Southeast Chickees Overcame Soggy Floors
Nations in the southeast, particularly areas around the Everglades and other swampy areas, had a big problem. The ground was wet. Pretty much all the time. Living in wet, boggy territory wasn’t terrible, it meant healthy crops for these agricultural communities. Even so, it wasn’t the best thing for the wood, earth, and thatching they used for their buildings. The chickee solved this problem by lofting the floor off the ground. The platform was raised about one meter (three feet) off the ground, and secured on the framing poles, lofting it on posts to keep it from water seepage. The platform stayed dry from the wet bottom, the people stayed dry thanks to a thickly thatched, gabled roof that moved water away from them, and the chickee dwellers were comfortable enough to stay and farm the land.