33. A decorative tree mobile
34. Bedsprings for a gate
35. Street light reflectors used as post covers to prevent rotting
36. 7-up sign used for backsplash
Construction
The log houses were built of peeled or “skunt” logs of native longleaf pine, called “lightered,” “yellow,” “heart” or “long-strawed” pine. The settler selected trees with straight smooth trunks approximately the same size. The trees were felled, cut into the correct length, and peeled. They were hauled to the building site with ox or mule teams. The foundation blocks were usually vertical sections of large heart pine logs ([Fig. 13]), although some houses used native iron rock as foundation stones ([Fig. 14]). These foundations held the sills of the house a foot or two off the ground so that the light and air under the house protected it from dampness and “wood lice” or termites. In some cases, the sills were laid directly on the earth. The sills of the Wiley McNeill house, Clarke County, laid on the ground around 1830, today show little sign of rotting or termite damage. The resin in heart pine acts as a natural preservative, making the wood almost indestructible.