Homesteader's Cabin
The urge to have a piece of ground for your very own remains today one of our greatest desires. Pioneers left the settlements, crossed the plains, and settled in Oregon. Donation land claims settled some areas of the state, but the United States offered a 160 acre homestead if you would build a cabin and live on the land for five years. Till the tillable area and prove by two witnesses that you had fulfilled the requirements and the land was yours.
The homesteader was Fred Dingeler, who hewed juniper logs to create this cabin in the 1880s. The homestead was located near Antelope Valley in Klamath County.
The cabin is near 14 feet wide by 16 feet long. The work that created this stout cabin was that of a master craftsman. Notice the accuracy of the corner notches.
The logs in this cabin are heavier than usual and been hewed square with a broad axe. The roof was made steep for snow country and made of split pine shakes.