Wonderful old photos from Rustic Cabin Life

I follow Rustic Cabin Life on facebook and it is a treat of great cabin photos.

These photos were taken by Coleman Ogg a traveling photographer from around 1880-1940.
Mostly of Kentucky and the Southern Mountain Region. Enjoy.

Wonderful photos.

 Although we can't quite see, it is probably a dog-trot cabin.
Nice and big, hewn logs and a porch.
Two fireplaces.

Some of the chinking needs replacing.
Note how the shingles overlap at the top of the roof. This was how it was done. Prevailing window would have been from the back of the house.

 Nice clean lines, and with the tree nearby it almost looks idyllic.

The logs are hewn. Fireplace is neat, well layed and not temporary.
A second story can be seen.
Even the chairs on the porch look fairly nice. Wicker rockers, curtains on the windows. One of the ladies is wearing a hat. Front yard tree looks decorative, and maybe a fruit tree in the back yard. Logs are well up off the ground, so it has a floor.

 This may not be a home. Could be for animals.
But the smoke coming out would suggest otherwise. Note how short the chimney is and made of mud and logs.
A poor home. Un-hewn logs, no windows. Probably no floor. And a lean-to is added, again, probably for animals.
Note the length of the wood shingles on the roof. They had to be at least two feet long.

 The lower building is probably a home, while the upper was for crops or animals. Looks like five maybe seven kids and a dog in this small house. That means nine people.

The fireplace is neat and well built, and a lean-to has been added at the back.

 The caption calls this one a trappers/hunters cabin.
But I doubt it.Trapping was a winter activity, so that would explain the snow and all the trapping gear.
But the nice clap-board building next to it, along with the picket fence and barn in the back ground (a round barn?) would suggest this building is part of a larger homestead and not just an isolated trappers cabin.
Nice dove-tail notches, clean fireplace. Looks were not chinked but covered with boards.

The caption on this one says 'Red Lick, Kentucky' Unless the guy in black is just visiting, there would be six people in this small dwelling.
It is hard to tell if the logs were hewn or not, but the round ends would suggest not. The notching is a simple saddle notch. The fireplace will do, but is not well built.
A nice fence around the property.
This type of build would suggest a short term home.

 The view from this one must have been nice.
A very nice looking double pen dog-trot cabin.
It is hard to tell if there are two fireplaces or not.
The one that is clear looks very well built.

 This one was a very fine build.
Hewn logs with dove-tail notches.

The lower fireplace logs are also hewn. The fireplace would have been built of wood, then lined with mud. The upper chimney would have been small logs, and looks like it is ready to be replace the way it is twisted.

The lean-to at the back is also made out of hewn logs which is a little unusual. A split rail fence, and at least seven people in the photo.

The logs are hewn, but the ends look like they were finished with and axe instead of a saw.
Long roof shingles. The fireplace is nice.

It looks again like nine people in this small home. Are those twins wearing matching dresses?
You can barely see a lean-to on the back, which would have given them a little more room.

This is quite the stately place compared to the others.

It may have started of less grand, and they just kept making it better. We will never know.
Brick fireplaces instead of stone. Lots of windows.
Probably started life as a two pen dog-trot, then they enclosed the center section.
Note the damage happening to the logs where the porch roof drains water onto the walls.


Just my thoughts on these wonderful photos.