Mid 1800s Cabin finds

wolfpaw518

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
92
Location
Faribault Minnisota
Found a few things this afternoon. Nails, spikes and a horse shoe (my first :neat:) around a Mid 1800s log cabin in Minnesota. What makes this interesting, is the fact that ALL the nails and spikes are unused. When they built this place they sure had a lot of waste.

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This was one of the earlier log cabins in MN as people were moving west across the upper prairie, earlier than "Little House on the Praire". Actually now that I think about it. it's between where Laura Engalls was born in WI and Walnut Grove MN. and would have been well lived in when the Engalls passed by. hmmm...

neil
 
:wow: That's alot of spikes!

I bet the nails were used b/c my friend replaced his roof on his early 1800's cabin last summer and I found quite a few very nice square nails on top of the ground. They sure made em to last back then. :yes:
 
They sure made em to last back then. :yes:
Actually, they last because they were made of "wrought iron", which has a very low carbon content (99-99.8% pure iron). The last wrought iron producer in the US closed in 1969, and the last in GB closed in 1973.

That peticular horseshoe was made for use on ice (you have that in Mn? :lol:). The heel caulks and toe grab being sharpened gives that aspect away. As they would wear, the farrier would re-sharpen them when the shoes were reset.

Nice finds.
 
Wow, maybe there was a vampire hunter there? I never seen huge old spikes like those. I first thought they were railroad spikes but they are definitely different. Nice Info. Cool Historic Finds!!! Very Interesting. Nice Pics.
 
I too have found a few spikes like those. Were those found scattered about or near each other? What a cool house shoe and professionally described by Longhair.
 
That peticular horseshoe was made for use on ice (you have that in Mn? :lol:). The heel caulks and toe grab being sharpened gives that aspect away. As they would wear, the farrier would re-sharpen them when the shoes were reset.

That explains everything. I was wondering, which way was up on these :?: Thanks Longhair, and everyone for the comments.

BTW...If anyone is interested in the history of prairie log cabins and has a collection, let me know. I'll send you a couple.

neil
 
Wow, those are some really nice examples of good iron smithing. I love pulling old hand forged iron out of the earth. The pitting and patina really make for beautiful conversation pieces. Congrats, bro.

HH,
 
In the early days, nails were often hard to come by. Often when a family moved, they burnt their old cabin to recover the nails for use in the new one.
 
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