Along the Northern Pacific Ocean lives a race of people that have known the land for centuries

HOME BUILDING

HOME

Raising beam to top of post

Interior schematic
of average style home

HOME BUILDING:

After the logs are divided into desired shapes and sizes, the Northwest Indians would use them to build their homes. Building a house took a lot of manpower. To push and pull a log up from the beach would take two to three hundred men and women to move it. To raise a house post men pushed up on five hardwood poles while others pulled on rope. A total of eighty men would be needed in this process. To raise a house beam men would pull on a lever lifted block, sliding the end of the beam up the skid. A pole placed beneath the beam stopped it from sliding down. Then the lever would be moved further and further back to raise the pole. At reaching the top of the skid, the beam would roll onto the house post. A plank lashed to the post prevented it from rolling too far. Another way to raise a beam was to have teams of men haul on ropes to roll the beam up the skid while others pushed and supported its weight with forked and straight poles.