From presidents to ordinary people, early Americans lived in log cabins. Alva Butler walked 360 miles from New York to Buffalo, then sailed to Detroit. He settled in Troy Township and built a cabin near an Indian trail. That home was smaller than this settler's cabin, but he and Hulda raised six children in its single room. To improve relations with local Native Americans, Hulda baked extra bread and left the door unlocked so they could help themselves.