origin.
 
CHIMNEYS
 
Eleven of the fifteen cabins surveyed had chimneys. All chimneys were constructed of native sandstone and mortar. In those cabins that did not have an associated chimney, there was evidence of prior use of a cast iron stove in the interior.
 
ORIENTATION
 
Nearly half of the structures (49 percent) sampled faced north. This seemed odd and somewhat inconsistent with other counties investigated. However, the determining factor relative to the orientation of the structure was the location of the nearest adjacent road.
 
NOTCHING
 
Terry G. Jordan, author of several books and articles on log structures states: "If any single element can be properly called the key to log construction, it is the comer notch."
 
The most common type of comer notch found in the survey was the saddle notch, and that was associated mostly with barns. This notch is one of the oldest styles of notching used and is normally found in conjunction with logs that are left round rather than hewn. As most barns are constructed of unhewn logs, it is to be expected that the saddle notch would be most commonly used.
 
This style of notching is presumed to have been developed around Mesolithic times in Europe. It was introduced to North America by the Swedish and German immigrants and was very common throughout the zone of log construction in the United States (Figs. 2,3,4). This was the dominant type of notching found in early pioneer cabins mainly because it did not require much skill. The more professionally built structures that evolved over the years displayed saddle notching much less frequently.
 
Saddle notching also dominated the 20th century phase of log construction in the Deep South and in East Texas, again reflecting a relatively low level of craftsmanship. The Lower South (Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina) yields more examples of saddle notching in cabins than does the Upper South (Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky).
 
Researchers have shown that saddle notching occurs most often when construction is done with pine and other softwoods; however, the dominant type of log used in Faulkner County structures is oak as a result of being the most common tree in the county. Overall, saddle notching is found most commonly in early pioneer cabins, 20th century log houses and most kinds of outbuildings.
 
In addition to saddle notching, the investigators found nine examples of square notching and nine examples of half-dovetail notching.
 
The half-dovetail notch (Figs. 5,6) is a very common style most often found in dwellings. The half-dovetail notch is very common in Missouri log structures and is often referred to as the "Missouri Notch." Evidence suggests the half-dovetail notch evolved in central Europe, most likely Czechoslovakia. This type of notch is prevalent in oak logs throughout much of the United States.
 
The square notch (also called a quarter notch in some regions) evolved in Europe and was common in Bohemia, the principal source of American log construction. Square notching (Figs. 7, 8) is commonly found on dwellings and is easily fashioned with a saw. Square notching is regarded as a "degenerate" style because it requires very little skill as compared to other types of notching and is generally considered evidence of construction by poorly skilled craftsmen.
 

HEW
 
Unhewn logs generally are an indication of hasty, unlimited or careless craftsmanship. Such buildings are widespread in Arkansas and generally reflect the overall low quality of structures found in the state. Round-log construction dominated the early pioneer phase of Arkansas and Texas.
 
Hewing, or squaring, of the logs is accomplished by cutting two or more rounded surface sides to produce flattened surfaces. A hewn structure presents a more finished appearance and is somewhat more effective against harsh weather as the open space between the logs is reduced. In most cases, barns and outbuildings are constructed of unhewn logs. Examples of different methods of preparing logs are shown in Figure No.9.
 
CONCLUSION
 
This survey yielded more log structures than expected, and further investigations into the cultural manifestations of these buildings is continuing. Thus far, the research indicates that the log structure complex in Faulkner County is somewhat typical of that found throughout the state. While oak logs dominate in the central Arkansas area, other areas where the pine is the dominate tree will see that resource utilized more often.
 
Unfortunately, many of these fine old log buildings are being lost as a result of neglect, abandonment, fire and vandalism. Sadly, others are being cut up and sold for firewood.
 
The hope is that studies such as this will generate an awareness in the populace of the value of these historical structures, perhaps even a reverence for these relic manifestations of our cultural heritage. Investigations such as this have been conducted as early as 1880 and at this time one investigator sensed the value of such activity in describing the structures as .'the embodiment of our people's soul." Arkansas and Faulkner County are products of numerous cultural confluences, and these historical artifacts remaining from the early settlers are worthy of our attention and preservation.
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
Jordan, Terry G. Texas Log Buildings: A Folk Architecture, University of Texas Press, Austin (1978), 230 p.
.Texas: A Geography, Westview Press, Boulder (1984), 288 p. .American Log Buildings: An Old World Heritage, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill (1985), 193 p.