The early North Louisiana pioneers were more concerned with the erection of a shelter for protection from the elements and wildlife than they were with architectural styles. Folk houses were constructed of either horizontal logs or wood frame.
The typical log folk house plans of the mid 19th century in the hilly country were the single pen (room) wide and the dogtrot. The dogtrot plan consisted of the two single pens (rooms) separated by a floored and roofed but open walled space. (The designation “pen” is used only in reference to the rooms built of log construction).
Folk house plans constructed of wood frame during the 19th century were the one room, two room, saddlebag, dogtrot, central hall and later the gable front and wing. These house types will be examined subsequently.
Pictured on this page are examples of log construction. In [figure 4] the logs were split; the inner room wall surface would be even. In [figure 5] may be seen several elements of folk log house construction in the drawing of a house being dismantled. This dogtrot with open passage between pens had an attached porch, square logs with square notches, an end exterior chimney (base visible), three inch round pole roof rafters and gallery door openings with the head occurring at the seventh log. In [figure 6] a close-up detail shows the square hewn logs and square notches on this dogtrot.
Fig. 4. Log notch detail (Bldg. 76).
Fig. 5. An 1880’s square notch log dogtrot (Bldg. 6).
Fig. 6. Square notch detail (Bldg. 6).