House & Garden 
THE VAN ALSTYNE HOUSE, CANAJOHARIE 
THE MABIE HOMESTEAD, ROTTERDAM 
The early white settlers also drew their 
material from the forest to build their homes, 
and the simple “log cabin” was the result. 
The usual form of the log house was an 
oblong. The logs were cut the required 
length, notched at each end and laid in the 
form of a cob house with the logs placed on 
top of each other as close as possible, the 
interstices being filled with clay or similar 
material. Smaller logs were used in the 
construction of the roof, which was thatched 
with strips of bark overlapping like shingles. 
Usually the dwelling was divided into two 
rooms, a “living” and a sleeping room. 
After saw-mills were erected, buildings 
were constructed with greater regard to taste 
A FIREPLACE IN THE VAN ALSTYNE HOUSE 
2I 7 
