The Davis family is growing:
Norman Edward - born 12 July 1896
Augusta Irene - born 5 August 1897
Floyd Jim - born 10 June 1899
Floyd Jim - born 10 June 1899
Sod house built in Nebraska in 1886 - image
not the Davis home, but probably similar
Birdie's account continues as she remembers their first homestead:
During this time [1896-97], Daddy’s brother Jim came to visit us. He had heard of the government land to be homesteaded east of Colorado Springs near Ramah, Colorado, so went up and took a look. He could get a plot along a long draw and seen he could have a meadow for hay, so filed on it. He built a nice two bedroom house, barns, and corrals, and was real happy with it. Then Uncle Jack, another brother, came and took out a claim on a place joining on the east of Jim. Uncle Jack built a small bachelor shack on his land.
They finally talked Daddy into going up there and in the spring of 1898 he filed on his 160 acres. It was three miles north and east of his brothers’ places.
We moved from Pueblo then and lived with Uncle Jim while all three of the brothers built the house, barns, etc on our own homestead, ten miles east of Ramah, Colorado. Not too much was accomplished this summer with tending chores, putting up hay and tending crops on Jack’s and Jim’s places. But foundation [for the house] was laid, and floor joists were in, etc. I can remember how much fun it was to run across and jump over the joists. I could jump from one to the other, but Norman had to crawl over, land between and crawl over the next. I would meet him as I came back. We did that by the hour.
Well, come spring 1899 – they started the walls, the house was to be a three bedroom deal with a kitchen and dining room on the southwest side making it in an L shape with all the bedrooms on the north side. In those days a lot of the houses were “adoba” houses. Having lived in New Mexico where Indians and Mexicans built all their houses of adoba, and that was what we were to have. To make the bricks those days, they plowed the grassy land four inches deep and cut the sod into 12”x16”x4” bricks and laid them up with thick mud like they lay our brick today with cement. It was laid up with grass down in a wall. This was laid on the roof too – over the sheeting and two thicknesses of black tarpaper. Of course the roof had to be pretty flat to keep this from washing off. This really made a warm house and real deep windows for mother's plants. She always had every window full of house plants. Dad said it was good the windows were tall in there or they wouldn’t be much light get in.
Norman has also written about this home, but he refers to it as a "soddy"
On June 10, 1899 Floyd Jim was added to the family, and the “soddy” was becoming more crowded. Mother was not well, and had lots of work. I don’t remember the size of our sod house, but I remember when it was in the making, and I remember running in the trail after the cutter, when the sods were being turned up. The cutter left a trail 12 inches wide and 4 inches deep. Our homestead “soddy” was large enough that there was room to have square dances in the living room end, and bedrooms in the other end. The growing family never seemed to have too much room.
And when I read about rodents and snakes burrowing through the dirt walls and roof, I knew I was born in the right generation! Check out this website for some down to earth (no pun intended!) details of sod house living.
I have an increased respect for Grandma Della.
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