Without wood being plentiful in the prairie lands of Oklahoma the settlers had to build their homes out of sod. Seeing that the Indians had done it they copied the method and built their homes out of strips of sod cut from the prairie that was filled with thick grasses with binding roots.

At the Sod House Museum, you can see how the houses withstood the prairie wild fires that often happened in the prairie. The settlers would even bring their livestock into the houses to protect them during these wildfires.

Bugs, snakes and mice were constant problems for the settlers living in soddys. They were forced to put canopys over their cooking stoves to catch the bugs and so forth that fell from the ceilings. It also helped to keep the mud off when it was raining outside.