Pioneer Dugout

In the 1874-1888 era, the High Plains, a sea of grass, had no native timber, stone, or adobe building materials, so homes were dugouts or, if settlers' wagons went some 300 miles for lumber, half-dugouts. Dugouts were warm in winter and cool in summer. Some were carpeted and cloth-lined, and some had an extra room for the schoolteacher or other guests. Cooking and heating stoves burned buffalo chips and cow chips. A Carson County half-dugout reflects the homes of the John F. Weatherlys and other pioneer families.

Panhandle, Texas · United States