Civil War-Era Log Cabin Discovered During Home Demolition
A local Arkansas museum has announced the discovery of a log cabin believed to be well over 100 years old in the small town of Prescott.
The Nevada County Depot & Museum unveiled the finding in an Oct. 22 Facebook post.
“In the process of a house being torn down on Greenlawn Street, a log cabin was uncovered inside the existing house,” the museum wrote.
The cabin had been renovated, with siding added to the walls.
It stands 18 feet wide by 20 feet long.
But far more significant than the cabin’s dimensions is the building’s history.
According to the museum, the cabin has stood at its current location since the early 1950s.
Land patents dated the cabin all the way back to the 1850s-1860s.
The cabin is made of hand-hewn timbers, as sawn lumber did not arrive until the advent of the railroad in the 1870s.
The museum speculated that “this log cabin could very well have stood on the edge of the Prairie D’Ane during the battle,” referencing a minor Civil War battle.
Fought in Arkansas in 1864, the Battle of Prairie D’Ane was part of a feint by Union General Frederick Steele to draw Confederate forces toward the state’s Confederate capital of Washington.
The ruse worked, with Steele capturing the victory.
In its Facebook post, the museum also announced that it had purchased the cabin after receiving a donation from a “local benefactor.”
The museum hopes to eventually move the structure to the battleground.
“The log cabin has been purchased by the Museum and plans are to dismantle it, store it, then at some time in the future reassemble it on the Prairie D’Ane Battlefield located at Exit 46 and Hwy 19N,” the museum wrote.
“Thank you to everyone involved in rescuing this incredible piece of history!”
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