Editing Log house (section)

==History==
Log construction was the most common building technique in large regions of [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Norway]], the [[Baltic states]], and [[Russia]], where straight and tall [[coniferous]] trees, such as pine and spruce, are readily available. It was also widely used for [[vernacular architecture|vernacular]] buildings in Eastern [[Central Europe]], the [[Alps]], the [[Balkan]]s and parts of [[Asia]], where similar climatic conditions prevail. In warmer and more westerly regions of Europe, where [[deciduous]] trees predominate, [[timber framing]] was favoured instead.

The two initial primary styles of log houses included:
*''Sawn logs'', which had logs sawn to a standard width but with their original heights.
*''Milled'', or machine-profiled, logs, made with a [[log house moulder]] and constructed with logs run through a manufacturing process, converting them into timbers consistent in size and appearance

Handcrafted log houses have been built for centuries in Fennoscandia and Fenno-Ugric areas such as Karelia, Lapland, and Eastern parts of Finland. Also in [[Scandinavia]],<ref>Holan, Jerri, "Norwegian Wood, A Tradition of Building," Rizzoli Intl Publications1990</ref> Russia<ref>Opolovnikov, Alexander, "The Wooden Architecture of Russia", Harry Abrams, Inc., 1989</ref> and [[Eastern Europe]], and were typically built using only an axe, knife and log scriber.<ref>Phleps, Hermann, "The Craft of Log Building", Harpers Collins reprint edition, 1989</ref>

Settlers from northern Europe brought the craft of log cabin construction to [[North America]] in the early 17th century, where it was quickly adopted by other [[colonization|colonists]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref>Bruce D. Bomberger (1991), ''[http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief26.htm The Preservation and Repair of Historic Log Buildings]'', Preservation Briefs #26, Heritage Preservation Services Division, [[National Park Service]]</ref> [[C. A. Nothnagle Log House]], built in [[New Jersey]] circa 1640, is likely the oldest log cabin in the [[United States]].

Pre-fabricated log houses for [[export]] were manufactured in Norway from the [[1880s]] until around [[1920]] by three large companies: ''[[Jacob Digre]]'' in [[Trondheim]], [[Christian Thams|M. Thams & Co.]] in [[Orkanger]], and ''Strømmen Trævarefabrik'' at [[Strømmen]]. They were factory-built from sawn or milled logs, numbered and dismantled for transportation, and reassembled on the buyer's site. Buyers could order standard models from catalogs, custom-made houses designed by architects employed by the companies, or houses of their design. Log houses from Thams were exhibited at the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)]] in [[Paris]].

The first American milled log houses appeared on the market in the 1920s, using pre-cut and shaped logs rather than hand-hewn ones. Many log houses today are milled, mainly because they require less labor-intensive fieldwork than handcrafted houses. About 500 companies in North America build the handcrafted, scribe-fit type of log house.

=== Timeline of Log House Development ===
* '''Prehistoric Era''': Early log shelters built in forested regions of Europe and Asia.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* '''Medieval Europe (10th–15th century)''': Log houses widely used in Scandinavia, Russia, and the Baltic states due to abundant coniferous forests.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

* '''17th century''': European settlers introduce log house construction to North America, especially in New Sweden (present-day Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). {{cite book |last=Holt |first=David |year=1992 |title=Log Cabins: How to Build and Restore Them |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-2034-0}}

* '''19th century''': Industrialization and the rise of sawmills lead to the standardization of log house construction. {{cite book |last=Glassie |first=Henry |year=2000 |title=Vernacular Architecture |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-21395-2}}

* '''1880s–1920s''': Norway pioneers **pre-fabricated log homes**, exporting them internationally. {{cite book |last=Schweitzer |first=Robert |year=1990 |title=America's Favorite Homes: Mail-Order Catalogues as a Guide to Popular Early 20th-Century Houses |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-2006-6}}

* '''1920s–Present''': Rise of **milled log homes** and **kit log houses** with precision-cut, factory-produced logs.{{cite journal |last=Kuhlmann |first=Mark |title=Modern Log Home Construction |journal=Journal of Timber Engineering |year=2020 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=45–60 }}