PENDLETON — Day after day, Steve Wills watched as an old log cabin deteriorated, sitting — often waterlogged — at 226 Mill Road in Pendleton.
Wills, a lifelong Pendleton resident, knew if he didn’t do something to help save the cabin — believed to be built in the 1830s — a part of the town’s history was going to slip away.
After some thought, Wills decided to purchase the wooden structure, for a figure he doesn’t want to disclose, and quickly went to work with friends and other area history buffs to take it down, piece by piece, to protect it from the elements.
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The idea was to get it stored, then restored and put back together on display for community members to enjoy.
“We’re pretty sure it’s one of the last real log cabins in the Pendleton area, and we just wanted to see it saved,” Wills said.
Cabin Fever is the name of the group working to save the structure and see it rebuilt to its original glory.
Wills, a former parks board member, donated the cabin to Falls Park, where it is being stored in a barn. Once funds — an estimated $30,000 — are raised to put the cabin back together, the structure will be rebuilt at the north end of Falls Park for community members to explore and even use for social gatherings.
Having the cabin at Falls Park will add another historic element to the park, Superintendent Ron Barnhart said.
Many of the historical structures in the park date to the early 1900s, he said, so adding an older structure will be a nice attraction.
“It will add another little destination place for children to walk to from the park or from schools,” Barnhart said.
Sandi Butler of Pendleton is the chairwoman of Cabin Fever, which is in the process of raising funds to purchase new logs and other construction supplies.
The group — with members Butler, Steve and Annie Wills, Leigh Berline, Lety Gray, Jay Brown, Jeanette Isbell, Ron Barnhart, Bob Post and Bob Jones — also is trying to find out as much history about the cabin as it can.
“People are giving us bits and pieces of local knowledge, but we’d like more,” Butler said.
The cabin has an L-shaped design, with the main part of the structure measuring 20 by 22 feet. An additional section off the back measures about 8 feet by 8 feet.
While the cabin had been sitting on Mill Road for many decades, the group believes that’s not where it was originally built.
The group has been told the cabin was first sitting about three miles west of Pendleton on what was called the Pettigrew Farm but was moved to Mill Road in the 1940s or ’50s.
To help with the take-down and restoration of the cabin, Wills recruited Brown, a neighbor of his with knowledge on rebuilding cabins.
Brown was part of a group who helped restore a log cabin at East Elementary in the early 1990s, when his children were in school.
He’s also helped on other log cabin rebuilds around the state and brings expertise to the project.
Brown and the others believe it’s important to preserve local history for many reasons.
“The kids are being raised in a throw-away society nowadays,” he said. “These kids don’t have or know of any heritage or ancestry or have any kind of antiques.”
Saving the log cabin is a simple way to help retain a little bit of history, Brown said. The restored cabin also will be used as a public facility for events such as family reunions and weddings.
Once restored, the cabin will get a new concrete floor that looks like wood, a full-length porch on the front and a sizable porch on the backside, where there will be a brick patio for handicap access.
There also will be a large working fireplace on the inside, where there will be a table and chairs.
The group is hoping to restore the cabin to its original form so it looks exactly as it did before it was taken down, with a few amenities added.
The only hold-up to completing the project is funding. Cabin Fever hopes area residents can pitch in.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can email Butler at [email protected], visit “Pendleton Log Cabin Project” on facebook for more information, or go through the South Madison Community Foundation at southmadisonfoundation.org.
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log cabin want list
1. 16” poplar logs (8’ – 22’ length)
2. 16” white oak logs (8’ – 22’ length)
3. 1/2” plywood – roof
4. 12”x12” flue cap for fireplace
5. 12”x12” flue liner (4)
6. electrical supplies / electrician labor
7. custom made windows
8. custom made doors (donated by harry fehrman)
9. perma-chink (15) 5-gallon buckets
10. foam chink fillers (4 boxes)
11. handforged door hinges, fireplace crane (donated by alvin cave)
12. water proofing products for logs
13. insecticide products for logs
14. 9’cedar posts for porch (6)
15. mortar mix (2 pallets) for fireplace / foundation
16. wood shakes for roof (3/4”)
17. nails – roofing, finish trim, framing
18. 30# felt / snow ice for roof under layment
19. perma columns (6)
20. 2x6x8 – framing lumber (30)
21. 2x4x8 – framing lumber (20)
22. 2x8x10 – treated framing lumber (20)
23. 2x6x10 – treated framing lumber (15)
24. 1x6x8 / 1x6x10 / 1x8x8 / 1x8x10 / 1x2x10 – rough sawn poplar boards
25. field stone – fireplace (donated by bill mort)
26. field stone – foundation
27. poured footer / foundation (donated by swackhammer masonry & concrete)
28. poured/stamped concrete floor (donated by swackhammer masonry & concrete)
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