Arizona Pioneer Research Paper

Arizona Pioneer Living History Museum Arizona achieved statehood on February 14, 1912. Originally part of New Mexico, the land was ceded to the United States in 1848 and became a separate territory in 1863. During this time settlers began to migrate westward by the thousands in search of land and opportunity. In Arizona pioneers began to settle and explore the new territory making it their new home. Pioneers traveling west came from many places in the United States, they were farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths and missionaries. They went to the west for the inexpensive or possibly free land and the land was fertile for their crops. Their source of travel were covered wagons, made of hickory, oak or maple wood and iron. The construction of these

They were mostly made of wood, large rocks and mud with each home only having one room. Families used this one room as the kitchen, the dining room, and bedroom. The pioneers made their homes themselves using the trees provided on the land. They would first clear the land and began to build their homes, preparing with their most important tool, which was the ax. The ax was used to clear the land and chop down trees. Then they would begin squaring logs to cut a notch into them in the top and bottom of each end This is where the logs fitted snug at the corner of the cabin to interlock. This technique would help the settlers stack the logs to form walls for their homes. After the logs are stacked gaps remained in the walls. This is where the settlers had to fix in the gaps with a homemade cement mixture. The mixture consisted of sticks, wood chips, mud and water. I saw this technique throughout the museum where many of the other buildings such as the bank and school, they were also made with wood and mud. When I walked inside a home I could smell the wood and mud as if the home was newly built. I was curious of how reliable the mud was on keeping the logs stacked together and the homes protected from the weather. When I ran my fingers across the mud it flaked away and crumbled between my fingers. The settlers obviously worked hard to build their homes you can see the diligence and care they had while building. Most settlers took months in building their homes because they would have to go out daily looking for trees to chop and mold for staking which took much