Hoosiers save historical Westfield log cabin set to open to public
WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — A historical cabin in Westfield will finally be opening in November after it was nearly lost.
A leader of the Washington Westfield Historical Society says it’s the only historical structure, specifically a family dwelling, that’s been saved, in the city.
Diana Peyton, the president of the Westfield Washington Historical Society, said, “It’s a part of our history, it’s a part of us, (and) it’s a part of me.”
According to the historical society, in the 1830s, Nicholas Barker built this cabin for his wife and 11 children. The Barker family moved from North Carolina all the way to Indiana in search of a better life.
Now, the historical society is doing whatever it can to keep it in their community.
“They decided that they’d go West for fertile and more down-to-earth living, and get out of the war area and out of the slavery area,” Diana said.
“Some of our logs are 26 to 28 inches and these were logs from the community out by Shady Nook Road and of course they chopped the tree down. You see the hack marks where they actually split the log and hacked it,” Diana said.
“This gentleman had 11 children. Some of his children married into families that were involved in the Underground Railroad, so they didn’t write it down. It was against the law,” the program director at the Westfield Washington Historical Society, James Peyton, said.
The cabin stood inside a barn along Shady Nook Road for about 200 years until plans were made to tear it down for city development.
With help from the community, the organization raised thousands of dollars to preserve the cabin.
They moved it to Penn Street, and, after a long pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, are getting ready to open it to the public as an educational center in November.
“It’s a huge thing to honor the pioneers of this community that came in here. This was just a wilderness when they came here and to build the foundation of the city that we have now is really something to be excited about,” James said.
After this story aired, Judi Shuck, executive director of the Westfield Preservation Alliance, told News 8 that its group has saved several other homes and dwellings in the city, too.