A few weeks ago I spotted a log home in Watertown, MN that had recently had its old clapboard siding and a kitchen addition removed. Since I wasn’t able to stop and take a closer look I kept driving and hoped that I might make it back before the building had disappeared. A couple of […]
When we think about the American frontier, images of isolation, privation and often labor can come to mind. Life on the frontier certainly was difficult and dangerous. A homesteader’s first year was often a frantic race to establish his family before winter snow began to fall. The first job was to cut timber to clear land for planting […]
Plaster has served as a durable coating for interior walls in both high style and common buildings for centuries. 19th century wall plaster was made from four ingredients: lime, sand aggregate, fiber and water. The lime was the most important part of the mix as it cured and hardened much like concrete. Sand was a filler […]