1860's Greek Revival House: Trying to Solve a Mystery
The Greek Revival style is an adaptation of the classic Greek temple front employing details of either the Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian order.
John J.-G. Blumenson, Identifying American Architecture, 1977
West elevation. The plaster was used as insulation, this was put in place when the building was first sided.
This side of the house that I am looking at may be the original 14x16 log structure that was built on this site in 1862. I haven't pulled off anymore siding and corner boards to see how these logs were notched, I need to keep as much original material as possible to maintain the historic integrity of the house. So far, the house isn't giving up much information as to what year it was built.
South elevation
This past Friday I pulled off siding on the south elevation that was covering the lowest logs between the two doors (and underneath the window) that you see in the above photo...
...and discovered this - the corner of another log house! Apparently, someone cut off the east wall of the original building and then constructed another log house against it! I assume that the fireplace of the original building was on this wall and since it left a big hole, the owners thought is would be better to remove that wall and put up a new one, no repairs to the original wall was needed. This new room is 14 feet wide by 17 feet 2 inches long.
In the lower left of the above photo you can see the square end of a floor joist of the original building. All the joists in that part of the building fall on 16 inch centers. When I measured to the left of the center this joist another 16 inches the tape measure fell on what would have been the 16 foot mark of the building. Hmm.
Tree ring dating of the logs would tell us what year the trees were cut down, not when the house was built. The men who built this house may have left the trees "mellow" for a year before they used them or used them as soon as they were cut.
Speculation about this house's construction is running rampant, and in a way, I hope we don't learn every thing about it...
John J.-G. Blumenson, Identifying American Architecture, 1977
This side of the house that I am looking at may be the original 14x16 log structure that was built on this site in 1862. I haven't pulled off anymore siding and corner boards to see how these logs were notched, I need to keep as much original material as possible to maintain the historic integrity of the house. So far, the house isn't giving up much information as to what year it was built.
This past Friday I pulled off siding on the south elevation that was covering the lowest logs between the two doors (and underneath the window) that you see in the above photo...
...and discovered this - the corner of another log house! Apparently, someone cut off the east wall of the original building and then constructed another log house against it! I assume that the fireplace of the original building was on this wall and since it left a big hole, the owners thought is would be better to remove that wall and put up a new one, no repairs to the original wall was needed. This new room is 14 feet wide by 17 feet 2 inches long.
In the lower left of the above photo you can see the square end of a floor joist of the original building. All the joists in that part of the building fall on 16 inch centers. When I measured to the left of the center this joist another 16 inches the tape measure fell on what would have been the 16 foot mark of the building. Hmm.
Tree ring dating of the logs would tell us what year the trees were cut down, not when the house was built. The men who built this house may have left the trees "mellow" for a year before they used them or used them as soon as they were cut.
Speculation about this house's construction is running rampant, and in a way, I hope we don't learn every thing about it...
Does the cabin have a foundation? I love doing detective work on old buildings especially log structures. Would love to see pictures of the inside.
ReplyDeleteThe inside is plaster and lath and rock board with paint and wall paper. Looks rather like the late 1920's inside...
ReplyDelete