The American Log Cabin traces the very beginnings of log cabin architecture on the shores of America in 1638 to the journey made by the first settlers down the Great Wagon Road to the Old Frontier of today’s West Virginia. Author Gerald Milnes shares images from his fifty years of photographically documenting early frontier architecture and its evolution in the region. Historic photos of a few important structures are also included in the pages. Numerous snippets of historic information, ethnic attributes, folklore, and anecdotes gleaned from older folks, are documented for the record. Beginning with forts erected for protection, the work illustrates the constant need for shelter that served people, animals, and the material culture so important to early rural life in the Appalachian Mountains.

Gerald Milnes served as the Folk Arts Coordinator at the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College for twenty-five years. He directed the Appalachian music program, produced traditional music recordings, and as a film maker he produced sixteen films about West Virginia traditional life. Gerry is widely published concerning traditional arts and West Virginia folklore. He is the recipient of the West Virginia Governor’s Arts Award, the Vandalia Award, the Robert C. Byrd Fiddling Award, and West Virginia Filmmaker of the Year among other honors. He has written widely for Goldenseal Magazine, West Virginia’s publication of traditional life.