Freeport in Stephenson County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
1843 Log House
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 17, 2023
1. 1843 Log House Marker
1843 Log House that originally was built northeast of Pearl City.
Between 1840 and 1850, Irish immigrants moved into that area calling it New Dublin. Early records indicate this home was built by two of those immigrants -- John Barron and Philip Hogan. Eventually Hogan acquired full title to the property and the cabin.
Mary Hogan, a daughter of Philip Hogan, lived in the cabin as a young girl. She came back to visit it 1927 at the age of 100. She lived until 1931 when she died at the age of 104.
Over its lifetime this log cabin was used not only as a home, but also as a workshop, summer kitchen, and a tool storage shed. It is believe that the cabin's oak timbers were from trees on the site where it was originally built.
Through the efforts of Evelyn Dameier, then president of the.Stephenson County Historical Society and a well-known Freeport elementary school principal, the cabin was moved to the museum campus. It was donated by Carl Shuler, who then owned the land on which the cabin sat for over 130 years.
In 1979, the cabin was moved the 17 miles from its original location on Raders Road to where
this page online
"Single Pen" Log Home ~ The term Single Pen refers to a log home with just one room. This home, as with others of this style, was built with opposing doors and windows for ventilation. The family. slept in the loft upstairs, which also has a window to help cool the room during the hot summers. Today, the home is furnished and painted as it would have been in the 1840s. The interior walls were originally whitewashed and this has been recreated here using an early recipe for that type of paint. The color scheme you see on the windows and stairs reflects common colors in use during the middle of the nineteenth century.
Photo captions (left side)Moving the cabin through the narrow gate of Historical Society. Photo courtesy of the Freeport Journal Standard 22 October 1979
(Upper right corner) Newspaper photo of Mary Hogan when she visited the cabin in 1927. Image courtesy of Chicago Herald Examiner
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1843.
Location. 42° 17.081′ N, 89° 36.915′ W.
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 17, 2023
2. 1843 Log House
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Oscar Taylor Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Stephenson County Vietnam Memorial (approx. one mile away); Soldiers' Monument (approx. one mile away); The Debates and the Media (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Legacy Remains (approx. 1.1 miles away); Welcome to Debate Square (approx. 1.1 miles away); Richard F. Sokup (approx. 1.1 miles away); Robert J. Schmelzle (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Freeport.
More about this marker. The marker and cabin are a part of a settlers village at the Stephenson County Historical Society, headquartered at the historic Oscar Taylor House
Credits. This page was last revised on December 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 220 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 6, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
