Saving History Saturday: Civil War Log Cabin Discovered
Earlier in November, an exciting discovery was made in Prescott, Arkansas with a connection to the Civil War. It began with a normal process of tearing down and old house, but then work ceased as the started demolition revealed that visible portion of the building was actual built around and protected a much older structure. The 18 foot by 20 foot log cabin with hand-hewn timbers had been added onto and encapsulated in siding, creating a hiding place and preservation cocoon around the old wood.
Local historians uncovered archived facts and helped solve the mystery. Sometimes between 1953 and 1955, the log cabin had been moved from Miller Hill to its present location on Greenlawn Street and the additions were completed. Land records from the 19th Century pointed to John Vaughn as the owner of the cabin at Miller Hill between 1850 and 1860. It is probably that the cabin may have been situated near the fought-over land during the Battle of Prairie D’Ane in 1864.
The cabin was moved to its location on Greenlawn Street in Prescott around 1953 to 1955 and was once located on Miller Hill, according to the museum. After researching land patents, experts found that the cabin was once on land owned by a man named John Vaughn, which would date it to the period between 1850 and 1860.
Fortunately, the demolition has ceased and the local history museum has announced that funding from a local benafactor will allow the museum to purchase the cabin, strategically dismantle it, and at a later date reassemble the cabin on Prairie D’Ane battlefield!
For more photos and details, please visit the original news story: https://www.foxnews.com/science/civil-war-log-cabin-discovered-house-demolition
My great-grandfather, a cavalryman in the 14th Virginia Cavalry, built a cabin with his own hands after the war. Years later, he put modern siding on the house. For years, when I visited his house as a boy, I heard stories of the cabin that was underneath the modern walls and flooring. About 20 years ago my cousin and his friends, over the space of a few years, removed all the modern siding and restored the cabin to its original glory. My cousin and his wife still live in that cabin, about 10 miles from VMI.
This is a cool story.