April 2024 • Nebraskaland 43
window frames were held in place with wooden rods and
topped with long cedar poles to spread the weight and keep
the frames from buckling.
As the walls grew higher, the women shaved the interior
walls with a spade to keep them balanced and to close any
holes. (Interior walls were usually plastered as well.) Men
used a wagon as a platform from which to lay the upper
layers.
After reinforcing the base with planks, sod or even
concrete, it was time to build the roof — the most important
part. "If the roof failed, the house failed, for the endurance
of the walls depended ultimately on the protection of the
roof," writes Roger Welsch in his book Sod Walls. While some
builders could aff ord shingled roofs, most soddies relied on a
sod roof.
A sod roof had the advantages of being cheap, a good
insulator and relatively fi reproof. And it would keep you
dry in the hardest rainstorm … for a couple of hours. Then it
would drip for two or three days after the rain ended.
A good ridgepole was crucial — or better, several good
ridgepoles to distribute the weight. Heavy cedar beams
were excellent if you could fi nd them, but lifting them into
place was diffi cult for a team of two or three men. The usual
method was to lay two poles against the eave wall and use
ropes to roll the beams into place. A combination of poles,
brush, hay and earth completed the roof.
Most families moved out of their soddies as soon as they
could aff ord a more spacious frame house. The sod house was
then repurposed as a farm building. Some are still standing
to this day.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Heavy rains in 1887 caused Custer County widower George Barnes's roof to collapse only 10 minutes after the
family was out of bed. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2608-0-1190
