Log cabin needs constant repairs

    The Washington chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is seeking to improve the services they offer at the historical log cabin in Sunset Park. Julie Beenblossom, the regent of the Washington chapter, said the DAR wants to purchase period costumes for its volunteers to wear when they?re staffing the cabin. She said the DAR would submit a request to the Riverboat Foundation to purchase costumes and other supplies such as souvenirs.

    Beenblossom said the DAR will also visit with the Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG), the Washington, Iowa Betterment Foundation, and the Washington Historical Preservation Society about funding enhancements to the cabin.

    ?People want to get souvenirs when they go to visit a historical site,? said Beenblossom. ?That might also help pay for the upkeep of the cabin.?

    Beenblossom says the DAR is a non-profit entity that has no way of raising its own funds to maintain the cabin in good condition.

    ?We have been blessed by so much private funding from the community,? said Beenblossom. ?Unfortunately, we don?t have any way to make money to sustain the cabin, and it takes a lot of money and a lot of work to keep that building from falling into shambles.?

    The cabin was constructed in 1840 just west of the HACAP building on Lexington Boulevard. It was originally owned by a man named Alexander Young. According to Beenblossom, the first wedding in the township was held in the cabin. In 1912, the Young family gave the cabin to the Washington DAR and moved it to Sunset Park, where it is today.

    When the cabin was transported into town in 1912, it was in rough shape.

    ?I saw a photograph taken of the cabin that year, and it was an old dilapidated shack,? said Beenblossom. ?It had not been taken care of at all.?

    Over the years, parts of the cabin have been refurbished to make the structure look as it did when it was first constructed. Beenblossom said the company Wood Construction dismantled the cabin and put it back together in the early 1980s. In 1999, Wood Construction repaired the cabin?s roof. Beenblossom said there is still plenty of work to do.

    ?I walked into the cabin last spring and all I could see was daylight showing through the chinking [slits] in the wall,? said Beenblossom. ?Some of the logs are also rotting on the outside, and we may have to replace some of them next spring or summer. In our climate, the cabin takes a beating.?

    Like any other structure, the log cabin requires periodic upgrades and repairs. Beenblossom said that the cabin hasn?t always gotten those necessary fixes in years past.

    ?The cabin needs to be looked at every year,? said Beenblossom. ?It needs to be waterproofed and examined to see whether there are termites or wood damage from the rain and snow. Anyone who has a home knows what you have to do to maintain a building.?

For the full article, see the Dec. 18 edition of the Washington Evening Journal.