The lack of natural resources of wood and stone forced the Homesteaders to live in makeshift accommodation, called sod houses (soddies), using turf, or sod, to build their houses. The Homesteaders were unfamiliar with earthen construction and initially experienced great difficulty in building good-quality houses.
What was the sod house used for?
The sod house or "soddy" was an often used alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of Canada and the United States. Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals and fences, if the prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone, or the poverty...
What did homesteaders use to build their homes?
Without trees or stone to build with, homesteaders had to rely on the only available building material — prairie sod, jokingly called "Nebraska marble." Sod is the top layer of earth that includes grass, its roots, and the dirt clinging to the roots.
Can you build a sod house on a prairie?
Sod house. If the prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant and could be used for construction. Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.
How long did it take to build a sod house?
Building a sod house was a lot of work and often took many weeks, especially if the settler's nearest neighbors were too far away or unable to help. Because tents or the top of a covered wagon provided little comfort or shelter from the prairie's wild weather, many settlers began by building dugouts.
Why did settlers make sod houses?
Most farmers cut sod from the area where they planned to build their house. Doing so provided a flat surface on which to build and helped protect the house from prairie fires. Removing the grass from the area also helped keep insects, snakes, and vermin from burrowing into the house.
Why did homesteaders live in sod houses?
-They had to build a house to live in. There was no wood so they had to use the sods that lay around. It took about an acre of sods to build a sod house. -Sod houses were difficult to keep clean, leaky in rainy weather.
What is the purpose of sod house?
Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, if the prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone, or the poverty of the settlers precluded purchasing standard building materials, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant, free, and could be used for house construction.
What are the advantages of a sod house?
Sod was a natural insulator, keeping out cold in winter, and heat in summer, while wood houses, which usually had no insulation, were just the opposite: always too hot or too cold. Another advantage of a soddy was that it offered protection from fire, wind, and tornadoes.
What was life like in a sod house?
Since the house was literally built of dirt and grass, it was constantly infested with bugs, mice, snakes, and assorted other "varmints and vermin." One sod-house settler lamented that, "In the afternoons, every afternoon, the rattlesnakes would come out of their hidden dens in the walls and roof, and sun themselves on ...
How long did sod houses last?
Assuming the walls were competently laid in the first place, the potential longevity of a sod house is presently indeterminate; in other words, we know from the best-preserved examples that they will last for at least 120 years; but we are still counting!
Are sod houses warm?
Despite their basic form, sod houses were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Sod houses were intended to provide a temporary shelter while settlers established a more substantial residence.
How were sod houses built in the 1800's?
Sod was laid around the sides and on top of boards placed above the window frame. A gap, left at the top above the frame, was filled with rags or grass, which allowed the sod to settle without crushing the glass panes in the window. Pegs, driven into the sod through holes in the frames, held them in place.
Did Indians live in sod houses?
What was a Sod House? Native American Indians living on the grass covered plains and prairies of the mid-west, where there was a scarcity of trees, utilized sod or turf to construct Earth Lodges. American Homesteaders moved to the prairies and also used earthen material to build the rectangular shaped Sod House.
How did sod houses help settlement of the Great Plains?
These settlers established farms and ranches on the plains. Because trees were scarce on the Great Plains, many settlers built “sod houses” by cutting and piling up blocks of grass and turf. Farmers battled with great swarms of grasshoppers and other insects that devoured their crops.
When were sod houses introduced to the Great Plains?
From the 1870s on, both good and bad sod houses were constructed. The quality of the structure depended on the skill of the people constructing it and the time, money and effort put into it.
How was a sod house built?
Construction of a sod house involved cutting patches of sod in triangles, often 2 ft × 1 ft × 0.5 ft (61.0 cm × 30.5 cm × 15.2 cm), and piling them into walls. Builders employed a variety of roofing methods. Sod houses accommodated normal doors and windows. The resulting structure featured less expensive materials, and was quicker to build than a wood frame house. However, sod houses required frequent maintenance and were often vulnerable to rain damage, especially if the roof was also primarily of sod. Stucco was sometimes used to protect the outer walls. Canvas or stucco often lined the interior walls.
What is a sod house?
Unusually well appointed interior of a sod house, North Dakota, 1937. The sod house or soddy was an often used alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of Canada and the United States.
What was sod used for in the prairie?
Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, if the prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone, or the poverty of the settlers precluded purchasing standard building materials, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant, free, and could be used for house construction.
What is the Sod House Frontier?
The Sod-House Frontier, 1854–1890: A Social History of the Northern Plains from the Creation of Kansas and Nebraska to the Admission of the Dakotas. University of Nebraska. v.
What was used to protect the outer walls of a house?
Stucco was sometimes used to protect the outer walls. Canvas or stucco often lined the interior walls. While the influence of the sod house cannot be overlooked, stone or timber was preferred. Where railroads existed, allowing easy access to building materials, most houses and buildings of the period were framed.
Where is Heman Gibbs Farmstead?
Heman Gibbs Farmstead, Falcon Heights, Minnesota; the NRHP-listed site includes a replica of the original 1849 sod house.
How long did it take to build a sod house?
Building a sod house was a lot of work and often took many weeks , especially if the settler's nearest neighbors were too far away or unable to help. Because tents or the top of a covered wagon provided little comfort or shelter from the prairie's wild weather, many settlers began by building dugouts.
How big was a sod house?
Most sod houses were about 16 feet by 20 feet and had only one room. Furniture was kept to a minimum due to the lack of space. Beds and tables were often built right into the walls. Many people slept on pallets that could be moved out of the way during the day. Crowded conditions meant that some household objects, like sewing machines, were kept outside when the weather was good, and had to be squeezed inside when it rained or snowed.
How to keep mice out of a sod house?
Smoothing the inside walls and either plastering or wallpapering them brightened the room and helped keep out mice. Women found floors made from packed dirt hard to live with. Adding raised wooden floors was usually one of the first improvements that homesteaders made to their sod houses.
What made a dugout fireproof?
They were cool in the summer, warm in the winter and good shelter from the wild prairie weather. The fact that they were basically made of dirt made them virtually fireproof.
What is a dugout in a house?
Dugouts were small, dark spaces dug into the side of a hill that could be made quickly and were much warmer and drier than tents. Many people built a sod house right in front of the dugout and then used the dugout as another room. A family posing beside their new frame house and their sod house.
What was the most expensive part of a sod house?
Windows were the most expensive part of a sod house and were difficult to install. After setting the frame into the wall, the builder continued to lay rows of sod around it. When the bricks reached the top of the window frame settlers left off two layers of brick and laid cedar poles over the gap.
What did soddies become?
Most soddies became barns or storage buildings.
