Pie Town: 1940

Dugout buildings are very common in colder places. Almost all the Central European immigrants who homesteaded the Canadian Prairie Provinces spent their first year or two in dugout buildings.

As said before, they eliminate drafts (and more importantly they insulate against the cold!), but you also need much less wood to build a dugout building. Some had sod roofs and upper walls, and the lower walls were nothing but dirt. It was basically free housing, which was essential because homesteading legally required the owner to live on the land for a certain number of years.

The reason for using dugout buildings might be for insulation in the winter. No draft in the corners, see.

Pie Town still exists and looks much the same today.
located in west central N Mex at elevation of 6200 ft.
old cowboy camp in the 1870s that sold pies from homesteader wife. high desert country with mild summers and some snow in winters.

Yes, I can use Google & Wikipedia, thought it was easier to ask than have to look up. Thanks for the info anyway. Oh and thanks very much in creating a fantastic web site that really tells the story of our country's developement, advancements, hardships and it's people. This web site would be a great asset in history classes for all grades, wish it was around when I went to school.

Was the reason Pie Town had dugout buildings because of its location in the hot desert area of NM? Where was Pie town located exactly in NM and does it exist today?

[Can you use Google? Wikipedia? Pie Town is up around 7000 feet elevation. It's not in the "hot desert." Pie Town website. - Dave]

Only three shops on Main Street and one is a taxidermist.