Cabins in the Laurel

An ark of civilization lost in the middle of an ocean of leaves.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Journey to America

Only optimistic people would bring a tall case clock with them to the frontier. Yet that is exactly what Nathan and Elizabeth Horton did when they emigrated to the New River area of Watauga County, North Carolina from New Jersey sometime between 1784 and 1786. While the clock was undoubtedly out of place in their primitive log cabin on the New River, the Hortons obviously expected to soon have a home in which the clock would fit perfectly.

Log cabins spread with the frontier. Originally developed by the Swedes, log cabins entered the colonies through Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, and diffused to the west and south as pioneers moved inward from the eastern seaboard. For people like the Hortons, the frontier meant opportunity, and the log cabin was the perfect pioneer dwelling. Frontier America was one vast forest, and the log cabin could be quickly built with nothing more than an axe.

The log cabin is today a romantic symbol but, in fact most Americans left their log cabins for better dwellings as soon as possible. In the Blue Ridge region, this move was usually to a wood frame farmhouse. Frequently, these larger homes were literally built around the cabin, and the log part disguised on the outside with weather boarding.

Granfather Clock and Capital Steps Quilt  |  Log Cabin or "Light and Shadow" Quilt
What did people do when they outgrew their log cabin?