Log homes tour aims to spark interest in history
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the average size of a land grant in Southwestern Pennsylvania was 400 acres, according to Jerry Andres, president of the Pioneers West Historical Society.
Many of these were tracts of land given to veterans for their service in the Revolutionary War.
“That being the case, you can assume there’d be a log structure of some sort on each grant,” Andres said.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, visitors will be able to tour five still-intact log houses in Allegheny County from that era during the third annual Log House Tour. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted and memberships will be available at some sites.
The five houses are all located within a three-mile radius of each another, and brochures with maps to the houses and historical information on all five will be available at all locations.
Normally the houses are not open to the public, except for special events. The Walker-Ewing Log House, the home of the Pioneers West Historical Society, is open eight times a year for society meetings and its annual open house. All five houses are open to the public collectively only one day a year during the annual Log House Tour.
“There is a lot to see at each location, and every one has a different building style and flavor,” Andres said.
According to Andres, the pioneer families helped one another build their houses in a neighbors-helping-neighbors arrangement. It would be too much for a single family to fell the trees, move the logs, some of which were 26-feet long, shape them, lift them and put them in place.
“One of the hardest questions to answer about their construction is the kind of wood they used,” he said. “Our stonemason once offered the opinion that it was probably either chestnut or red oak.”
Chinking between the logs with mud, dirt and stone helped protect the houses as did building practices that allowed for proper drainage. Having the houses built on stone foundations was another important element to prevent decay and wood rot.
“We’ve pondered the question of whether or not to treat our logs, and the answers we got implied that we didn’t know what we’d be sealing inside,” Andres said. “We were told it would be best just to leave them alone.”
In the early 1990s, the Walker-Ewing House experienced termite issues, but the society repaired the damage and has had an extermination contract every year since.
“It’s hard to image what these houses will look like in another 100 years,” Andres said. “I’d love to say they’ll be around indefinitely.”
All rely on funding from a benefactor, Andres said. Jane Ewing Grace, whose mother Madjesia Ewing, was the last person to live in the Walker-Ewing House house, funds maintenance and operational expenses for it, but donations at all the houses are always needed, along with volunteers to help maintain the structures and grounds.
To promote interest and membership, Pioneers West offered public tours in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A couple of members at the other houses knew of the other house locations, contacted the members and all concerned agreed that it would be a good idea to offer joint tours once a year. The first combined tours were offer three years ago.
Below is the schedule and information on the structure and features for all five houses on this year’s tour.
• Walker-Ewing Log House, 1355 Noblestown Road, Oakdale, in Collier Township. Host and tour organizing site. Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
An authentic two-story log house built in 1762, serving as the ancestral home to members of the Walker and Ewing families continuously until 1972. The Pioneers West Historical Society’s mission is to preserve and to maintain the Walker-Ewing Log House. In addition to house tours, activities on tour day will include live music by Dan Hanczar and the Oakdale Folk Club, spirits samples by Liberty Pole Distillery in Washington, metal detecting demonstrations and displays by Gary Adams, vintage clothing display by Blair and Mary Kay Glass, and a 50-50 raffle.
• Walker-Ewing-Glass Log House, 799 Pinkerton Run Road, Oakdale, in North Fayette Township. Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This log house is part of Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s Heritage Homestead. Originally privately owned by the Walker, Ewing and Glass families from the late 1700s, and then acquired by Allegheny County in 1971, the structure has been restored to pristine condition and used to facilitate educational programs.
• Killbuck Lodge Log Cabin, 248 Clinton Avenue, Oakdale, in North Fayette Township. Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A log cabin originally relocated from the Robb Farm in North Fayette Township and moved to the current site in 1932. The Oakdale Post of the American Legion sold the house and property to the Friends of Killbuck Lodge in 2007 and this has remained, since 1932, as the home base for local Boy Scout Troop 248 activities. Killbuck Lodge was rebuilt in 2015 with the donation of local materials and labor, including donor logs from a former 1700’s cabin in Westmoreland County.
• McAdow-McAdams Wilson Log House, 100 Bruno Lane, Imperial, in Findlay Township. Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A two-story log house built in 1774 by John McAdow and later sold to David McAdams. After passing through many generations and other families who lived there it was also named after A.D. Wilson, a former superintendent of the West Allegheny School District, which now owns the house. The school currently uses the house as an historic learning center.
• Coventry Log Cabin, 949 Thorn Run Road, Coraopolis, in Moon Township. Hours: 1 to 3 p.m.
A log cabin originally built in 1825 in Bavington about 12 miles from its present location. It was home to John Coventry, a Revolutionary War veteran, farmer and weaver and his family for 50 years before becoming home to the Doehre family. After it was abandoned around 1975 it was acquired by the (Old) Moon Township Historical Society. It was dismantled, hauled to Robin Hill Park, and rebuilt by numerous volunteers it was dedicated to Moon Parks in 1983. Moon Township Historical Society and Moon Township Parks and Recreation hold open houses and educational programs inside the cabin.