Valles Mines, Missouri, U S A

Founded in 1749 by Francois Valle in the French Upper Louisiana before Lewis and Clark. 275 years later the Valle Mining Company's 4000+ acre property every year absorbs 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide and generates
14,000 tons of oxygen, enough to meet the needs of 63,000 people. [USDA Forest Facts]

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The Last Miner's Cabin, 1911, an all-oak building

From 1911 at 14161 Valles Mines School Road

Documented by the late architectural historian Phillip Cotton in 1986

1911 Miner's House - 14161 Valles Mines School Road

BEFORE 2018

AFTER 2018

OAK has proven to be a durable bio-plastic.

The framing and siding were sawn from local trees 110 years ago.
It took 72 years for the siding to need replacement and only then on the south side where direct sunlight pitted the unpainted boards deeply. Try that with vinyl.

Additions:

The front porch (pictured), added during the Rehab of 1986 matched the original siding detail.
The new addition to the front and rear preserved the style in matching detail as well, using native lumber sawn in the 1986 harvest by the late logger Tom Jarvis.
The main roof and front porch roof showed the original galvanized steel with a rolled seam where pieces join, a practice long since abandoned since the telegraph.

HISTORICAL NOTES:

This house had been continually occupied since 1911 (112+ years ago) but in 2018 the local Preservation Foundation gutted the Rehab of 1986, ran out of money, and left the building uninhabitable (See "AFTER 2018") disabling a good septic system, electric service, and well.
The Lost History Museum has asked the Valle Mining Company to allow them to repair the building and make it habitable (see rehab plans) but they have refused.
As of 2023, it has fallen into the hands of vandals who stole the well pump and controls. Oddly, locals who visited inside and prayed for the building have somehow stopped the windows getting broken.