<P> Construction with logs was described by Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio in his architectural treatise De Architectura . He noted that in Pontus (modern - day northeastern Turkey), dwellings were constructed by laying logs horizontally overtop of each other and filling in the gaps with "chips and mud". </P> <P> Historically log cabin construction has its roots in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe . Although their origin is uncertain, the first log structures were probably being built in Northern Europe by the Bronze Age (about 3500 BC). C.A. Weslager describes Europeans as having: </P> <P> "...accomplished in building several forms of log housing, having different methods of corner timbering, and they utilized both round and hewn logs . Their log building had undergone an evolutionary process from the crude "pirtti"... a small gabled - roof cabin of round logs with an opening in the roof to vent smoke, to more sophisticated squared logs with interlocking double - notch joints, the timber extending beyond the corners . Log saunas or bathhouses of this type are still found in rural Finland ." </P> <P> Nevertheless, a medieval log cabin was considered movable property (a chattel house), as evidenced by the relocation of Espåby village in 1557: the buildings were simply disassembled, transported to a new location and reassembled . It was also common to replace individual logs damaged by dry rot as necessary . </P>

Who was the last president born in a log cabin