The Cabin

The Cabin. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. , The cabin may have been the earliest structure on a 966-ace tract owned by William Gunnell. Gunnell's son, Henry, possibly built the first (eastern) section around 1740-50. Constructed of hewn oak, it was a single room with a fireplace. The stone chimney is an early replacement for the first chimney, probably built of logs., The second (western) section was added later in the 18th century by opening the west wall of the original cabin. A loft space was either added at this time or expanded from the first room, and a second fireplace was constructed., Nineteenth-century additions included a full second floor, a two-story wing, and a kitchen. The log cabin disappeared within the walls of a clapboard farmhouse. When Gardiner Means and Caroline Ware acquired the property in 1935, they exposed the inside of the cabin and used the space as their living room., The deteriorated sections of the farmhouse have been removed. Oak and pine logs from 18th- and early 19th-century Pennsylvania log houses were used to replace rotten or missing original pieces. Today the cabin once again overlooks the land from its hilltop., [Caption:] , Above left: V-shaped notching on the ends of the oak logs, an early construction technique helps date the original structure. Above right: The pine logs in the western additions are joined with half dovetail notching. Background: The farmhouse in 1935.