Dugout Dwellings: Pioneer Housing in 19th Century Minnesota

Dugouts were a type of housing used by European pioneers as first homes as they established their farmsteads in the upper middle west of the United States. When first arriving in what is now Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, new European settlers found what might have been a daunting climate if they had originated in southern Europe, but for the thousands of Scandinavians, the sparse trees, the flat, marshy landscape and the frigid winters must have seemed like a milder version of their homelands. The Norwegians and Swedes knew how to develop such a landscape, how to make things grow in the short growing season, and, most importantly, how to keep warm and safe in the winters. A home excavated into the ground didn't require a lot of building material, and had the added benefit of staying warm in winter and cool in summer.

In 2002, archaeologist Donald Linebaugh (formerly at the University of Kentucky and now at the University of Maryland) conducted archaeological research, including historical background and excavation of the ruins of a dugout dwelling, built in western Minnesota by Lars and Anna Byberg Christopherson about 1870 and used for at least a decade. The project engaged the resources of numerous descendants of Anna and her two husbands, for oral history, documentary research, and excavation.

These photographs were provided courtesy Donald W. Linebaugh (c) 2003. The conjectural drawing of the Byberg-Christopherson-Goulson dugout was drawn by Steve Culler (c) 2003.

Read more about the project:

• Dugout Dwellings: Pioneer Housing in 19th Century Minnesota
• The Anna Byberg Christopherson Goulson Dugout Dwelling: A Photo Essay

References:
Donald W. Linebaugh. 2003. Digging into a Dugout House (Site 21SW17): The Archaeology of Norwegian Immigrant Anna Byberg Christopherson Goulson, Swenoda Township, Swift County, Minnesota. Program for Archaeological Research, Department of Anthropology, the University of Kentucky.
--- 2005. Excavating the Dugout House of Norwegian Immigrant Anna Byberg Christopherson Goulson, Swift County, Minnesota. Historical Archaeology 39(2):63-88.