Log House

Log House. . , Cabin or House? In the frontier of the mid-1800s, a three-story log structure like this would have been considered quite luxurious. To our twenty-first century eyes, it is a cramped and uncomfortable little cabin. Given the size of the structure, we refer to it as The Log House., The Log House was built for the cooper who made barrels for Ginsberg Brewery located south and a little east of here on 5th Street. The barrels were made in the lower level. The family lived in the upper two stories. MRA maintains a large collection of cooper's tools and brewery memorabilia here. This house museum is furnished in the style of an early frontier family home. The kitchen is especially convenient with the cook stove sharing the large ground floor fireplace's chimney., The house was inhabited continuously until the mid-1970s, despite not having electricity, central heat, or running water. After the last tenant left, the City condemned the building because of its extremely deteriorated condition and scheduled it for demolition. John Olive of the Mantorville Restoration Association (MRA) petitioned both the City and the MRA to spare the building. This became the second major restoration project for the MRA. Limestone masons and log house restorers from throughout the Midwest began, in early 1980, to unearth, repair and re-chink the entire structure. This restoration took two years to complete.