Posted on 11/21/2017 10:14:15 AM PST by BenLurkin
Finding the stumps of gigantic trees that had been felled by logging companies still rooted in the ground, they saw an opportunity too good to pass up. The loggers had opened up what was previously dense forest, but the pioneers still faced the long and arduous task of clearing these tree stumps before farming could begin.
While this hard work was in progress, some of the stumps were put to various uses. For example, one might be leveled off and used as a stage for music and dancing. Then there was adapting the huge tree stumps to be a shelter, and even though it was a temporary solution, it was a brilliant one.
Building a stump dwelling still took a tremendous amount of effort. Obviously, not every stump would make a good home. Many were too damaged or burned. But, with limited resources, the new arrivals were creative in making the best use of what was there. First, the interior had to hollowed out, leaving a good thick wall. Putting a solid roof on the stump took careful work and patience, as did cutting doors and windows and installing a stovepipe.
Some stump houses had two or even three stories and were equipped with everything a family home needed, with space to cook, sleep, and store their belongings. Winter was probably the scariest period to spend in a stump house because severe weather hits the North Pacific during those months, with super low temperatures and snow sometimes persisting for days and months.
...
One man, William McDonald, even used a large abandoned stump structure as a U.S. Postal Office. His main office was in a far-off area of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, roughly 10 miles from Port Angeles.
(Excerpt) Read more at thevintagenews.com ...
HMMMmmm
Loggers / lumberjacks were essentially smaller men ... 5’4” - 5’ 6”, thin, wiry and strong as JIT ! ... so the human stature of them and their families COULD fit inside a large Redwood stump.
Haha! Never saw that movie, but read the book when I was a young teenage boy. Great book. And yep, he lived in a hollow tree... Who knew you could boil water in a big leaf?
“Loggers / lumberjacks were essentially smaller men ... 5’4” - 5’ 6”, “
First I’ve heard of that. Some were, some weren’t.
One of the first books I ever read and I was THRILLED at the thought of doing it myself!
I wonder how many kids actually moved into the woods after reading it?
One of my Revolutionary War-era ancestors supposedly temporarily housed his family in a hollowed out fallen sycamore tree. I have seen a few big sycamores, but come on...
That’s so cool. I’d never heard of such a thing before.
Paul Bunyan might disagree too.
No lie...when I was young I heard about an old woman that lived in a shoe.
She had a bunch of kids too.
There was an old woman
who lived in a shoe
She had so many kids
Her uterus fell out....OH!
And they lived n that too!
Hickory Dickory Doc,
That book/movie inspired me when I was younger.
I don’t visualize those harvested forest areas as being vey conducive to farming, except maybe more trees.
Who lived in a stump.
She had so many kids
Because she liked to....." eh, never mind. Probably should have kept that one to myself.
I loved that book!!
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