A log cabin is a small house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house; they were built both in rural areas and in cities in timber-rich regions, around the world, but particularly in the northern hemisphere. Log structures in the US were first constructed by Swedes in what is now south-east Pennsylvania, c. 1640, and as such were not used by the first English settlers in the United States. There are few log cabins that date from the 18th century still standing in the US; most were not intended as permanent dwellings and as time passed they were often converted into out buildings for coops, animal shelter or other utilitarian uses. When cabins were built with the intention of applying siding, the logs were usually hewn on the outside to facilitate the application of the siding. When logs were hewn on the inside as well they often were covered with a variety of materials, ranging from plaster over lath, or wallpaper. Some older buildings in the American Midwest and the Canadian Prairies are actually log structures covered with clapboards or other materials. Nineteenth century cabins that were used as dwellings were occasionally first plastered on the interior. See the O'Farrell Cabin (ca. 1865) in Boise, Idaho where a backed wallpaper was used over newspaper. Or the C.C.A. Christenson cabin in Ephraim Utah (ca 1880) which was plastered over willow lath. The Utah cabin was a home and later a coop when the property changed hands.

Traditional log buildings in North America
William Henry Harrison and the Whigs used a log cabin as a symbol to show he was a man of the people. Other U.S. political figures after him also used their upbringing in log cabins for the same purpose. It is well known by most Americans that Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin. Presidents Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan were also born into log houses. A total of seven United States Presidents were born in log cabins [1]. The connection with Lincoln has caused the cabins to be used by Republicans who call themselves Log Cabin Republicans.
The Log Cabin is also used as a vernacular reference to the Internet. Referring to the solitary, shut-in nature of computer geeks in spite of the internet as a communications technology.