Why was the cabin reduced in size when it was enshrined within the Memorial Building? Why is the cabin so tall?
When the cabin was first installed within the MemorialBuilding in 1911, it was determined by the architect, John Russell Pope, that it was too large for the interior of the building. Pope then proceeded to reduce the size of the cabin four feet in width and one foot in length. Thus the cabin was reduced from 16 x 18 feet to 12 X 17 feet. In the process of reducing the length of the logs, the notches were removed. The new notches were not cut as deeply as the originals so while the exact number of logs are in the cabin as were there in 1895, they do not nestle into one another as they did in 1895. In addition, there is an increased perception of height because the cabin is narrower that in 1895.[30] When settlers took the craft of log construction with them onto the frontier, they successfully adapted it to regional materials, climates, and terrains.
