Torkelson Log House

Wiota, Wis., circa 1828

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Before restoration, in 1987. Actual (real) photo pending!

After restoration, in 1989.

This small one-room (single-pen) log house is typical of the first buildings constructed in the lead-mining settlements of southwestern Wisconsin during the late 1820s. This house, one other unrestored example, and the Dodge Party cabin in Dodgeville are the only remaining examples known of these first buildings.

Using only a few tools—axe, saw, and auger—a small group of miners could erect a group of these houses in a matter of days using materials found mostly at the sites of the buildings. These rough shelters could house the mining camp for years, until carpenters could construct better and more permanent buildings using the materials of locally working water-powered sawmills.

The Wiota log house—known locally for more than 50 years as the Torkelson House—was built during the establishment of the hamlet of Wiota in 1828 by William S. Hamilton, the son of Federalist Alexander Hamilton, and his party of miners (see sidebar). As is true of many log buildings, this house’s survival into the 21st century was purely accidental. In the late 19th century, the house was covered with vertical board-and-batten siding and an addition was built onto the south side to house a kitchen, pantry, and one small bedroom.

This covering protected the poplar logs from the continued attrition of moisture (e.g., rotting, the freeze-thaw cycle) and thereby removed the maintenance headache of periodically rechinking the spaces between the logs. Continuous occupation, of course, gave the house a valuable use and made its destruction much less likely.

Restored between 1987 and 1989, the exterior board-and-batten cladding was removed, conserved, and reinstalled. These exterior components, as well as the frame addition, had acquired significance in their own right, having been part of the historic structure for more than two thirds of its existence, and having protected the original log pen from deterioration.

In the process of restoration and study of the building, the Trust determined several important details. Most important was the discovery that the log house had originally been heated by a clay chimney. This is strongly suggested by the pieced-in openings in the loft floor and in the slab roof sheathing directly above the floor opening. Clay chimneys were crude, free-standing fireplace-type units that were constructed around four vertical poles interwoven with branches and twigs to form a framework over which wet clay was “plastered.” These rough, square units projected up through the roof and served to heat a cabin until a cast-iron stove could be obtained.

In excavating under the south addition, we found the handle and mounting plate of a wrought-iron Norfolk latch near the back door. These latches were used in the 1820s and 1830s on many doors of both rough cabins and more highly styled buildings and were a common form of door hardware. Norfolk latches were usually British-made and imported for use, but some believe that American blacksmiths also copied this type of latch, using a swageblock for their manufacture.

The windows in the cabin during its earliest period were just two logs in height. The marks left by the hewing axe clearly show this to be the case. Whether any glazing was used in these openings is unknown; perhaps in the first years the openings were covered with heavy cloth. The openings were enlarged to their present dimensions with a saw at some later modification.

As part of the restoration, the log portion of the house was completely rechinked, and the logs show in the building’s interior. The board-and-batten cladding was reinstalled on the exterior to retain that part of the historic fabric and to continue to protect the poplar logs from deterioration. The south addition houses a working kitchen and bathroom.

The Torkelson House is currently occupied and can be viewed from the road. It is located at 9875 Park Street in the village of Wiota.

A custom-made 28-star flag adorned the building for the 4th of July, 1987.

View of

Billy Hamilton, son of American revolutionary figure Alexander Hamilton, continued his dream. After leaving West Point he went with his father’s powder horn (BH inscribed upon it), garbed like Daniel Boone, to Wiota, Wisconsin where he developed a lead mining community known as Hamilton’s Diggings. Billy himself designed & built the several houses for the miners. They were basically log cabins, with a square clay chimney, surrounded by a fence, as described by Juliette Magill Kinzie's Wau-Bun: The Early Day in the Northwest, first published in 1856. Kinzie visited Billy there in about 1828. Recently the Lead Region Historic Trust has managed to find and restore one of these 1828 cabins built by Billy Hamilton, the Torkelson House. Now, the amazing part- it seems that Billy was inspired by his father’s powder horn that he had been carrying around- the house engraved on the powder horn in 1773 matches the house built by Billy Hamilton in 1828!
	They both have a central door, a smaller window to the right, stark appearance, compact rectangular shape, and a square chimney (see photo). The powder horn carving even indicates the fence Mrs. Kinzie mentioned.
The Lead District Historic Trust has done an incredible job in providing incontrovertible proof of the link between Alexander Hamilton, his powder horn, Billy Hamilton, and the community of Wiota, Wisconsin. I would also thank the Society of Cincinnati for enabling me to do research in their Library on Billy Hamilton.

View of restored home in May 1998.

Lead Region Historic Trust, Inc. 234 N. Judgement St. Shullsburg, WI 53586-9413 USA

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