Have you seen an old log cabin and wondered about its history? Or wondered what it would be like to restore a historic log cabin? This summer, you can find out! Join the volunteer effort to restore the Mason Cabin located at Dorothy Carnes Park and Rose Lake State Natural Area west of Fort Atkinson.
The restoration effort is being managed by the Jefferson County Parks Department and will be completed, in part, by the help of volunteers. Kevin Weismann, the Parks Department Operations Supervisor overseeing the project, adds "The restoration of the cabin will be an extremely important addition to the park, and will be hand in hand with the restoration of the land. The "Mason Farm" is really going to highlight our roots as agriculturalists in central Wisconsin, while contrasting against a restored native landscape." Lyle Lidholm, a log cabin expert from Watertown, will serve as a consultant on the project. Lyle has restored numerous log cabins including several at Old World Wisconsin in Eagle. This project will be a wonderful opportunity for volunteers interested in historic log cabins to work alongside an expert in the field.
According to Julia Ince, an art historian and lecturer at UW-Whitewater who has conducted historical research on the property, the Mason Family took ownership of the land around the cabin in 1850. Newspapers found within the walls of the cabin bear the date of 1856 and attest to the approximate date the cabin was built. The Mason Family was headed by Elias Mason, who was born in 1784. After his first wife died, Elias married Lois Fiske Mason, born in 1797. Members of the Mason family who lived in the cabin include Elias, his second wife Lois, and their children Frances, Elias Jr., and Jeremiah. Children from Elias' first marriage were among the earliest pioneers in this part of Wisconsin. Of historical interest is the fact that Elias's son Jeremiah kept a journal while he lived i the log cabin in the 1860's. This journal is now in the possession of the archives of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Later, Jeremiah moved to Fort Atkinson and in 1887 was elected to the office of mayor.
An informational meeting about the restoration project will be held on Wednesday, April 4 at 6pm in the Community Room at the Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson. The meeting is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in learning more about this project or volunteering with the effort is invited to attend. The meeting will begin with a brief synopsis of the history of the property and cabin followed by an overview of the restoration project. Lyle Lidholm will display some of his woodworking and restoration tools and be available to answer questions about how frontier cabins were built.
For further information about this restoration effort, please call Kevin at 920-674-7540 or by email at kevinw@jeffersoncountywi.gov.
Stumbled across this post whilst looking for other log cabin info however I must admit, I have walked past a lot of really old log cabins over the years and wondered about their history, previous owners and restoration etc. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThe living room of our house is a log cabin built in the 1850's. Over the years the rest of the house was added on to it. How do I find out more about its history? Mary
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