Lincoln Logs are children’s toys named after President Abraham Lincoln, who had lived in a log cabin. Featuring an uncomplicated design, the miniature logs have square-shaped notches in which other logs can interlock at right angles to build small structures like cabins and forts. The toy sets are completed with structured roofs, windows, doors, and chimneys to give them a realistic appearance.

They were invented around 1916-1917 by John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The younger Wright got the idea while working with his father in Japan, basing the design on Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel, which the senior Wright had designed. To protect the hotel from earthquakes, the foundation was designed with interlocking beams.

Once John Lloyd Wright returned to the US, he created the Red Square Toy Company and began marketing his new toy. The original set came with instructions to build Lincoln’s cabin or Uncle Tom’s Cabin, referencing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel.

As with most toys, later versions became larger and more elaborate, yet retained their simplistic design. Eventually, the line of toys added little people and animals to make it even more homey. Over 100 years later, the basic to more elaborate versions of Lincoln Logs are still sold to kids with the ambition to build.