Homesteads and a Sod House – What Was it Like and How Was a Sod House Built?
Life on the prairie for early Nebraska settlers often included living in a sod house, commonly called a “soddie.” Sod houses were used throughout the prairie states because trees were scarce unless you were close to a river. These imaginative settlers used the supplies at hand to build a tight home that would protect them in winter and summer. The earth and the rich prairie grass where the buffalo had recently roamed were plentiful so the pioneers made sod houses. The first step was to clear the grass where the house would sit. This would help keep snakes, insects and mice out of the house. Help, but they still made it in. Some cedar would be needed above and below windows. The prairie sod (the top layer of the ground which included the roots, the grass and the soil they grew in) was cut with a special plow called a cutting plow. This sharp plow was needed because the prairie sod had been undisturbed for centuries and was very thick and tight. They could only cut what they would use th
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