Favorite drive. . .

Got out the the old homestead (cabin) today to do a little trail work. But before I started working I did one of my favorite drives. 

It is down a long gravel road. There are at least five creek crossings, and with the amount of rain we have had the last couple of weeks, the crossings were running pretty full.

Just after about the third creek crossin is this nice place. Note the round top doors on the nearest barn. Both sides are like that.

You could easily film an old period film in the area, especially something around the mid to late 1800's. Several old farm homes still stand and are well taken care of.

One of the first places you pass, once you really get into the valley is an old farm with these two wonderfully taken care of small log buildings.

 The buildings were at one time small out buildings used perhaps as grain bins or smoke house or small sheds.

What is really neat about both small buildings is that they are both fine examples with cantilevered logs giving the fronts some protection when using the doors.

Good view of the cantilevered top log.

The doors and window treatments are maintained well for the period.

Side by side.

 Further down the gravel road as a real nice farmstead with several great old buildings.

Four nice barns, all painted red on the east side of the road.

This little log gem sits next to the rounded door barn.

A small log grain barn probably, or maybe hay.
The logs have never been hewn or chinked.

A simple 'V' notch, but here you can see that it was never hewn. Boards have been placed on the inside to make it more weather proof, but that would have been a newer addition.

Weathered but still in good shape.
Logs seem to weather more when unhewn and unchinked.

This fine building stands just across the road on the west side.












This once fine old log building has seen it's best days come and go.
Almost at the end of the drive it sits down hill from the big brick house earlier in this post.

On the west side it has this wonderful cantilevered over-hang, hangs many old pieces of farm life.

Very fine 'V' notches with hewn logs suggest that this was once a very fine out buildings.
There are no signs that it was ever chinked.

Everything as started to sift and move.

  Near the top you can see the upper story beams telling us there is a second floor loft above.

Stairway upstairs. The lower part of the stairs were gone, so I don't really know how they were set up.
The way it is built suggest that maybe a ladder or movable set would be used when access was needed to the loft.

The cantilevered north log.
Neither cantilevered log was in good enough shape to support the roof over-hang on their own.
Both had to be supported by up right posts.

East or rear view.

Most of the building looked in pretty good shape till you walked around to the back.

An artist could spend a whole year or longer coming up with great scenes to paint on this drive.

Link to some neat Missouri log cabins

Some Missouri log cabins

Backwoods treasure Madison County Mo.

Double treat weekend.

Two good days of kayaking and two 'new' log cabins to add to the log cabin life list.

Up across the cow pasture, about a half a mile from the main road sat these two old cabins.
Situated on the family property of a fellow kayaker, on one of Missouri's century farms.

This first one, the smaller of the two, was now home to several turkey vultures. They flew out of the open door in the top of the cabin.

Fairly small at about 12' x 12', it sets on what would have been and still is a great view up into the hills and down into the valley.

Once used, probably, as a farm hand/slave cabin.

The doors seem too small and it is up too far off of the ground to suggest a blacksmith shop or tool barn.

Simple 'V' notching and un-hewn logs suggest not being a main house for the land owners. Cabins used for slaves or farm hands would not have been built as nice or as large as the main family home.

 The back side shows an additional door.

Buildings usually used for animals would not have had chinking between the logs.
These smaller wood slats between the logs would have been used to help support the logs from sagging and to give the chinking something to hold on tow. There us still a lot of evidence of the old chinking.

Also, building used for animals would not have windows.
Although rougher built than the main house, it was a fine buildings.

This first image is what is left of the main house or structure.

In the background is a fine old out-building.
The outbuilding is in the best shape of all the buildings.

One corner of the main building showing the simple dove-tail notch.
This building also had wood slats between the logs and still holds some of it's chinking.

The vertical boards attached to the out side of the logs means this building once had clapboard siding on it.

I placed my hand on the log to give reference to the size of some of the wall logs.

Looking across the main cabin towards the smaller building.

These floor joice notches in this log suggest that the main cabin had been a one and a half story or two story cabin.

These notches were where the upper floor beams rested.

A Great setting.

Weldon Springs log building

 This little log crib sits next to the town hall and city park for the village of Weldon Springs.

 Well taken care of and well up off the ground.
It was probably used as a grain bin of some sort over the years.

No sign actually tells where it is from or any history of it.

 Nice over hang covering the door.

Notice the log laying beside it. . .

. . . it looks like it came from another building.

It is a cantilever top log which would have allowed for overhangs on both ends.

Not sure if it was for this cabin or just on display.

 Back view.

 Also on the property is two other piles of logs waiting to be reconstructed.

Each log is carefully numbered.

Seven deer near by.
(Well, the others were just of camera.)