Caldwell County MO Archives History .....PIONEER OZARK CABINS IN THE SIXTIES 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 3, 2008, 6:51 pm

PIONEER OZARK CABINS IN THE SIXTIES
	Narrator:  John Ferguson, 90, of Iberia, Mo.
 
     Mr. Ferguson came into the Ozarks after serving in the Civil War and 
settled near what is now Iberia, Miller County.  The 1860-70 period was quite 
a pioneering period in that county.  He did as others did after arriving at 
his new land--he first built a home.
     The little log cabin was usually built the next day after arrival.  With 
several helpers, it was a day's job.  The logs might be split; or if time 
pressed, they would be left in the round.  After the cabin was up, that night 
the neighbors for miles around came to dance, which welcomed the newcomers and 
helped them get acquainted.
     Most of the cabins were one-room affairs; although sometimes there was an 
attic under the roof where the children climbed up a rude ladder and slept.  
Few early cabins in the Ozarks had any widows, because glass cost too much and 
had to be brought too far.  To admit light and air, the door had a sliding 
board at its upper part.  This could be opened little or much.  Through it, 
too, the owner could peer if he heard an intruder, or he could shoot wild game 
in his vicinity.  Mr. Ferguson told of killing five wild turkeys this way one 
fall morning.  The latch string literally hung on the outside of the door, by 
which the door was opened.
     Inside the door, over the door was the faithful pioneer gun, resting 
either on a forked stick or on deer's antlers.  The walls usually whitewashed 
logs although occasionally a family might cover the logs with boards.  The 
plank floors gradually took the place of puncheon floors.  The housewife kept 
her floor white with a cornshuck mop, and on Saturday she scrubbed it getting 
down on her hands and knees.  Only the higher-ups had rag-carpets.  The corded 
bedsteads in the corner were built into the house and floor, and had great 
quilts which hung to the floor and hid the articles stored under the bed.  The 
trundle bed was pushed there too in the daytime, for they needed every inch of 
space in that one room.  A bench built into the wall gave added seats at the 
table.  The two spinning wheels - one for wool, one for flax - stood by the 
fire place.
     The great stick and clay fireplace served for heating and cooking, since 
a stove was unheard of in those parts till 1870, and a luxury till 1875.  No 
one used matches, so the fire was never allowed to go out.  If it did, one had 
to borrow hot coals from a neighbor - which often meant a long ride.  Lighting 
was done by candles or by a rag twisted in a dish of lard


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