Historic Straw-bale Structures

an eye-witness account by David Eisenberg

My experience with bale buildings comes from having read most of what is available -old and new on bale building and having visited ones built in 1903, 1914, 1921, 1925, 1928, 1936, 1940 (approx.), 1948, 1949, 1953, and several from the late 70's, 80's and about 30 to 40 "modern" ones.

Mortared bales:
I have seen three with mortared bales, and they are all post and beam as well as using mortar between the bales: the Warren Withee (a one-armed carpenter who built it in 1921) house north of Crookston, Nebraska (actually in South Dakota on the Rosebud Reservation) now used primarily for furniture storage; the general store in Glendo, Wyoming, a 3200 S.F. building now also used for storage (the woman who owns it is the town librarian); and Chuck and Mary Bruner's house, built in 1949 in Douglas, Wyoming and still occupied by this delightful couple.

Nebraska Style:
True Nebraska style is load bearing - meaning the bale walls support the weight of the roof, no mortar and no post and beam or other structural system involved. Although typically these houses were small (less than 1000sf) single story houses with pyramidal hip roofs, the Pilgrim Holiness Church (1928) and the Martin/Monhart house (1925), both in Arthur, Nebraska have upstairs rooms in what amounts to story and a half type buildings - single story walls that have upstairs rooms within the slope of the roof and dormers. I have been in the attic of both and in the basement of the Martin/Monhart house (slept in this one on two occasions) and can attest to their structural integrity and durability.

Of the others mentioned above the Burke (1903 and oldest known standing load bearing bale structure - it's baled meadow hay not straw - was abandoned in 1956 and was still strong and a viable structure the summer before last); Fawn Lake Ranch (1914) has two buildings, both still in use also of meadow hay; and the Scott house (1936) near Gordon, Nebraska is perhaps the most beautiful of the bunch in this region, full basement, unblemished plaster inside and stucco outside, crisp lines, nice details and one for the ages.

These buildings all had very small overhangs, were pinned with wood, occasionally steel, had wood roof bearing assemblies - most with no real connections of roof to the foundation, and none that I have been in showed any unusual signs of the problems so often speculated about- -moisture problems (other than the ones with failing roofs), odors, rodents (except the abandoned ones), termites (except for Chuck Bruner's tale of termites coming up through his straw bales and eating his wooden window sills which he replaced with concrete sills and hasn't had any problems since. That happened in the 50's and I was there summer before last and knocked around on all the wood trim I could get at and it was all solid - no trace of termite problems i.e. sagging roof or ceilings, window frames not solid or operable, weak baseboards, etc.

These visits are the source of my information on this way of building - not starry eyed idealism or unscientific' speculation. I've been in these buildings and seen them, smelled them, pounded on them, pulled straw or hay out of the walls when possible and reasonable to do, climbed in their attics and been in their basements, slept in a few, talked with the people who have lived in them, built them, and love them after all this time.

And finally, speaking of "true" Nebraska Style, the sign on the road into Purdum, Nebraska, a town with seven houses and seven driveways (and the site of the Simonton house built in 1908) is a great example of Nebraska Style---it reads: "Purdum, Nebraska Next 7 Exits".

Skillful Means
PO Box 207
Junction City, CA 96048