Eventually candles were replaced by the oil lamp. The straight wick used in the first oil lamps was refined in the myo lamps and then the Aladdin lamps to provide better light. Sea] oil was the fuel used in the lamps before the discovery of kerosene. The arrival of electricity in 1913 brought many changes including electric lights and running water in the house and barn.10 Household appliances and indoor plumbing followed soon after. Each of these helped to lighten the work load in the house and on the farm.

The dwellings changed in ap- pearance as years passed. The cab- ins made with round logs were replaced by ones made with squared and fitted logs. These were called plank houses and usually had sleep— ing quarters on a sec- ond floor. The last plank house in the area, a house owned by Millie Gamble across from the site of the Tryon Woolen Mills, was torn down in the early 19708.11 The construction of saw and shingle mills permitted the settlers to replace the plank houses with frame houses. Birch bark, seaweed, shavings and sawdust often provided insulation in the walls of the houses, and the interior of the walls was strapped with lathes. Plaster, a mixture of horse hair, shore sand, and lime, was spread over the lathes. Wall paper over the plaster brightened the interior. Wooden shingles were put on the exterior of the houses.12

The settlers replaced the open fireplace with an iron stove and stove pipe. The stove pipe heated the second floor. Dressing and undressing in the cold winter months happened around the stove pipe where everyone had a chance to warm their clothes. Later wood or coal furnaces were placed in the cellar and heating ducts or grills, placed in the floor, carried the heat to the first and second levels. Although the furnaces were stoked the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning, several heavy quilts were needed on the bed to provide warmth late at night when the furnace fire was low. Mattresses were