Meade County, Kansas Soddy
Sod was the one plentiful resource of Kansas which made undesirable sod houses affordable and a perfect match for a “starter” home for the new pioneers. All you needed to construct one of these insulated abodes was densely rooted grass.
By the time the White’s migrated to Kansas from Missouri and built their sod home, the “grasshopper” plow had been developed (aft 1880). The grasshopper plow would lift four inch bricks of sod utilizing as much roots as possible, and cut them into one foot wide strips of sod as seen in the “crude” sod house that yet appeard to have uniformed sized blocks of sod.
Although this sod house did not have windows, some were made using a wooden frame, but lumber was expensive in the plains and was reserved for the door. The cool dirt floors attracted rodents and snakes, and the ceilings, if made of sod, were not efficient in rainstorms, due to constant leakage.
On the other hand, the sod houses were wind and fireproof and well insulated, keeping the home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. If more heat was needed, buffalo chips (preferred) were often used to stoke the fire.
This was the life of the homesteader.
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It's wonderful to see back then what they were able to build, amazing that these houses were wind and fireproof.
ReplyDeleteMy ancestors also lived in sod houses in Kansas. Sure looks like a start existence, doesn't it. Thanks for posting this wonderful picture.
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