AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Ali Abusaidi for the degree of Master of Arts inInterdisciplinary Studies in the co-departments of Anthropology and HistoricArchitecture presented June 11, 1986 Title: Log Cabin Construction Techniques in WesternSiskivou County, 1850-1935: Their Function and Ethnic Origins Redacted for Privacy Abstract approved: Under the sponsorship of the Klamath National Forest, 25log cabins which were built in western Siskiyou County between1850 and 1937 were located and studied. First, 11 exterior dimensions of these cabinswere selected, measured and recorded. Then 26 building elementswere identified for the purpose of finding whether there was a relationship between the exterior attributes of these structures and the occupation of theirbuilders. Four major builder occupations were identified: (1) placer mining,(2) hardrock mining, (3) homesteading, and (4) ranching.It was hypothesized that there is a correlation between these builder occupations and the exterior attributes of the cabins. A forward stepwise discriminant analysis was performed on the parametric variables. None of the 11 variables met the default criteria to enter (i.e., F=.15). Hence the null hypothesis that there is a relationship between the occupation of the builder and the exterior variables of the log cabins was confirmed. The 26 categorical variables which were used to classify the cabinswere crosstabulated against the occupation of the builders.The results indicated that only four nominal variables discriminated between the builder occupation groups. A predictive model for classifying cabins on the basis of these four variables is presented. A second hypothesis was proposed to examine the relationship betweenlog cabin construction elements and the builder's ethnic background.Data collected on building variables was compared with those ethnic traits described by other log cabin researchers.From this comparison an index of ethnic trait compatibility was produced which demonstrated the strength of relationship between builder's background and cabin construction variables. Log Cabin Construction Techniques in WesternSiskiyou County, 1850-1935: Their Function and EthnicOrigins by Ali Abusaidi A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Completed June 11, 1986 Commencement June 1987 APPROVED: Redacted for Privacy Professor of Anthropology in charge of major Redacted for Privacy Associ4'e Professorof A Jt rop ogy in charge of co-field Redacted for Privacy Professor of Architecture in charge of co-field Redacted for Privacy Chairman of Department of Anthropology Redacted for Privacy Dean o raduate Sc<'''ol Date thesis is presented June 11, 1986 Typed by Donna Atto for Ali Abusaidi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION I Chapter 2 HYPOTHESES 10 Chapter 3 ENVIRONMENT 15 Chapter 4 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 20 Chapter 5 ETHNICITY 29 Chapter 6 METHODOLOGY 37 Chapter 7 ANALYSIS 44 Chapter 8 SUMMARY 68 Chapter 9 CONCLUSION 78 Bibliography 82 Appendix I:ELEMENTS OF LOG CABIN CONSTRUCTION 91 Appendix II: ARCHITECTURAL DATA AND FLOOR PLANS 94 Appendix III: TABLE A: SOURCES FOR ETHNIC TRAIT ORIGINS. 272 TABLE B: INDEX OF ETHNIC TRAIT COMPATIBILITY. 276 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: Parametric Variable Cluster Analysis Dendrogram....47 TABLE 2: Discriminant Analysis of Cluster Groups. 49 Summary of Classification Functions TABLE 3: Discriminant Analysis of Site Types: 50 Summary of Classification Functions TABLE 4: Discriminant Analysis of Site Types: 51 Classification Matrix Results TABLE 5: Discriminant Analysis of Cluster Groups: .....51 Classification Matrix Results TABLE 6: Summary of Forward Stepwise Discriminant 52 Analysis TABLE 7: Summary of Backward Stepwise Discriminant 53 Analysis TABLE 8: Crosstabulation of Site Types by Occupancy 54 TABLE 9: Crosstabulation of Site Types by Porch 55 TABLE 10: Crosstabulation of Site Types by Cinking 56 TABLE 11: Crosstabulation of Site Types by Shed 57 TABLE 12: Cabin Characteristic Patterns 59 TABLE 13: Summary of Ethnic Trait Retention 65 TABLE 14: Comparison of Ethnic Trait Retention 66 Log Cabin Construction Techniques in Western Siskiyou County, 1850-1935:Their Function and Ethnic Origins Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Americans as a people, are proud of their democracy,frontier spirit, concept of the common man, self-reliance, courage and dream ofthe good life. All these sentiments express themselves well in thesymbol of the log cabin. Many contestants for public office madeuse of this symbol successfully.For example, in 1840 the log cabin becamea popular symbol of the American pioneer spirit, largely through the presidential campaign of WilliamHenry Harrison. As the Whig candidate, he was contrasted to the affluentDemocratic candidate, Martin Van Buren, as the plain, honest product ofa log cabin background (Funk and Wagnalls 1973:264). A good many other seekers of federalposts proclaimed with pride their humble beginnings in log cabins. Thefact that Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, two American heroesamong many, were born in log cabins indicates the political and emotional significance associatedwith this pioneer cultural artifact. The following address given in 1857 by Virginia Governor HenryA. Wise in the presence of President Tyler and on the occasion of the 250thanniversary of Jamestown (from Shurtleff 1939, p.191), illustrates how the logcabin had become associated with conquest, courage and emotionalism: "Here the Old World first met the New. Herethe White man first met the Red for settlement and colonization.Here the White man first wielded theaxe to cut the first tree for the first log cabin.Here the first log cabin was built for the first village." Log cabins became ubiquitous both in the early coloniesas well as along the frontier because they were easily constructed withproper knowledge and because they were so ideally suited to the environment.They could be built entirely of the logs that were plentiful in thevast American forests. Well adapted to frontier conditions,a log cabin could be erected by one man with one felling axe, perhaps a broadaxe anda huntsman's knife.The walls followed the simplest rectangular planand were formed of rough hewnor round wall logs laid horizontally, jointedat the corners and chinked with mud or moss as protection aginst the wind and rain.The roof, either gable or hip, was made of roughly hand-rived hewn flatslabs of wood (i.e., shakes). There was usually only one door, attached withhand-wrought or leather hinges and wooden pegs for the jambs.Windows were generally covered with greased papers or canvas, since no glass was available.Shutters, windows and door jambs were attached with woodenpegs.The floor was often made by beating down the earth on which the cabin stoodor it was composed of the flat sides of halved logs called puncheons.Although the log structures could be putup by one man, they were often erected by group effort and the occasionwas at the same time a social event.The early log cabins were not merely buildings of logs, clay and moss. They were the answer toa dire need for shelter in the hazardous wilderness.Log cabins were ideal shelters to meet such needs since once erected, they did not require much maintenance, whereas othertypes of dwelling constructions needed constant repair. According to the census of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the 3 year 1930, there were over 270,000 log dwellings in the UnitedStates.This figure represents 33.7 percent of the totalnumber of dwellings, more than those constructed of brick, stone and stucco combined.A survey in Georgia in the 1930's found there were more than 10,000 logcabins still standing in that state, many still occupied as homes (USDA 1939: Table 2). A review of the archaeological site records of theKlamath National Forest cultural resource files andan examination of the literature on the history of the area reveal that several thousandlog cabins were constructed in western Siskiyou County, northern California. This thesis is concerned only with the log cabinsthat were constructed in the western half of Siskiyou County between 1850and the 1930's.Other structures built by the early settlers of the areaare not included within the scope of the investigation. The objective of this study is threefold: 1) To compile a careful and detailed inventory of theexterior elements or attributes of the 25 log cabins thatwere still standing in the area during the project fieldwork. 2) To determine the correlation between the exteriorconstruction attributes of these cabins and the function of thearchaeolo- gical sites on which they stand. 3) To examine the relationship between the cabin construction elements and the builder's ethnic background. The data collection was conducted in conjunction with the needs ofthe federal cultural resource program of the Klamath National Forest.A graduate student appointment with the Klamath National Forest provided the opportunity to record the rapidly vanishing and deteriorating nature of the historic log cabins in this area.Archaeological field surveys of proposed projects, 4 mainly timber sales, have produced a large and everexpandingsite record inventory file at the Klamath National Forest headquarter's officein Yreka, California. From the standpoint of accessibility of reference library dataon local sites, this remote area of California is remarkably well documented.The records, reports and registers kept by various local county and federal agencies are an