LaGrange County Historical Society, Inc.

P.O. Box 134
LaGrange, Indiana  46761
lagrange_history.com

The LaGrange County Historical Society Log Cabin

In a corner of the 4-H grounds here stands a log cabin, a bit of nostalgia.  It was part of my home for a number of years. Both of my daughters were born in it when it stood southeast of Mongo. It was purchased by Nelson Riley, of Ohio, in about 1898 for $400.  Presumably, it was built by Dave Wango in about 1879, one of the better types of log cabins. Riley had a kitchen, small bedroom,  pantry, and back porch built on and had the structure covered with tarpaper roofing material.  The log part was divided into a parlor or front room and two small bedrooms.

 I remember one of the hottest days of the year in 1936 my first child was born. I remember, also, there generally was a nice breeze coming in the west window of the bedroom. In 1939, the second daughter was born. We had nice times there. Mr. Riley lived with us until his death.

When we bought a larger farm, the house and acreage was sold to a Mr. Conrad and he later sold to Anna Schneider, Fort Wayne. She donated the cabin to the LaGrange County Historical Society in 1967. By this time it had become a  bit aged by time, weather, and vandalism and it had been empty for several years. The Society, with the help of many volunteers, dismantled the structure log by log and loaded it on a truck volunteered by Wayne and Hildon Notestine. With much volunteer help, the cabin pieces were moved to a piece of ground made available by the LaGrange 4-H Board.

 Then came the job of reassembling. I couldn't begin to name all the people  who helped put it together again. Teenagers, older folks, young people all helped. A number of women helped with the chinking the logs, cleaning up, making curtains, etc. A rug was donated, table and chairs, a cupboard, bed, stove, dishes and many other things to make it look livable.  There were a few of the original windowpanes used, denoted by wavy lines in  the glass.