Tour of area log homes scheduled for Sept. 17
Walker-Ewing Log House, Collier Township (Oakdale)
McAdow-McAdams Wilson Log House, Imperial
Killbuck Lodge Log Cabin, Oakdale
Coventry Log Cabin, Moon Township
A double fireplace in the Walker-Ewing Log Home
The interior of the Walker-Ewing Log Home
While most Western Pennsylvania residents are aware of the many historic landmarks the region has to offer, some may not know of a few of the gems that lie hidden throughout.
The Pioneers West Historical Society is hoping to change that by continuing a program the group started last year.
The society will hold the second annual Historical Log Homes Tour Sept. 17 at four locations, in Oakdale and Collier, Findlay and Moon townships. Hours vary by location.
“The inaugural homes tour in 2015 was a great success,” said Jerry Andres, the society’s president. “There was a huge response from the local community and other log home structure organizations, both by way of the number of visitors that day, and new member signups and donations.”
As the host and organizing site of the tour, the Walker-Ewing Log House serves as the house museum for two pioneer families, members of which settled here from Lancaster County and Cecil County, Md., in the 1770s.
According to Andres, the nine-tenths of an acre of property was gifted to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation in 1973 by Robert and Jane Grace as a memorial to Mrs. Grace’s mother, Madjesia Ewing, the last family member to use the house as a residence, from 1930 until her death in 1972. The foundation performed the first wave of renovations and later used the log house as rental property until 1998, when the Graces purchased it back.
“Pioneers West was searching for an historical structure to use as its home base,” recalled Andres. “Mrs. Grace and one of the founders of Pioneers West knew each other socially as members of another local historical organization. That bond was the impetus for the Graces to gift the property a second time to Pioneers West.”
Andres said Pioneers West then completed additional renovations in 2000 and rededicated the house at that time, which is when a stone marker was placed in the front lawn.
By 2015, additional renovations were required, including stabilizing the stone foundation to prevent further movement. To make the log house more energy-efficient, the standup attic was reinsulated and storm windows were installed. All the interior wood surfaces were either repainted or had hand preservative applied, helping to brighten the inside appearance, along with LED track lighting in all four rooms.
The latest updates include leveling of the stone patios, which include mill stones from the original Ewings Mill, located where present day I-79 crosses Robinson Run and Chartiers Creek, and rebuilt stone walls and a new sidewalk from an old barn foundation on the property.
Homes on this year’s tour are:
Walker-Ewing Log House, Collier Township (Oakdale)
Located at 1355 Noblestown Road, this authentic two-story log house was built in 1762 and served as the ancestral home to the Walker and Ewing families continuously for more than 200 years.
According to Andres, there were plans to demolish the Walker-Ewing Log House in 1934 to straighten out Noblestown Road, but Madjesia Ewing fought those plans. The house was left untouched, and the road still retains its original hairpin turn from when the road was built as Noble’s Trail between the west end of Pittsburgh and Noblestown.
The house features a unique herringbone-pattern fireplace with six separate stone fireplaces. Most of the structure retains its original integrity. Visitors are invited to peruse the archives room located on the second floor.
“What was very exciting for us last year were the stories that visitors told us,” Andres said. “These ranged from local neighbors who cut grass and did other maintenance work for Madjesia Ewing, and later the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, to actual residents who rented the house in the 1980s, when they were in their early 20s.
“So we have been fortunate,” he continued, “to have been given photos of what a roaring fire looked like burning in one of the six massive stone fireplaces and what the house looked like when it was being lived in and decorated for Christmas.”
As a result of last year’s tour, Pioneers West also learned of an oil portrait of Mrs. Grace and her mother that used to hang in the house and looks to have been painted in the late 1920s.
“We do not know what happened to the portrait. It is one of the mysteries of the house,” added Andres.
Plans are in the works to commemorate the home’s 200th anniversary next year.
The home will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with music by Dan Hanczar and Friends from 10 a.m. to noon. Vintage clothing will be on display.
Memberships to the Pioneers West Historical Society are encouraged at just $5 per year. Quarterly meetings are held inside the house.
To learn more, visit www.PioneersWestHistoricalSociety.org.
McAdow-McAdams Wilson Log House, Imperial
This two-story log house at 100 Bruno Lane was built in 1774 by John McAdow and later sold to David McAdams, whose family and future generations lived in the house from 1801-1865, before it was sold to other families. It sits on Wilson Elementary School property, which is where the Wilson name comes in to play as it was also named after A.D. Wilson, past superintendent of West Allegheny School District.
The house has been owned by the school district since 1986 and currently is used as a history learning center. Classes from other school districts visit the structure, and each November, second-graders have a Thanksgiving feast.
A Log House Auction is held biannually to raise funds to keep the McAdow-McAdams Wilson Log House as an integral part of Wilson School. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation lists the structure as the only existing log house in Findlay Township.
Tour hours at this site are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information on the structure, visit www.westasd.org.
Killbuck Lodge Log Cabin, Oakdale
Located at 248 Clinton Ave., just north of the business district, lies the Killbuck Lodge. That isn’t the structure’s original location, though.
The cabin was built in North Fayette Township in the 18th century and stood there until 1932, when Boy Scouts disassembled and completely rebuilt the home at its current location on a hillside in Oakdale. Years later, it was discovered that when the cabin was rebuilt, the logs were mistakenly placed upside down, allowing rain water to get trapped in the wood and hastening the decay of the structure.
After struggling to raise money for the restoration, the Friends of Killbuck Lodge were contacted by DIY Network’s “Barnwood Builders” with an offer to help tear down the cabin, evaluate and replace damaged logs with existing logs from a similar cabin in Westmoreland County, and rebuild the structure. Upgrades included modern heating and indoor plumbing, and the footprint of the cabin changed from 18 feet by 36 feet to 24 feet by 28 feet. The original stone fireplace and chimney were retained, and renovations were completed last year.
Troop 248 has held meetings at Killbuck Lodge since the structure was dedicated to the Oakdale organization in 1934.
Visit the log home from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or later that day during an Oaktoberfest celebration, scheduled from 3 to 8 p.m.
To learn more about Killbuck Lodge, visit www.friendsofkillbucklodge.org.
Coventry Log Cabin, Moon Township
Just like the Killbuck Lodge, Coventry Log Cabin was moved from its original location. First located in Bavington, Washington County, the log cabin now makes its home 12 miles northeast, at 949 Thorn Run Road.
Built in 1825, 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. Abandonded around 1975, it was acquired by the (Old) Moon Township Historical Society, dismantled and moved to Robin Hill Park. Numerous volunteers worked for eight years to repair and rebuild the structure. In 1983 it was dedicated to Moon Parks, which along with the Moon Township Historicial Society, holds open houses and educational programs inside the cabin.
Membership to the historical society is open to all with an interest in local history. Individual memberships are $25 per year. A GoFundMe campaign is in progress to continue to help finance the rebuilding project.
Coventry Log Cabin will be open from 1 to 3 p.m. To learn more, visit www.MoonTownshipHistoricalSociety.com.
The ‘wow’ factor
So what is the historical significance of these properties and others like them, and why is it so important to preserve them?
“What usually comes to mind for most is, Wow! This structure is still standing,” remarked Andres. “Then there is the appreciation for, how was this house built? What tools were used and imagining the trees being felled just up over the hill from here in what is now on the edge of Settler’s Cabin Park and being hewn and placed as they appear today. Then there is the appreciation of the human aspect of those who were born, lived and died, all right here.
“In one of Madjesia Ewing’s writings, she expressed how heartbreaking it was to find her father, James William Ewing, who passed away alone in front of one of the stone fireplaces the night of Sept. 13, 1941. While the exact construction date of the Walker-Ewing Log House is not know, there is a carved date, 1762, in one of the stones in an upstairs fireplace, which Madjesia Ewing told a newspaper reporter in 1959 was the construction start date. That would make this one of the earliest log house structures in this part of Allegheny County.”
Andres noted that the major source of funding that has supported the Walker-Ewing Log House throughout the years has been Jane Grace, who turned 99 years of age earlier this year and last visited the home in 2011.
“Through her generosity, we have been able to continue our mission to preserve and maintain her family’s ancestral home,” he said. “We welcome donations of any amount to help us continue our mission and to remain a viable Collier Township landmark.”
Admission is free to all four log homes on the tour. For more information, call 412-279-9408 or visit www.PioneersWestHistoricalSociety.org.