Technology - Log Cabin Simplicity: Recrafting Pioneer Tiny Homes

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Description

This one is slightly related to the tiny house theme, but more esoteric. Its about an Iowa man (Paul Cutting) who stumbled on some of Iowas abandoned history - mid-19th century Norwegian-American log cabins - that were being destroyed by farmers, often eager to raze their land for corn. These are 150 year old log cabins - built using dozens of century-old trees - but curiously, Paul seems to be one of the few people even interested in their fate. In the past 6 years, hes nearly single-handedly taken down 10 of them (piece by piece) and reconstructed four of them. The story goes beyond the actual buildings... its also one mans homage to a past where things were built to last. There is one scene where Paul goes through his collection of objects found in buildings hes taken down - he shows off still intact leather shoes, intricate door handles, his towns Norwegian-American newspaper. He even lives in one of these reconstructed log homes (built for just $20K, not including his labor). His work hasnt really been recognized by a broader public, but hes painstaking with his attention to detail (even hiring an Amish carpenter to recreate windows and doors).