Building a Soddie

By the end of this tutorial, students will be able to:

• describe the types of homes that homesteaders built for themselves on the prairie in the years during and after the Civil War
• discuss why those homes were made the way that they were
• describe the problems that went in to building homes on the prairie

With little to no trees for lumber, the majority of homes on the Great Plains had to be constructed literally out of the ground that surrounded them.  These "soddies" were constructed in such a way as to give its residents as much protection from the elements as possible for as little money as possible.  What many settlers found was that, while not perfect, these homes could provide for them the shelter that they needed.