Log-Rolling
The owner of the land would invite neighbors to assist with a house raising, barn raising or log-rolling. The women would come prepared, food for everyone and material for a quilting bee so it turned out to be an important social gathering for the community where neighbors were usually miles away. After the day's work had been accomplished, out doors and in, by men and women, the floor was cleared and the dance begun with a fiddle being the principal instrument.
Cabin Construction
The type of timber used for a dwelling would have depended on what timber grew in the immediate vicinity e.g. hickory, white and post oak, dogwood, pine. The axe was just as important as a rifle on the frontier.Logs would be hand hewed to suitable lengths under the direction of the man in charge. The blacksmith made nails and hardware by hand. If there was no smithy nearby, the logs were laid horizontally and notched to fit together or could have been timber framed with mortise and tenon or wooden dowels or pegs were used. The cracks between the stacked logs would be filled, 'chinked', with mud and moss or tar, whatever was available, to keep out the wind, bugs, snakes, and to keep the heat in and the cold out.
The log cabin was usually from 14-16 feet square, frequently built without nails, hinges or locks and lighted by greased paper windows or deer skins. A log was left out along one side, if the builder did not have a saw, and sheets of strong paper well greased with raccoon grease or bear oil would be carefully tacked in. No glass was available. Often windows would be cut after a cabin was built and have wooden shutters that closed out the weather, animals and light. The bedsteads were made by fitting a corner post into the puncheon floor, and inserting the others into augur holes bored into the log walls, then using the useful clap-boards for slats. Puncheons are slabs of timber split as near the same thickness as possible with the upper surface smooth by an adz after the floor is laid. A ladder would lead to a sleeping loft from the dogtrot.
Usually the cabin had only one door, constructed of puncheon with cross beams and wooden pegs for the hinges. A door latch would be on the inside with a deer skin strap leading through a small hole to the outside and at night this was pulled inside. The door was then considered locked. The saying "the latch string is always out" means you are always welcome. The roof would be constructed with roughly hewn flat slabs of wood or clapboard. Before sawmills arrived in the area lumber was cut with a whipsaw, a crosscut saw with a tapering blade, teeth sharpened to cut in only one direction and was used by two men. Clapboard siding and a veranda were often later additions. Also the cabins were replaced by larger and better homes and the original log cabin was turned into a cook house.
Fire place was constructed out of brick, river rock, granite, whatever the natural stone material was as long as it would stand up to heat or mud (daub) and sticks with a hand-carved mantel in the dining room. The firebox tended to be shallow back then and would draw well and heat efficiently. The mortar would have been cement--sand and limestone and water. The chimney was sometimes built out into the room, or built attached to the outside and the fire was built on the ground with the draft pulling the smoke out the chimney. Rifles would rest on hooks above the fireplace. From other hooks shot-pouches, leather coats and dried meat would hang. A leather fire bucket and ladder would be kept handy as stick and daub chimneys often caught fire
Outbuildings were probably a corn-crib, barn, well and outhouse and maybe a cooking shack separate from the cabin to reduce heat and the risk of fire. The area around the cabin was usually fenced with a picket or a split rail fence to keep animals out of the garden, corn patch and fruit trees. The settler often had hunting dogs who would bark at approaching strangers. At a housewarming the host would provide a good fire, liquor and supper, often venison or bear meat and guests would bring common supplies for setting up housekeeping e.g. gourds. A dance usually followed.
Log cabins can still be found in Montgomery County some disguised as cottages and homes. Over the years additional rooms have been added and siding and the actual log cabin now well protected from the elements. Sometimes you see doorway frames wider than usual often near the kitchen and with investigation you might find logs and walls covered with newspaper. Black walnut, fruit trees and daffodils sometime mark old homestead sites.
Dogtrot
If the settler/hunter planned to stay in the area and his family
grew, a second cabin would be built and joined by a covered breezeway (called a dogtrot)
eight to ten feet wide. Families would eat here in the dogtrot during the summer as it was
cool there. This is where the expression "3 P" came from - two pens and a
passage. Also known as a saddlebag house. Often a veranda was added to the front of the
dwelling. Called a dogtrot because the family's dogs would use it as a short
cut to get to the back yard.
Log-rolling defined
1) Clearing land with the help of neighbors by rolling logs to a spot and burning them usually done in winter. Notches were cut on the top of the large logs, by the owner of the land, about every ten feet by starting a fire on each notch, this would take a week but it saved the men sawing or chopping the logs into carrying lengths. The logs were carried with handspikes to the log heaps. These were stout dogwood sticks about five feet long, three inches through at the center, and made smaller and smoother at each end. "Tote fair" and "I got the dirty end of the stick" came from this work.
2) House raising with the help of neighbors.
3) A lumberjack event also known as birling where a log is floated on water and two people stand on the log and each runs in place to roll the log. The object is to throw the other off into the water with the spin of the log.
4) Politicians voting for each other bills. Log rolling is an American phrase used to express that system of voting in which A agrees to vote for that which B wants, on condition that B supports A in what he wishes to have done.References:
Ouachita Mountain Digest Spring/Summer 1997 Editor/publisher Shirley Goodner Mena AR
The Dixie Frontier : A Social History of the Southern Frontier from the First Transmontane Beginnings to the Civil War by Everett Dick. New York: Alfred. A. Knoff 1948
"Searcy Centennial" description of a cabin.
AGS-L-Request@rootsweb.com A very active list monitored by knowledgeable rooters. This list is open to all Arkansas researchers. In the first line of the message type: subscribeStephenville Historical House Museum
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program identifies, evaluates, registers, and preserves the state's historic and cultural resources and seeks to instill a preservation ethic in future generations of Arkansans. The AHPP is a division of The Department of Arkansas Heritage. They have listed eight sites in Montgomery County. photos
Historic Arkansas Resources homes National Register
Janssen Park, Mena, Polk County, Arkansas. There is still an old log cabin built in 1851 at the site of a spring in Janssen Park, Mena.
1) Montgomery County Courthouse, 1923 stone structure
2) Womble District Administration House No. 1, N. of Hwy. 270 e. of Mt. Ida c. 1940 frame structure built by Civilian Conservation Corps.
3) Huddleston's store, Pine Ridge
4) McKinzie store, Pine Ridge
5) Collier Springs Shelter, Forest Service Rd 177, NE of Norman. c. 1939 built by CCC.
6) Norman Town Square and Library. wayback 1935-40.
7) Crystal Springs Camp Shelter, Forest Service Rd 177, E. of Hwy. 27, c. 1935 CCC built log picnic shelter. Fieldstone structure.
8) Reeves-Melson House (Miles House) Located near Mazarn Creek, in S.E. Montgomery County, five miles north of Bonnerdale. A hand hewn log cabin from 1840 converted to dog-trot in 1888. Includes a log pen entertainment room, a raised log pen ceiling and a exposed stone mantle. The chimney is composed of flat slate rocks stacked and loosely mortered. The addition was made from plank boards and mainly used for sleeping. Commonly known as the Abraham and Amanda Miles House. The old well and outhouse have been restored.
9) Heathcock-Jones House (Norman vic.)Old Dallas Road c. 1845 single-pen log cabin
Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 6/2/1995.
AHPP list of of the properties constructed of logs in Montgomery County.
MN0006 Collier Homestead / Hull House, Caddo Gap
MN0007 Jones Valley (a homestead/camp), Caddo Gap
MN0008 Basinger Place #2, Caddo Gap (Dale Springs vic.)
MN0009 Basinger Place #1, Caddo Gap (Dale Springs vic.)
MN0010 McLean Storage Cabin, Caddo Gap
MN0021 Wright House, Mt. Ida
MN0023 Old Bates House, Pine Ridge vic.
MN0027 1985 - Miles Log Cabin / Reeves-Melson Homestead, BonnerdaleAdditional Reading:
Agriculture: Its Past by Horatio Seymour. NY Times Sep 11, 1852; p. 1;
The merchant gave his goods for the produce of the country - taking all that was brought to him; putting the different rolls of butter received by him from the thrifty housewife, into one cask, until the whole presented hues as various as the calicoes which he gave in exchange. Labour among farmers was exchanged on the same principle. When the axe had felled the forest, the single man could not move the huge trunks of the gigantic tress, and a "logging bee" called together the neighbours to aid him in the emergency, with the tacit understanding that the favor was to be returned upon a like occasion. The house and barn were raised upon the same principle; and so strong was this feeling of mutual dependence, that many who would not pay a note of hand, would shrink from refusing to go to a Bee or a Raising. This principle found its way into all the rela_ons and duties of life. The parson was, and is now, to come extent, paid by donation parties; the schoolmaster ; "boarded round," and even the social amusements which cheered and relieved, toil took the form of a "paring bee" or a quilting party. Marriage was not only a union of honest hearts and strong hands, but also of the spinning wheel and the axe, the plough and the loom; and when Death entered their doors, his victim was carried to his last resting place, not in a hired hearse, but on the shoulders of neighbours and friends. The era of the axe has now passed away. It was the heroic period of farming in this country. They laid the foundation of our present social condition.Rayburn, Otto E. Ozark Panorama contains an illustration of an old stick-and-clay chimney in the Caddo Gap area, vol. 1, page 138. U of AR Libraries, Fayetteville.
Weslager, C. A. (Clinton Alfred), 1909- The Log Cabin in America; from pioneer days to the present New Brunswick, N.J., Rutgers University Press 382 pp
Garden Sass: A Catalog of Arkansas Folkways by Nancy McDonough was published in 1975, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan 200 Madison Ave, New York, N.Y. 10016
Nancy went out and interviewed about 100 old timers e.g. Chat Lawrence Standridge b. Montgomery Co. Oct. 22, 1888 and compiled a book about everything you associate your grandparents with from log cabin building, water witching, folklore, the general store, springs, shivarees, songs, fences, etc.
This is what she wrote about Warren Farmer Wilhite. Wife was Bessie. He is the answer to every folklore collector's dream - a marvelous storyteller, a person who has really lived on the frontier and done the things that are now just a page in a history book for most people, and close at hand.
On May 4, 1891, he was born in Cherokee County, Texas. His daddy had gone there from Arkansas, and shortly after the turn of the century Farmer's family left Texas, heading back toward Arkansas. There were three wagons full of family members, and as he said, "We was kind of a wrong way Carrigan outfit -we was comin' from the West toward the East."
Their first stop was with relatives in Franklin County, Texas and there, "It rained so much we got mudbound- and we knew we'd never get to Arkansas in time to raise a crop the next year. And so we stayed one year there in Franklin County," But Arkansas' promise of homestead land, fine timber, etc. attracted his daddy, and the next year they continued on to Arkansas. About the trip Farmer said:
We had such a heavy load and a light team till everybody that was big enough had to walk so's to lighten the load. So my dad- he was one that walked. My older sister walked and my mother, she rode I the wagon to take care of the younger kids. Well, when we'd get to a town all that was walking they'd get in the wagon so's to not be obvious. So except though towns, when my dad drove, why I drove just about every step of the way from there into Arkansas. (He was twelve years old!)
When they arrived, his daddy, had "thirty-five dollars, a wagon, a team, a wife, and seven kids." And it took sixteen of those thirty-five dollars to file on the homestead. They discovered that some of the land was so poor it was almost impossible to raise a crop. The next year they moved to Montgomery County in the Ouachita Mountains, and that is the source of Farmer's reminiscences. Today he lives in Pulaski County, where he came as a young man, married Bessie Wiggins, and raised a family of his own. In addition to his abilities as a storyteller, he is an inventor, designer, a naturalist, and a musician.
Who were the parents of Warren Farmer Wilhite??
Other names mentioned.
A grand-uncle Uncle Jackson Willhite (a brother to Farmer's grandfather )
Aunt Phoebe
Nancy Vines.FGR for George HACKWORTH & Minnerva KILGORE.
H: George HACKWORTH, DOB Abt 1936, of, Virginia "abt 1836"
W: Minnerva KILGORE, DOB Abt 1839, of,Virginia
f: John KILGORE (Sr.) m: Cyntha ADDINGTON
Sources of Info:
Addingtons Charles Kilgore of Kings Mountain, p 131.
Submitting Person: Warren Farmer Wilhite
8719 Wilhite Lane, Sylvan Hills, North Little Rock, Ark. 72116
Family Representative: Warren Farmer WILHITE
Relation of F. R. to husband: 2dc 2r il
Relation of F. R. to wife: 2c 2r
"Line of descent and relationship to Warren Farmer WILHITE:
(2) George HACKWORTH & Minnerva KILGORE (2c 2r)
(3) John KILGORE Sr. (1c 3r) m Cyntha ADDINGTON
(4) Ralph KILGORE St. (2gguncle) m Miss GRAY
(5) (Capt.) Charles KILGORE (3ggfather) m Winnie CLAYTON (3ggmother)Everton's Genealogical Helper September 1960, September 1963
Wilhite, Warren Farmer, R 3, Box 228, North Little Rock, Pulaski Co. Ark., Local research. On some lines I have a lot. On some very little. Wants data on
Thomas Jefferson Wilhite, White Co., Tenn., 1810-1895;
Simon Peter Day, Lee Co., Va., 1836-1899;
Mills Farmer, Ga., abt. 1875.
Susan Ann Woods, Ga., abt 1790;
William Bickley, Va., abt 1790;
Jane Kigore, Scott Co., Va. 1795-1873;
William Kilgore, Va., 1769; Virginia
Jane Osborne, Va., 1713-1792;
Mary Hurt, Va, abt 1716;
Joseph Bickley, Eng., abt 1675
Sarah Ellice, Eng., abt. 1680.
Wilhite, Bessie Beatrice (nee Wiggins) R 3, Box 228, North Little Rock, Pulaski Co. Ark., Local research. Wants data on Rhoda Lee Ball, Wooduff Co., Ark. Monroe Joshua (Jack) Wiggins, McNairy Co., TN b. 1848. Alexander Walker, Ky b. 1812; ...
Jul 17, 1949
Home spun rugs and hangings, native pottery, wooden articles and leather goods. Native delicacies as southern-fried chicken, trout, corn pone, hickory-cured hams, whole hominy and cowpeas called 'hopping John." Square dancing is a regional entertainment -the 'hill-billy' fiddler calling out 'allemande left ah' back t' your taw," to the tune of 'Devil's Dream," "The Gal I Left Behind me," and 'The Rattlesnake Shakes. " Group singing is another popular diversion with folk music and old English ballads:
Houn' Dog
The Oxford Girl
Barbara Allen
Lord Lovell
The Three RogersIn the early days travel was on foot, in dugouts along the stream on horse or muleback, in wagons or carts drawn by horses, or more frequently cattle, and early vehicles were lubricated, not with oil or grease, but with pinetar from pineknots, which were had for the picking. In the coldest weather, when the tar became very stiff from the cold, fires had to be started under the spindles of the wagons to soften the tar so that the wagons might become easily started. 1942 Montgomery County Mt Ida AR WPA History
CCC: The CCC was a federal works program and the enrollees, many young men, built numerous recreational areas, replanted forest, fought fires and made roads. Much of the land that comprises the Ouachita National Forest was homesteaded in the early 1900s and this hilly land proved unsuitable for farming so many failed in their attempts. The changing rooms and dam that created the swimming hole at Charlton Recreational Area, Garland Co. was built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers between 1935 and 1938 from local stones. They also used natural material found on site for the picnic tables and signs.
John L. Moore, a US Federal Marshall, and his wife Lucinda arrived in the area by wagon train in 1850. Michael Thomas Peter Moore and his wife Mary Catherine received their patent for 160 acres in 1898 part of what is now Camp Charlton, Garland County, AR. Roland and his wife Anna Frances Moore, son of Michael and Mary Catherine homesteaded an additional 160 acres of land receiving their patent in 1905. The land was purchased by the Government in 1935 from the Moore family. The bathhouse at Charlton has photographs of the homestead and family and a write up on the Moore family. John L. Moore was postmaster of Old Ussery in 1890.
The Sentinel-Record, Hot Springs, Garland
Polly Lancaster, 101, of Hot Springs, died Dec. 31, 1999, at a local nursing home. Born June 10, 1898, on property now know as Camp Charleston, to Tom Pete and Mary Catherine Moore, she was a member of First Primitive Baptist Church and lived most of her life on Albert Pike, where Wal-Mart now stands. She was predeceased by her husband, John Henry Lancaster. Survivors include three nieces, ...., a nephew, a sister-in-law, ...., a great-niece, ; and great-nieces and great-nephews. Services will be 2 p.m. Mon. at Gross Funeral Home chapel with the Bro. Ersel Tillery officiating. Pallbearers will be Robby Hancock, Tom O’Neal and Ben O’Neal. Honorary pallbearers are Mereck Rowe and medical staff and employees of Quality Care Nursing Home. Burial will be in Peak Cemetery, Royal.
Collier Creek was named after Martin and Mary Belle Collier, who settled in the remote lower valley in 1812 when Caddo Indians and buffalo were still in the area. Martin Collier died c.1820 leaving Mary to raise ten children including Jefferson b.1818, the first Caucasian child to be born in the area. Jefferson became a farmer, married, begot fifteen children, served in the Civil War and founding member of two Masonic Lodges. His son Harrison became a county surveyor. Collier Creek is a stop on the Crystal Vista Auto Tour so call into any Forest Service Center or the Hot Springs NP Visitor Center for the pamphlet. From hwy 270 E take Logan Gap Rd (just west of the Mt Ida Airport) south, turn right on to Forest Road 177 along Twin Creek and follow the signs. At the intersection of 177 and 2237 take the windy and hilly 177 Forest Rd one mile. The roads are gravel and best traveled when dry. In the late 1930s the CCC built a picnic pavilion that enclosed the spring. There is an outhouse across the road and up a shade steep slope. Just upstream there is a tiny waterfall. Collier Creek starts three miles upstream on Bear Mt., [1660'], and drops 300' before reaching Collier Spring is at 1,300 feet. The creek continues to drop another 500' before it flows under Hwy 8 and into the Caddo River. about a mile north of Caddo Gap.
Collier Springs Shelter.
Water still gushes here. In 1940 it was gushing at a rate of 3,000 gallons per hour.
"His corn and cattle were his only care,
And his supreme delight a country fair."
