Evidence the Rich Branch Log House is a Mormon Period Structure
    1830s Mormon Period Log House
In the Rich Settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri

Alta Short Examines Back of House, Day of Discovery

Floor Joist Construction Detail

Dove Tail Joint Detail

Dove Tail Joint to Right of Photo

Prominent V-notch Construction

V or Pentagon Notches

Fireplace Hearth Foundation and Opening in Log Wall

Hearth Foundation Under Vacated Fireplace Opening

John Whitmer Historical Association Visit to the Log House in 1998

Your financial support is needed to help preserve this site for future generations and to continue its study. According to Project Historian Michael S. Riggs, "At this point, the hoped for preservation of the building is an open question. It could go either way, depending upon the support that is available from interested individuals. Combined with the fact the elements are rapidly taking a toll on the structure, this may well be the only opportunity to see the last recognized extant Mormon building still standing from the northern Missouri period. When it's gone, it's gone."

David Lee with incremental borer, November 2002. The oak tree was found to be hollow.

Dendrological studies present another feasible way to date the building logs. Comparing the growth rings of house logs with tree ring samples from the large oak tree at the end of the lane could precisely date the house logs to within a year of the time the house was built (believed to have been 1837 or early 1838).

The Land Holdings of Charles C. and Joseph Rich in Missouri and the Rationale for Determination of Ownership of the Only Extant Log House from the Far West Period as Built and Occupied by the Rich Family

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In 1995, members of Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation discovered a partially extant pioneer log house located near Mirabile in Caldwell County, Missouri. For the next three years, MMFF sponsored a highly productive archaeological reconnaissance at the site.
Missouri "Mormon" Frontier Foundation is a nonsectarian, nonprofit, organization dedicated to collecting and preserving information related to the "Mormon" and Missouri experience during the 1830s. Since 1992, MMFF has successfully identified and marked a number of significant historical sites around the state of Missouri. A Northwest Chapter of the Foundation was organized in Caldwell County, Missouri, in 1997.
Early Mormon Charles C. Rich was the leader of a settlement called the "Rich Branch" in 1837. Rich and his family came from Tazwell County, Illinois and settled on property immediately adjacent to where this pioneer log structure stands and may have actually been the builders as well. Rich eventually rose to the position of Apostle in the Utah based Latter-day Saint church. Following the expulsion of the Mormons from Caldwell County and State of Missouri, the log cabin subsequently became the home of the James Wallace family of Wallace State Park fame. The support and interest of contemporary owners of the property, Jr. and Judy Gardner, proved essential in advancing this effort to reclaim a portion of Caldwell's early history.
The property has recently been purchased by MMFF board member Michael Riggs. Mike has set up The Missouri Institute for Cultural-Historical-Archeological Experiential Learning, (MICHAEL) L.L.C., in hopes of working cooperatively with others to enclose and protect this site for the future, allow interested visitors to see physical evidence of what life was like in the late 1830's, and to use it as a teaching tool for archaeological summer camps.
    Upon its re-discovery several years ago, the log house had been extensively changed from its original form. Though found in a deteriorating condition, the standing log walls were still covered with clapboard siding added by Wallace ca. 1840s. The early single room house faced south. When James Wallace added north and south wings, and a wood floor, significantly increasing living space, the entrance of the house was modified to face west.
For three seasons, team Archaeologist Paul DeBarthe, coordinated a crew composed primarily of Shawnee Mission East High School students, to conduct an archaeological exploration of the site. Paul's team, sampled many "test squares" surrounding the pioneer home site. During the 1998 investigation, two major project objectives were realized. Focusing on the area under the floor of the house and surrounding sectors, sufficient early Mormon period artifactual materials were unearthed, that were found to be consistent with potschards and glass previously uncovered at Far West, Missouri. As a result, DeBarthe feels reasonably sure the log house is a Mormon Period site and structure. Paul said, "I am convinced by artifacts, structure and the convergence of historical documentation that the house appropriately can be interpreted as the Rich-Wallace home. It therefore merits our best effort to preserve it as a historic site."
    While a definite tie to Rich family members as the actual dwellers in the log house is inconclusive at this point, the conclusion that this was indeed a Mormon era structure is supported by other significant findings: We found that the structure still stands at its original construction site. During our first season, we observed that the original structure had been raised about 12 inches to allow the addition of a more recent wood floor structure.
While the upper portion of the log structure was built using a "V" notch pattern, it was noted that the bottom rung of logs (added for floor joists) had been fitted with a dove-tail notch. Because, notching patterns are like handwriting signatures, we knew that we were dealing with two different builders. These construction variations were clear evidence of the work of two separate artisans.
    Originally the log house had a dirt floor. It was unclear whether, when the floor was installed later, the building had been moved to its present location or was simply raised and the floor installed. The presence of a fireplace foundation that did not match with the original fireplace opening, cut through the hewn log wall, was confusing at first. The visible hearth was about half the length of the building away from the fireplace opening. On the last day of the 1998 dig, researchers unearthed the foundation of a second (original) fireplace, finding it perfectly aligned with the existing log fireplace opening. This confirmed that the building had not been moved.
    If, therefore, Wallace was the second owner of the land and he modified the structure using a different building technique than the first and since the first owner was a Mormon who originally constructed the log house on that site, it must be an LDS log home.