Ken, great to see you for the first time! What a pleasure to visit Kimmswick. I grew up in a 1926 house built for my great-grandparents and occupied by four generations of our family and with items going back as far as the 17th century. (A German devotional book with wooden hinges, printed in about 1614) I've slept in a four-poster bed with ropes for the mattress and pegs holding the bed together. During the video I recognized items familiar to those in my family's home. My family has nearly all died out but, happily, many of the contents of the house went to the Mathers Museum at Indiana University.
I got a kick out of the “courting” candle! Very clever. 😄 The small cabin looks to be the precursor to todays “tiny homes”. Another good video, thanks!
I don’t think it was mentioned, but that first house being 2 stories would have been considered a mansion to most Midwest pioneers at the time it was built.
My wife, daughter and I just bought the family farm. The home was built by my great ancestor in 1838 and finished in 1840. It was part of the Zavala Settlement in East Texas. The floors, walls, doors and windows are all still original to the 1840 build. In the 70’s it was registered as a National Historic Landmark and we were given the plaque for the yard. More than 7 generations have lived in this home and we plan to keep it going. The house went vacant for almost 40 years after the passing of my grandparents so a lot of work is getting done to it but it’s getting there. There is still carvings of our family name under the house on the supports that read “1840 By Gods Grace Alone” The original natural spring is still just 50 yards from the house and offers wonderful fresh water. We also have what was once the largest eastern red cedar tree in the United States sitting 30 feet from the front porch. I would love to send some pictures that we have if you ever wish to reach out. If you have an email, I would be happy to connect.
Visited there every spring for years. My favorite place for lunch and their famous pies the cemetery is very interesting with many historical grave stones. Two relatives buried there.thanks Ken
I live in Imperial, which is right next to Kimmswick. I grew up in St. Louis city, and we used to go to Kimsswick for lunch a lot. It's a great little town. This cabin is beautiful. I love hearing about the history. Thanks for the great tour!
Wonderful. I didn't grow up in a log cabin, but never appreciated growing up in a house that was over 100 years old, with some of its quirky features. It had a functional but not used summer kitchen in the basement, complete with dumbwaiter, built in Ice box with ice door, transom windows that still open, to keep the house cool, and a Pittsburgh potty. I used to think it was weird to have the kitchen stove set inside a fireplace, but lookin back I can appreciate all of those features. We also had a tube that ran from the front door to the kitchen with a mouth piece and a a door release. Most people in out neighborhood had remodeled and removed all of that cool stuff but my mom believed in preserving the old features. Our house also had beautiful maple floors and oak trim.
@@ThisHouse It was a really cool experience living there, like living in history, but like a lot of victorians it was quite cold and drafty in the winter. Pocket doors popped off track sometimes. I got good at fixing those. All of the doors had skeleton keys. My mother was right to preserve it, even if it was like living in museum.
See why had high ceiling for heat evaporate in summer Had thick rugs heavy curtains winter stay warm they took up in summer FUNNY my great grandpa I even lived w for 3 years shut everything up and made one room efficiency for himself upstairs when alone lived like pioneers too Had electricity oil stove in case but rarely used bc farmers soldiers didn't get social security until later so couldn't afford a lot was raising child great depression He had foot pedaled grinder sewing machines etc kerosene lamps etc had player piano or could manually play Victrola record player you cranked also and started out w page sisters etc really fast then went really slow near end of crank running out A commode in unheated room.acroos his front door that consisted of toilet seat over 5 gallon pail.for night needs old feather bed down and chenille thick spread quilt All kinds old tools wash board etc and used them But honestly old days lot of work I would loved it and thankful bc life situations know how to do use old tech and techniques for daily life
Nice house. In my 1860 house, i found several old items like the lamps, hanging on the wall in the vid , bread form, a big basket to make a lot of dough in, a metal emailled plate to hang spoons on and several german and US ww2 items. And many more items. The house has 50cm massive thick stone walls. I live in the Ardennes, Battle of the Bulge area, Belgium.
My mother's family is from the Hanibal MO area and told me stories of my Great grandmother living in a Log cabin on a small bluff above the river. The land and cabin was sold off by our cousins back in the late 90's to make room for a gas station.
This is a great video! Glad this wonderful pioneer and early frontier architecture is getting some in depth video coverage and documentation. I really appreciate the detail shots of how items are constructed and woodworked. Love all your videos but this one is really well done!
We never know where we're traveling back in history to, which makes this channel fun! I love cabins. The last time I shopped in Kimmswick was 1996. Charming little town. I always wanted to go back but somehow never did.
Another fine report, Ken. I remeber Kimswick as being a great place for a day trip from St. Louis. I m at the age and physical condition that good memories are nice to visit.
The commentator sounded surprised that ice could last until July. Ice was stored in ice houses, heavily built structures that were insulated with sawdust. Individual blocks were packed in sawdust as well. Ice kept pretty well in these "tiny houses".
It is basicly how a modern fridge is constructed. The insulation keeps the cold of the Ice inside, because the temparture drops below freezing the Ice stays frozen.
Ken, you should look into visiting The Schowengerdt House in Warrenton MO. The Warrenton historical Society has been working on this beautiful home for years. They are still working on the house, but they did offer tours in December 2020. There were guides dressed in period clothing giving tours of each room. I think you would really enjoy it
My grandparents homestead little house had a "summer" kitchen. You don't want to be cooking in the kitchen in the house in July and August back East! Plus the canning room and preserve storage was also in the separate room across the plank hallway.
Nice old restored log cabin, thanks for the tour! Maybe they should remove the modern , cheap looking house numbers above the front door, what were they thinking!
That would have been considered a PALACE or MANSION compared the average pioneer cabin! Two full floors was practically unheard of in the early days. Of course most frontier cabins were a lot more like the small "guest" cabin on that same property. That much smaller size made sense as in pioneer days, the overwhelming majority of the time was spent outdoors. Most people only went indoors to eat and sleep.
I hope great care is taken to maintain the log cabin exterior! Siding was put on to preserve the structure, especially important in places where there's freeze in winter.
This was absolutely wonderful. Loved how there was so many artifact that can still be used. Floorplan is wonderful, but where's the kitchen (maybe the room where the butter churn was? No stove, probably cooked over the fireplace) and didn't get to go up stairs in the main house. I would have loved to have seen that. Great tour!!
Could the smaller cabin have been a "summer Kitchen" for the main house? Many homes of that era had separate buildings for their kitchens to protect the main house from fire and keep it cooler in the summer.
I have a rope bed and a coffee grinder next to my popcorn pumper. What was used for mortar between the outside logs and beneath them? It looks a lot like plaster.
Beautiful cabins. A bit cramped for filming no doubt, but I loved especially seeing the "add-on" stairway along the inner wall of the larger cabin. Some early years were spent in a house that was built in 1670, and we had something like that.
I love this channel so freaking much! It’s calming to watch too! I would love to see you research some of those huge mansions off of St. Louis avenue! Please keep doing videos 💥💥
Another fantastic video Ken you've been slacking off on the number of new video's, I enjoy them. You keep me in dark when you don't say what type of heating system, garage, basement, yard sometimes (attics your pretty good at)?
Hello Ken, if you're ever in Berkeley, there's an amazing apartment hamlet an the end of Spruce Street, directly across from the Berkeley University campus. A fairytale story book design from 1920s.
Personally I think the courting candle is a fun myth. I have an antique one . The one you have is a Home Interior one sold in the 1980s at home parties. I had one. Hopefully you can replace with an authentic one since the house does have true antiques. I love log homes and I enjoy seeing them with authentic furnishings.
Funny how they worked, ground coffee, made candles, built a home, etc with their own muscle. If i run out of Folgers or the dryer stops working, elctricity goes out, whatever, i panic like its a major catastrophe. Wish i was self sufficient like they were.
It was common knowledge that people who built their homes with logs understood that eventually they would have cover the logs to keep their home from deteriorating. It's unfortunate that practice of preserving log homes built by our grandparents and great-grandparents is apparently no longer taught. Those buildings, if the logs are untreated will in time have constant upkeep. By the way 1850 is really not so much of a distant past. My Grandfather was born in 1858.
Have you covered the Winchester house? I don't see it in your videos.. It would have made such a great Halloween story.. Thank you for sharing these homes.. 🤗
You need to do additional reading and study of frontier life. The "ice saw" had a handle at each end..... not for cutting ice but for felling large trees. The smaller saw was for "limbing" and cutting the downed tree into chunks. The teeth of both saws show they were for wood, while they would cut ice, an ice saw had a more triangular shaped tooth. In a "historic village" setting the gift shop will have books, mostly basic content, the better quality ones always have a bibliography, consult those more detailed books for the historic trivia like saw tooth shape. Like your channel. All the images of the many mansions both inside and out are fascinating.
Both of those log cabins, with as shown furniture and equipment, would have marked their owners as comparatively wealthy. Going back in time with pioneering homes, there would have been some sharing of indoor tools (kitchen and clothes making) and outdoor tools (ice saws, etc.) Many early houses were sparsely furnished, a cabinet for clothes (and extra clothes) would have been a real luxury.
That one saw is not a ice saw sorry.. ice saws can be 6ft long..big teeth handle that sticks out the back horizontal when your cuttin ice at a downward angle😉
You know what? I would totally live in a house like this.. or something colonial (1750's) with only extremmely few modern items (such as Tv, Laptop, Fridge...) and i probabl be far more happier, and healthier..
Ken, great to see you for the first time! What a pleasure to visit Kimmswick. I grew up in a 1926 house built for my great-grandparents and occupied by four generations of our family and with items going back as far as the 17th century. (A German devotional book with wooden hinges, printed in about 1614) I've slept in a four-poster bed with ropes for the mattress and pegs holding the bed together. During the video I recognized items familiar to those in my family's home. My family has nearly all died out but, happily, many of the contents of the house went to the Mathers Museum at Indiana University.
That's amazing, thank you for sharing!
@Andrew Brendan, I love to hear about family history like yours. It's great that you have found a good place to receive your family's treasured items.
Love the Mathew’s! The garden days are the best.
I got a kick out of the “courting” candle! Very clever. 😄 The small cabin looks to be the precursor to todays “tiny homes”. Another good video, thanks!
I was thinking the same thing. And for how many centuries did people manage to live and prosper that way. So can we.
Lehmans sells those
I said the same thing when that door opened!
2:55 tightening the bed ropes is the origin of the expression “sleep tight.”
I think that practice originated in the medieval period.
I don’t think it was mentioned, but that first house being 2 stories would have been considered a mansion to most Midwest pioneers at the time it was built.
My wife, daughter and I just bought the family farm. The home was built by my great ancestor in 1838 and finished in 1840. It was part of the Zavala Settlement in East Texas. The floors, walls, doors and windows are all still original to the 1840 build. In the 70’s it was registered as a National Historic Landmark and we were given the plaque for the yard. More than 7 generations have lived in this home and we plan to keep it going. The house went vacant for almost 40 years after the passing of my grandparents so a lot of work is getting done to it but it’s getting there. There is still carvings of our family name under the house on the supports that read “1840 By Gods Grace Alone”
The original natural spring is still just 50 yards from the house and offers wonderful fresh water. We also have what was once the largest eastern red cedar tree in the United States sitting 30 feet from the front porch.
I would love to send some pictures that we have if you ever wish to reach out.
If you have an email, I would be happy to connect.
This village is soooooo cuteeee!!! Astonishingly preserved. Glad to see it thriving to this day.
First time that I’ve ever seen a candle timer…sweet! Thanks for sharing! 👍🏿
Thank you for the tour Ken. I believe the tightening of the bed ropes led to the expression “sleep tight”.
Is that where that comes from? How interesting!
Great day off with This House☺️ I live 15 mins away and love the little town!
It's such a beautiful area!
Thanks. Lauding from lowland North Carolina in a log cabin built in 1983
Visited there every spring for years. My favorite place for lunch and their famous pies the cemetery is very interesting with many historical grave stones. Two relatives buried there.thanks Ken
My hometown. They FINALLY reopened the wharf and host steamboats again.
Thanks for covering beautiful, unspoiled, Kimmswick, Mo.
I live in Imperial, which is right next to Kimmswick. I grew up in St. Louis city, and we used to go to Kimsswick for lunch a lot. It's a great little town. This cabin is beautiful. I love hearing about the history. Thanks for the great tour!
ahaha...well i'll be danged...i got an old ice saw on the wall here in the Ozarks and didn't know it ^^..thaks for good vid! :)
Wonderful. I didn't grow up in a log cabin, but never appreciated growing up in a house that was over 100 years old, with some of its quirky features. It had a functional but not used summer kitchen in the basement, complete with dumbwaiter, built in Ice box with ice door, transom windows that still open, to keep the house cool, and a Pittsburgh potty. I used to think it was weird to have the kitchen stove set inside a fireplace, but lookin back I can appreciate all of those features. We also had a tube that ran from the front door to the kitchen with a mouth piece and a a door release. Most people in out neighborhood had remodeled and removed all of that cool stuff but my mom believed in preserving the old features. Our house also had beautiful maple floors and oak trim.
It sounds absolutely beautiful!
@@ThisHouse It was a really cool experience living there, like living in history, but like a lot of victorians it was quite cold and drafty in the winter. Pocket doors popped off track sometimes. I got good at fixing those. All of the doors had skeleton keys. My mother was right to preserve it, even if it was like living in museum.
See why had high ceiling for heat evaporate in summer Had thick rugs heavy curtains winter stay warm they took up in summer FUNNY my great grandpa I even lived w for 3 years shut everything up and made one room efficiency for himself upstairs when alone lived like pioneers too Had electricity oil stove in case but rarely used bc farmers soldiers didn't get social security until later so couldn't afford a lot was raising child great depression He had foot pedaled grinder sewing machines etc kerosene lamps etc had player piano or could manually play Victrola record player you cranked also and started out w page sisters etc really fast then went really slow near end of crank running out A commode in unheated room.acroos his front door that consisted of toilet seat over 5 gallon pail.for night needs old feather bed down and chenille thick spread quilt All kinds old tools wash board etc and used them But honestly old days lot of work I would loved it and thankful bc life situations know how to do use old tech and techniques for daily life
That's a beautiful old cabin.
Nice house. In my 1860 house, i found several old items like the lamps, hanging on the wall in the vid , bread form, a big basket to make a lot of dough in, a metal emailled plate to hang spoons on and several german and US ww2 items. And many more items. The house has 50cm massive thick stone walls. I live in the Ardennes, Battle of the Bulge area, Belgium.
It's fascinating how houses were built & how people lived during this time. Thank you for sharing such a detailed & informative video!!! 👍👍
My mother's family is from the Hanibal MO area and told me stories of my Great grandmother living in a Log cabin on a small bluff above the river. The land and cabin was sold off by our cousins back in the late 90's to make room for a gas station.
This is a great video! Glad this wonderful pioneer and early frontier architecture is getting some in depth video coverage and documentation. I really appreciate the detail shots of how items are constructed and woodworked. Love all your videos but this one is really well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
We never know where we're traveling back in history to, which makes this channel fun! I love cabins. The last time I shopped in Kimmswick was 1996. Charming little town. I always wanted to go back but somehow never did.
It's worth a trip for their festivals, especially the Apple Butter Festival in October.
@@ThisHouse Thank you for the tip. I am totally going to attend that event!
Another fine report, Ken. I remeber Kimswick as being a great place for a day trip from St. Louis. I m at the age and physical condition that good memories are nice to visit.
The commentator sounded surprised that ice could last until July. Ice was stored in ice houses, heavily built structures that were insulated with sawdust. Individual blocks were packed in sawdust as well. Ice kept pretty well in these "tiny houses".
Well, if it's insulated well enough, an ice house can remain cold for months on end! Root cellars do an even better job of keeping things cold.
It is basicly how a modern fridge is constructed. The insulation keeps the cold of the Ice inside, because the temparture drops below freezing the Ice stays frozen.
Those rope beds are still used by many nations around the world.
I live in an 1840 (partial) log house in Eastern PA. One wall is exposed to the log in the livingroom.
Love the history you provided and your humour is much appreciated. Well done Ken!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Your videos are so interesting. Thank you! I think I could actually be happy living in this cabin.
Incredible that it still around
Ken, you should look into visiting The Schowengerdt House in Warrenton MO. The Warrenton historical Society has been working on this beautiful home for years. They are still working on the house, but they did offer tours in December 2020. There were guides dressed in period clothing giving tours of each room. I think you would really enjoy it
Thank you for the suggestion!
My grandparents homestead little house had a "summer" kitchen. You don't want to be cooking in the kitchen in the house in July and August back East! Plus the canning room and preserve storage was also in the separate room across the plank hallway.
Very professionally done.
Nice old restored log cabin, thanks for the tour! Maybe they should remove the modern , cheap looking house numbers above the front door, what were they thinking!
Another great video! Thanks for all the entertainment! :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
That would have been considered a PALACE or MANSION compared the average pioneer cabin! Two full floors was practically unheard of in the early days.
Of course most frontier cabins were a lot more like the small "guest" cabin on that same property. That much smaller size made sense as in pioneer days, the overwhelming majority of the time was spent outdoors. Most people only went indoors to eat and sleep.
Great vid! The Log Home is wonderful, everything is perfect!
I would very happily live in that first cabin today! Just as it is but with my own furniture.
Gorgeous woodworking thank you for sharing beautiful home
This has been a very interesting tour. 😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Ken, just subscribed,you know all the way from Britain,you make my day,you take me with you,you take me to places I will NEVER go,thank you!!!!🙏🤗🇬🇧
Fascinating and educational video regarding Missourian history. Thank you for your excellent work 👏 👍 😀 🙌 😊
I hope great care is taken to maintain the log cabin exterior! Siding was put on to preserve the structure, especially important in places where there's freeze in winter.
Great memories history. Great video friend.
I love Kimmswick, tasty food at the Blue Owl.
The Blue Owl is our favorite!
What I wouldn’t give to spend a night in this house💯🥹 I love this time period.
This was absolutely wonderful. Loved how there was so many artifact that can still be used. Floorplan is wonderful, but where's the kitchen (maybe the room where the butter churn was? No stove, probably cooked over the fireplace) and didn't get to go up stairs in the main house. I would have loved to have seen that. Great tour!!
Appreciate your videos very much thank you
Here in Ohio we have a place called Hale Farm and Village. You should check it out.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Enjoyed seeing the home but absolutely loved hearing about the courting candle.
Thanks again for the History of tis Home. Great Job again Ken🥰🥰🥰
Could the smaller cabin have been a "summer Kitchen" for the main house? Many homes of that era had separate buildings for their kitchens to protect the main house from fire and keep it cooler in the summer.
Very beautiful love your older places
Hard to imagine someone putting siding on this beautiful log cabin.
I have a rope bed and a coffee grinder next to my popcorn pumper. What was used for mortar between the outside logs and beneath them? It looks a lot like plaster.
I would love to visit this place.
Great job 👏🏻 love all the accessories for the home.
This is the best vid you've ever done.
Woof.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Stumbled on your channel! Really enjoying it!
Beautiful cabins.
A bit cramped for filming no doubt, but I loved especially seeing the "add-on" stairway along the inner wall of the larger cabin.
Some early years were spent in a house that was built in 1670, and we had something like that.
It makes sense that pioneer cabins tended to be puny, as they were expected to be outside most of the time.
Really enjoying your channel. So glad I found you ❤️
My grandma grew up in a cabin like this and it got moved like this did also.
Have you toured the Habitation in Annapolis County in Nova Scotia? The Habitation is the first settlement in Canada
I have not! I'll see what I can find on it, thank you for the recommendation!
Excellent! As always
I love this channel so freaking much! It’s calming to watch too! I would love to see you research some of those huge mansions off of St. Louis avenue! Please keep doing videos 💥💥
Great video as always. I need to visit that town.
Thankyou for sharing.Most interesting.
Another fantastic video Ken you've been slacking off on the number of new video's, I enjoy them. You keep me in dark when you don't say what type of heating system, garage, basement, yard sometimes (attics your pretty good at)?
This place is so beautiful . I seem a coffee Grinder before .I like to stay there ha ha so cool .
Well done. 👍
Oh my goodness 😮This video was AMAZING 😺I am subscribing to your channel right now 👍
Hello Ken, if you're ever in Berkeley, there's an amazing apartment hamlet an the end of Spruce Street, directly across from the Berkeley University campus. A fairytale story book design from 1920s.
Personally I think the courting candle is a fun myth. I have an antique one . The one you have is a Home Interior one sold in the 1980s at home parties. I had one. Hopefully you can replace with an authentic one since the house does have true antiques. I love log homes and I enjoy seeing them with authentic furnishings.
Thanks
There's a museum in Cashmere Washington that has a few pioneer homes. I think you'd get a kick out of them
Funny how they worked, ground coffee, made candles, built a home, etc with their own muscle. If i run out of Folgers or the dryer stops working, elctricity goes out, whatever, i panic like its a major catastrophe. Wish i was self sufficient like they were.
It was common knowledge that people who built their homes with logs understood that eventually they would have cover the logs to keep their home from deteriorating. It's unfortunate that practice of preserving log homes built by our grandparents and great-grandparents is apparently no longer taught. Those buildings, if the logs are untreated will in time have constant upkeep. By the way 1850 is really not so much of a distant past. My Grandfather was born in 1858.
beautiful!!!
Interesting tour. Thankyou
Really enjoyed this one!
The bed ropes instead of boxsprings is where the saying sleep tight comes from
Don't know how I got here, but I'm glad I did! I'm now a subscriber!
Have you covered the Winchester house? I don't see it in your videos.. It would have made such a great Halloween story.. Thank you for sharing these homes.. 🤗
There was a house here in my hometown built in 1840. Up for sale. I so wish I had the money to purchase it
You need to do additional reading and study of frontier life. The "ice saw" had a handle at each end..... not for cutting ice but for felling large trees. The smaller saw was for "limbing" and cutting the downed tree into chunks. The teeth of both saws show they were for wood, while they would cut ice, an ice saw had a more triangular shaped tooth.
In a "historic village" setting the gift shop will have books, mostly basic content, the better quality ones always have a bibliography, consult those more detailed books for the historic trivia like saw tooth shape.
Like your channel. All the images of the many mansions both inside and out are fascinating.
Very nice homes
If they didn't have coffee beans they could grind toasted barley to make a pleasant hot drink.
Those woody stem blue flowers growing vacant lots are chicory and roots drank boiled as coffee substitute BTW
Both of those log cabins, with as shown furniture and equipment, would have marked their owners as comparatively wealthy. Going back in time with pioneering homes, there would have been some sharing of indoor tools (kitchen and clothes making) and outdoor tools (ice saws, etc.) Many early houses were sparsely furnished, a cabinet for clothes (and extra clothes) would have been a real luxury.
good tour keep making vids
Great video. You must be from St Louis.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, This House is based out of St. Louis
@@ThisHouse nice. I used to volunteer at an old house in Kansas City
That one saw is not a ice saw sorry.. ice saws can be 6ft long..big teeth handle that sticks out the back horizontal when your cuttin ice at a downward angle😉
What a great butter churning demo lol
What would they do after July then, to keep food cool?
took brains, tools ,muscle and horses to build this house
Can you even begin to fathom relocating a log cabin? Of this size?
Hi Ken!
Good video
You know what? I would totally live in a house like this.. or something colonial (1750's) with only extremmely few modern items (such as Tv, Laptop, Fridge...) and i probabl be far more happier, and healthier..
Arrange a visit with essential craftsman and if buddy out in Oregon to see his original green and green rendering?
Hi Ken.
Would have liked to see the girls' and boys' bedrooms on this complete tour.
Imagine how thick the bushes were back then. You'd have to pause every ten seconds and come up for air!