Austintown Log House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Austintown Log House
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Youngstown, Ohio |
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| Built | 1814 |
| Architectural style | log cabin |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001566 |
| Added to NRHP | 1974-07-30 |
The Austintown Log House is an old log cabin located near Youngstown, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1974. Today, the Austintown Historical Society takes care of it. Many people call it the "Austin Log Cabin."
Contents
Discovering the Cabin
A Hidden Treasure
In 1973, a church in Austintown Township, Ohio, bought an old house next door. They started to tear it down. But then, something amazing happened! Workers found log-like beams hidden inside the walls. They stopped tearing down the house right away.
Volunteers carefully removed the fake brick and siding. What they found was a two-story log cabin! Experts looked at the logs. They could tell the cabin was built before 1824. This was because of a special way the logs were cut.
Who Built It?
People then looked at old property records. They found out that Calvin Austin sold the land in 1814. He sold about 150 acres to John Packard. Austintown Township is actually named after Calvin Austin! He was a land agent for the Connecticut Land Company. Everyone agreed this old cabin was a very important discovery. It had to be saved!
Who Lived Here?
Early Families
The first people to live in the cabin were John Harris Packard and his second wife, Mary. They moved to Austintown in 1814 with their ten children. John Packard was born in 1748. He passed away in 1827. He left the log house and about 120 acres of land to his son, William Packard.
Over the years, many families lived in the cabin.
- In 1828, William Packard sold some land, including the house, to Samuel Dorwat.
- In 1829, Samuel Dorwat and his wife, Sarah, sold the house to Henry Lawrence.
- In 1845, Henry Lawrence sold the property to Abraham Dustman and his wife, Rebecca. They lived there with their five children. Abraham was a farmer. He might have built the barn that burned down in 1910.
- In 1850, the Dustmans sold the property to Henry Wehr and his wife, Margaret. Henry Wehr dug wells and added a hog shed.
- Later, Henry sold the property to his nephew, Levi Wehr. Levi and his wife, Emma, raised two daughters in the house.
- In the 1940s, Willard Wesley Stricklin owned the house. He dug out a root cellar under the kitchen.
- From 1948 to 1963, Joseph Hanko lived there. He dug out the main cellar and added a small bathroom.
The house was empty from 1964 until 1973. That's when St. Andrew's Episcopal Church bought it.
Saving the Cabin
Community Effort
The Austintown Community Council worked hard to save the cabin. They raised money from people in the community. One clever idea was to collect money from drivers at busy intersections. School children also collected pennies. Many groups helped, like school PTAs, clubs, and church groups. They also had bake sales, book sales, and flea markets. All these efforts raised $50,000 to restore the cabin!
Restoring the House
While money was being raised, volunteers worked on the cabin. An expert architect helped them.
- They replaced the old roof with a new wood shake roof.
- They removed old inside walls.
- They put in new windows using glass from a 100-year-old schoolhouse.
- They added a furnace and new plumbing.
- They sealed the logs to protect them.
- They fixed the spaces between the logs. They used a cement mix to look like the original clay, straw, mud, and rock.
- They restored the fireplace using old bricks and a barn beam for the mantel.
Because of all this hard work, the Austin Log Cabin became a National Historic Landmark in 1975. On July 4, 1976, the cabin was officially dedicated. It was Austintown's special Bicentennial Project. The Austintown Historical Society was formed soon after. Their job is to take care of the Austin Log Cabin.
The Cabin Today
What You Can See
The Austintown Historical Society still takes care of the Austin Log Cabin. They make sure it stays in good shape. They have filled the cabin with old furniture and items from the past. These were all donated.
- You can see a bed that Frank Ohl slept in. He was an important person in Austintown's history.
- There's also a spinning wheel and other old tools.
- One room shows items from the United States Bicentennial.
- Another room upstairs looks like a one-room schoolhouse. It has old desks, books, and photos of Austintown's old schools.
- The basement shows antique farm tools.
Outside the cabin, you can see more old items. These include a corn crib, an old outhouse, a smokehouse, and farming tools. There's even a coal car from one of Austintown's first coal mines.
Archeological Discoveries
The Austin Log Cabin was also the site of an archeological dig. Dr. John White, a professor from Youngstown State University, led this dig. Besides the cabin, his team found many other things:
- An old shed that was used as a chicken coop.
- An old well dug around 1860-1870.
- A chicken house.
- Two outdoor toilets.
- Two barns, one built around 1910.
- A hog shed.
- Another well and a cistern.
- A summer house.
Items found during these digs are displayed inside the cabin. You can also see a book about the dig, written by Dr. White.
The cabin is open for free tours. You can visit on the first Sunday of every month from 1 PM to 4 PM. You can also make an appointment to visit at other times.
