The William Dee Log Cabin

The William Dee Log Cabin. A Labor of Love. This humble little cabin was constructed in the summer of 1862 by Irish immigrant William Dee and a group of neighbors. The cabin was built on lot six of block four of the Head and McMahon's Addition, now West 6th Street. William's wife, Bridget, was expecting their first child. The day the cabin was started, their son, David, was born. Three more children were born to William and Bridget in the cabin before they sold it and moved into larger accommodations. Construction experts believe that neither William, nor the men who helped build it, were very familiar with good construction techniques. Instead of dovetail joints, this cabin was built with flat lap joints. This did, however, make the cabin easy to repair and reconstruct over the years., The cabin changed hands several times. In 1900 Andrew Seeverts purchased the house and rented it out. The last tenant to make a home here was Mrs. Anna Benson Ward with her four children. Mrs. Ward, an immigrant from Sweden, lived in the home from 1907-1911, paying $3.00 per month rent. To help make money for her family. Mrs. Ward made donuts each week for sale. In 1911, threatened with destruction of the structure, the Rochester Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) spearheaded a campaign to save the cabin. Mr. Seeverts donated the house to be placed in the newly constructed Mayo Park in honor of W.W. Mayo who came to Rochester in 1862. It sat next to the black bear exhibit., At Mayo Park, the Dee cabin eventually fell back into disrepair. For a time it was used as a storage shed for park equipment. In 1961 the cabin was given to the Olmsted County Historical Society and moved to their downtown location near Mayo Clinic. When the Historical Society moved to its present site in 1972, the little cabin came along. It was moved to its sixth, and current location and totally reconstructed in 1986. Through the years the Rochester Chapter of the DAR has cared for the structure, donated money for restoration projects, cleaned, and refurnished it. It has been a labor of love. Thousands of school children and visitors come to the cabin each year to learn about early settlement and self-sufficient lifestyle of those who lived before electricity, cars, and computers.