Texas Sod Home:                                                                                                                                   The Texas prairie looked to the family of six like an "ocean of grass."  The first and quickest shelter was a dugout, a small, dark space dug into the side of a hill.  This provided protection from the harsh, constantly changing Texas weather.  The next step was building a home.  Lacking trees or rocks, the Roberts family used sod, a combination of dirt and the roots of grass.  It took about 3,000 sod bricks cut 18 inches wide by 24 inches long to build a home that measured 16 x 20.  Bricks were placed root side up so that the roots grew up into the next brick and strengthened the walls.  As the walls began to rise from the foundation, they were angled slightly inward to prevent collapse when the house settled.  The roof was constructed from cane poles wrapped in brush, mud, grass, and sod.  Inside the home, sheets or tarps were hung from the ceiling to catch falling dirt, insects, and snakes. 

(Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History) (Photo source: Wikipedia)