JONATHAN BEE CABIN

Name of Structure: Jonathan Bee Cabin

Original Location: Maple Lake – Harrison County

Donated By: Everett Ross

Original Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Weber, the Clarksburg Lions Club

Fashioned after the Lincoln Cabin in Springfield IL, this cabin is made of round logs and has a very interesting feature in the chimney which is a cat and clay also known as wad and daddle or mud and stick chimney The tradition is that every spring a small child that can fit to the chimney was pulled through it so that they could apply wet mud to the cracks and holes to prevent the house from burning. Traditionally this structure was used as a basket shop. Baskets were very important to settlers. They were used for many purposes in the same ways that we use bags and boxes. They required a lot of work to make but were adorable lightweight and sturdy for years first a blemish free white oak would be felled, not an extremely tall tree maybe the girth of eight to 10 inches. The bark would be removed and the wood itself would be pulled into strips and smoothed out on a shaving horse. The wood is best kept pliable by sometimes soaking it in water to make the basket weaving easier the splints are then woven into the desired shape and height a rim handle was then added if you own such a basket it is recommended to soak it at least once a year to keep it from drying out and the splintering apart

This cabin was a feature project of 2007 and 2008.  A new foundation, bottom log and floor was installed as a feature project for 2014.

The content of this page was developed by Sandra J Fox, a Heritage Arts Major from Fort New Salem.