The Cabin in the Woods

In the woods, off of a narrow country road on the south side of Wooster, Ohio, sits a fully-restored 1820s two story log cabin with a large front porch and an incredible view of the wooded landscape.  I know this because we stayed there this weekend.

IT WAS AWESOME!

I don't think it's possible to give you a completely accurate picture of how it feels to stay in a restored, yet still primitive, antique log cabin, but I'll attempt it.  I will say that the cabin is updated with modern amenities, but the cabin keepers are history lovers, and they devoted years of time and money to preserve this structure as accurately as possible while still making it a very pleasant stay for guests.

From the moment we arrived, I was in awe.  A sweet little family of stone carved owls greeted us as we approached the cabin's covered front porch.  Once on the front porch, I took in the sweeping view of the acres of woods and a creek bed below. 

When we walked through the front door painted in a German style and into the cabin, the smell of nearly two hundred years of age greeted me, sending me into a state of euphoria. 

I was grinning like an idiot!  There is something about the smell of "old" in regards to a house...I instantly think of the people who have lived there across the ages.  It smelled of lingering wood smoke and aged timber, mingled with the various scents of all of the dry herbs that were hanging from the ceiling.  To me, it was heavenly.  We were given a tour of the cabin, including instructions on how to use the large Rumford fireplace (the fireplace was rebuilt with the cabin reconstruction, but the mantle and stone surrounds were around the same age as the cabin, purchased from other properties that were being torn down in the area, along with the winder staircase that wrapped around the back of the fireplace).  Sadly, it was just a little too warm while we were there to use the fireplace, much to my dismay.

The owners spent several years rebuilding and restoring the cabin.  All around the first and second floor, small detail plaques were located to indicate what had changed, what had been, or what had been found.  It was a great touch to be able to see the history and have it explained at the same time!

The main floor floorboards were original to the 1870s, when much about the cabin style was changed.  Narrow floorboards were much more fashionable, and the current owners decided to keep them when doing the restoration.  However, older wide floorboards were found in the upstairs, in what is now the bathroom.  The floorboards in both bedrooms upstairs and the upstairs hallway were replaced with a lighter wood in narrow strips to mimic the floors below, but gave the rooms a little bit lighter feel.  The cabin itself was somewhat dark, with small windows typical of log homes, and it was wonderful to see how the light affected the cabin's feel throughout the day--it seemed to constantly change.  The owners were able to use original hardware on the doors, which was nice to see. 

The windows, trim around the windows, and some other trim found in the house had been reproduced, delightfully remade to match almost perfectly the original trim in the structure.  The windows were made with a special process that mimicked old period glass, with waves and imperfections.  I loved the owners' attention to detail--it was quite apparent that they truly loved restoring the cabin to its original state.

The floors on the second floor of the house are wonderfully crooked and sloped.  It added greatly to the character of the house, and when not used to walking on them, will throw one slightly off-balance until used to the feeling.  In some places, the floor below can be seen (or at least, light beams) through the small gaps between floor boards.  Laying in bed at night, looking up at the ceiling into the attic, tiny dots and lines of light could be seen, almost giving the illusion of sleeping under the stars.  During the night, the house creaked as it settled in the cool night air.

All of the exterior walls are the logs and plaster chinking, but interior walls are either wood planks running vertically or whitewashed plaster.  The paint colors are perfect for the time period, and vary from deep red, sage green, beige, dark brown, and a medium blue, which was my favorite.  Period antique furniture is found throughout the cabin, as well as antique fireplace equipment.  Both beds upstairs are antique rope bed frames, but have modern mattresses on top of the ropes.  Where antique furniture could not be found or antique lighting could not give enough light, modern furniture and electric lighting was used, but was still fitting to the feel of the history.  It all works well together.

This was my dream come true!

We were able to get away and have the relaxing, peaceful weekend that we'd been wanting for a long time now.  Being away from the traffic and noise associated with living in the city was exactly what I needed, and this setting fit the bill perfectly.  We got up late, took our time, and I even cooked us a big breakfast on Saturday morning before we headed out to find what Wooster had to offer.  We ate dinner at a lovely upscale restaurant that used to be the city's jail in the old days, and we were seated in the basement where the old jail cells used to be located. 

The food was superb and worth every penny, and our waiter was so very helpful in answering questions about the menu (it's not always easy to navigate eating out with a food allergy).  My chicken Marsala was so good...I wanted to keep eating it long after I was too full to have another bite.  I was very close to needing to be rolled out of the restaurant, and I thought for sure I was going to have a food baby.  My husband couldn't stop raving about his surf and turf dish, with lobster, tenderloin steak, shrimp, broccoli florets, risotto, and a rich Bearnaise sauce.  There was also salad and fresh bread served with the meal, so there was no way anyone could leave hungry.  It was a wonderful and much-needed time of relaxation for both of us, and I always love to get away with my husband.

We didn't get to talk to the cabin keepers until we were ready to check out, but I would have loved to be able to talk to them more.  Perhaps next time we stay, we'll be able to talk to these fellow history lovers!  They seemed to have a great knowledge and love of what they have and what they do.  Owner Paul talked about how their property and the surrounding area was the only spot in Ohio to see a Civil War skirmish, and mentioned that they found several musket balls embedded in trees on the property as they were making room for the house they built and the historic buildings they acquired and moved to their property.  He and his wife, Anne, also talked about the area being a settlement of a local Indian tribe before the Civil War, and have found Indian artifacts on the property as well.  They have much knowledge of the county and are active in teaching the history of the area.  They were very kind and gracious to us while we stayed there.

I can't wait to go back again!

Johnston Farm and Indian Agency--Piqua, Ohio

There's a place a little over an hour south of us in a little town called Piqua, Ohio.  It began as a fort back in the 1790s and slowly grew from there, but settlers were somewhat wary of settling near the several Indian tribes that also occupied the area.  In the early 1800s, a man named John Johnston, a colonel in the American army, began operating a government agency in the area to help with communications between the native Indians and Americans, and the Johnston Farm and Indian Agency was established.  Shortly after his move there, the Miami-Erie Canal came through the area, helping to increase the population of the town. 

This, of course, is a very simplified version of how the Johnston Farm and Indian Agency came to be.  Should you be interested in reading a full historical account, please visit the Farm's website: Johnston Farm and Indian Agency.

Since I first discovered this living history farm, I've wanted to visit.  We finally had the opportunity over the weekend, and I really enjoyed this well-preserved piece of history.  One of my great loves and passions is historic architecture, especially historic homes and farms, and if I could have a historic home for my own, it would be a dream come true.  I love to think about the way that our ancestors lived before the instant gratifications of today: cell phones, internet, television programs that can be watched anytime and anywhere... however, fewer and fewer of these architectural gems exist, being torn down to make way for new highways, Wal-Marts, gas stations, etc.  But this is another topic for another day.  Because they are few and far between, I pounce on the opportunity to visit any historic place that is open to the public.  Some places are well-preserved and cared for, others are less than perfect--the Johnston Farm is the former.

The park offers tours of a restored c. 1815 brick farm home, several outbuildings, and a ride up and down a remaining part of the Miami-Erie Canal, which was a real treat. 

Neither my husband nor I knew that river canals still existed, but as we learned on the boat ride, there are still small stretches across the state that people can view if they know where to find them.  The boat trip, which lasted about 45 minutes, took us up to the nearest remains of a lock and back. 

Along the way, we listened to the boat's narrator describe what life was like during the heyday of the canals (1820s-1850s) while viewing the scenery.  We even saw a giant snapping turtle sunning himself on a fallen tree!

This sweet mule towed the boat up the canal and back for us.

Her friend and co-tower, Montana Whiskey, was in the barn on this day, because he had lost a horse shoe and seemed to be favoring that hoof, but  he kept us company as we strolled out to the Indian mound found on the property. 

As you can see, he had quite the personality!

He also allowed us to take a look at his large, hand-hewn beam double pen barn that predated the house by about five years. 

It was wonderful to see the construction of this old barn--many of the beams still had bark on some of the sides, and the joints and floor boards were secured with wooden pegs instead of iron nails.

There were also a few of these giant, hollowed-out stumps that were made into storage bins:

What a great idea for using stumps!

The inside of the bin, with my flash on.  It looks like they might have burned the inside...?

While waiting for a tour of the home, we also toured the other outbuildings on the property.  This is the apple shed/cider house:

This is the outdoor courtyard with a cooking hearth and bake oven:

This is the outdoor fruit-drying kiln:

This is the garden shed:

And this is the springhouse, which also predates the house by about five years:

The springhouse is an impressively cool (temperature-wise) building that houses a large loom and a few spinning wheels.  They believe that the upper floor was dedicated to textile production.

The lower level has spring water running in and through it, providing the family with a cool place to store goods such as milk and butter as well as providing fresh drinking water, and also has another room with a fireplace for possibly making candles and soap, and would have provided a cooler place to work at a fire.

This was Col. Johnston's home. 

The original log home, the first dwelling built on the property, no longer stands, but this grand brick home, built in two phases and styles, has been restored to its former beauty and grandeur, and the main two floors and the basement are open for tours.  The part of the house beginning at the Federal style door and to the left, is believed to be the older part of the house, or at least the first part of the home's construction.  On the inside, this parlor and the room above it of the same size would have easily been a one-over-one room house that the family could have lived in while the rest of the house was under construction.

A portrait of Colonel Johnston.

The right side of the house, built in the second phase, contained a formal dining room and bedchamber. 

The table set for a family feast.

The only access to the kitchen is down the stairs on the left of the fireplace.  Watch your head!  Another interesting design element is the off-centered mantle and mirror above the fireplace.  By the way, I love the mustard color paint.

I love these corner cupboards.  This contains several family artifacts.  The color is so great!

A secondary staircase just outside of the dining room leads directly into the girls' upstairs bedroom.

The second floor contained three bedrooms, one over the parlor of equal size, and two over the dining room and bedchamber that were connected. The sons' bedroom was over the parlor, and had three beds, each sleeping at least two boys.

The second bedroom was the grandmother's room, and had two beds.

The girls' room, with three beds and a trundle, was connected to the grandmother's room.

This mannequin properly displays the undergarments worn under dresses every day.

 

The interior of this house is typical of the Federal time period: partial wainscoting and chair rails, fireplaces in each room to battle the cold Ohio winters, varying width plank floors, six-over-six windows, deep window sills due to the thickness of the brick walls (they vary from three to five bricks thick), a Federal style main entrance,

main hall with doors at each end, windows on opposite walls to encourage cross-ventilation during the hot summer days, a deep covered porch...one surprise is that there was no kitchen on the main floors.  The only kitchen was in the basement, which is typically considered a summer kitchen.  In this house, however, this was the main kitchen all year.

These stairs lead up to the dining room.

The house itself is a great example of a blending of Federal interior and Dutch Colonial exterior architecture, with a gambrel roof, L-shaped layout, and balanced facade.  This farm house was stripped to the bare walls and completely restored, at a cost of $1.5 million in 1960!  That's the equivalent of over $11 million today.  Taking it back to the walls was necessary due to the state of the building at the time of the society's acquisition, but was money well spent, in my opinion.  The house is a must-see for anyone who has a love of American history and historic architecture.  Please check it out if you're ever in the area!