ORIGIONAL LOCATION:   DOLA, WV  around 50 feet off of County Rt 20 (Harrison County)

ESTIMATED AGE:  1860 (estimated pending verification)

DONATED BY: Becky & David Nay

SIZE   19 feet deep x 21.5 wide

HISTORY:  The original owner of this cabin is purported to be from Philadelphia. He came to this area of Virginia with an ownership of 600+ acres. This man is buried in a cemetery in the Dola area and believed to have fought in the revolutionary war. We have verified that the house was moved once and possibly twice (once for the railroad rail location and again for Rt 20’s construction).  The log house was hidden inside a “farm house.”  By its roof line pitch change, chimney extension, and top log architecture, the structure was increased in height at DOLA location.  The first floor had two rooms.  The second floor was one “loft” room that was created by the aforementioned extensions. There was no fireplace opening in that second floor.

We transferred it to our campus in the fall of 2022.  The reconstruction process began in the spring of 2023 and is nearing completion.

Once restored The Bennett Cabin will be interpreted as the Fort New Salem Wood Shop.  It is a one floor structure with a “cathedral” ceiling architecture and a half loft suitable for storage.

Who would have known that wrapped inside this frame house (shown in this 2022 picture) was a log cabin? 

As was typical with early settlers, they built a basic log structure and as their needs grew it was expanded. Once all the “add on” non log rooms were removed, this was the hidden cabin.

We then began the process of tagging the logs and disassembling the structure. it was then transported to our campus and work began on the new home for this cabin.

Shown is the Bennett Cabin exterior front in May 2025.

Interior of cabin May 2025.