Member-only story
The Seattle Family Of 9 That Lived Inside Of A Tree Stump That They Turned Into A 3-Story House
More than a century ago, a large family without much money found an ingenious way to build a large house for themselves for a total of $40
The cost of living has long been an issue to overcome by many people looking for a comfortable home for themselves and their family. Although this problem has been magnified in recent years, it is a familiar challenge. Occasionally, people are unwilling to let money come between them and home sweet home, leading to some truly innovative ideas to be born. Among them was one Seattle family of nine from a century ago that made headlines by converting a very large tree stump into a three-story home when they found they couldn’t afford to build a more traditional house on a piece of land they bought.
When John Seivert, his “seven children and a fat wife” moved from Iowa to Seattle, they had high hopes about setting down roots and finding a new home. Not a wealthy man by any means, he decided to build his own house after determining he couldn’t afford to buy one outright given a housing boom occurring in the Northwest when they arrived in 1909 that pushed prices upwards.
