sod house

a house built of strips of sod, laid like brickwork, and used especially by settlers on the Great Plains, when timber was scarce.

Also called soddie, soddy.

Origin of sod house

First recorded in 1825–35

Winter passed very monotonously with us in the sod-house at Crane Valley.

The Mistress of Bonaventure |Harold Bindloss
Two days later Roberts delivered his man to the deputy sheriff who had charge of the sod-house jail in the little town.

Oh, You Tex! |William Macleod Raine
The back door of the sod-house opened, and through the night stillness floated the faint strumming of a guitar.

Oh, You Tex! |William Macleod Raine
The ground had been frozen for five months, so sod-house building had been temporarily abandoned.

The Conquest |Oscar Micheaux

The door of the sod-house had opened, and the Ranger and his prisoner stood in front of it.

Oh, You Tex! |William Macleod Raine