FAIRFIELD – Fairfield residents got the chance to travel back in time Saturday at the Pioneer Day & Crafters Show at Waterworks Park.

The event raised money for the Bonnifield Cabin in Old Settlers Park, which is famous for being the oldest two-story log house in Iowa, built in 1838. Not only was the cabin open for tours, including its second floor, but a couple of women inside dressed in 19 th century clothing and demonstrated chores from that era.

Christie Daugherty, a member of Van Buren County Historical Society, wove a wheel rug using an iron tire from a buggy as a frame. She made the rug from scraps of old clothing, something that would have been done back then. She said pioneers would have used these rugs to bring “comfort, warmth and beauty” to their homes.

Leilani McDonald of Fairfield used a spinning wheel to turn wool into yarn, which she then makes into gloves, hats, socks and mittens. It was a labor-intensive process, but it was the only way the pioneers had to turn fiber into thread.

Just outside the cabin, Phil Grossmann and his son Ryan demonstrated how to hew a log into lumber by hand, using an ax and an adze, whose blade is at a right angle to the handle. They said that, for log cabins, pioneers would have only hewed two sides of a log instead of four, and they were able to cut a log straight by marking it with a string covered in charcoal.

Phil and Ryan are from Clemons, Iowa, where they operate Heritage Woodworks, Inc. They travel the state performing this demonstration, and they also restore four to five cabins per year. In fact, they’ll be the ones who will restore the Bonnifield Cabin.

Glenn Hamm, a member of Jefferson County Historical Preservation Commission which put on the Pioneer Day, said the Grossmanns could start work on the cabin later this year or early next spring.

“Most of the logs can be reconditioned, but there are some near the bottom that need to be replaced,” Hamm said. “So far, we’ve been lucky enough that we don’t have bugs or diseases [in the logs].”

The Grossmanns have rehabilitated other cabins in nearby towns such as the cabin in Morris Park near Stockport and the cabin in the Birmingham square. For the Bonnifield Cabin, the Grossmanns will give it a new foundation, replace some of the logs, and rotate it 180 degrees so it faces the road.

One of the highlights at Saturday’s fundraiser was a pie-eating contest with divisions for men, women and children. Thomas Bryan won the men’s division, while Ann Calhoun won the women’s division. Ten-year-old Bixie Brower won the youth division.

Other activities available that day included a kids’ activity of making log cabins out of pretzels and frosting, and a demonstration of how rope is made, which some kids turned into a jump rope. Hamm said there was a butter-churning demonstration, and everyone got to sample homemade churned butter on saltine crackers.

Hamm estimated that about 500 people attended the event, which included 18 vendors that sold crafts, food and just about everything else under the sun.

“I talked to all the vendors, and they were happy,” Hamm said. “They said that if we do it again, they want to come back.”

Hamm said the Jefferson County Historical Preservation Commission is raising money for three phases of improvements planned for the Bonnifield Cabin and Old Settlers Park. The first is the current phase of raising money to refurbish the cabin. The second phase is raising money for a brick sidewalk that will lead from the road to the cabin. Hamm estimates the path would be about 8 feet wide and 300 feet long.

Residents can purchase bricks and customize them with words or insignia at bricksrus.com. Hamm said he hopes that folks will want to dedicate bricks to their loved ones, to their school or college.

“It will take a lot of bricks, but with the Fairfield community, I don’t think we’ll have an issue,” Hamm said. “We’ve just got to make sure everybody knows about it.”

The third phase of fundraising will be for the construction of a shelter next to the cabin. The Grossmanns plan to give the commission a rendering and a quote for that. Hamm said they’re expecting the cabin restoration and new shelter combined to cost about $500,000.

Those who would like to learn more about the brick fundraiser can pick up a brochure at the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce or at the Carnegie Historical Museum.