Benjamin Iddings Log House
The Benjamin and Phebe Iddings Log House is a two-story log dwelling built in 1804 in Miami County, Ohio. It is the oldest surviving building in the county and is located on the property of Brukner Nature Center.[1] In 1976, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1981, the building underwent a major restoration.
Architecture
[edit]The Benjamin and Phebe Iddings Log House is a two-story, square-hewn log structure with a side-gabled roof and half-dovetail notched corners. A half dovetail notch is a log construction technique in which notches on opposite logs have a single angled slope on one side of the log end.
History
[edit]The Iddings Family
[edit]Benjamin Iddings married Phebe Wilkinson in 1775 in Pennsylvania. The family were active members of the local Quaker community. In 1795, the family settled in Greene County, Tennessee,[2] where they helped establish the New Hope Monthly Meeting.
After the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795, Benjamin made an exploratory trip up the Stillwater River into what is now Miami County, Ohio. Soon after, the Iddings family relocated to the area, purchasing 160 acres in what is now Newton Township. The Iddings actually built their log house on their neighbor's property, later paying $11.62 to acquire an additional four acres up on which the house had been constructed.[3]
Phebe Iddings died in 1818. In 1822, Benjamin married his widowed neighbor, Ruth Pierce. Benjamin Iddings died four years later in 1826 and is buried in Old Union Cemetery on Horseshoe Bend Road.
Brukner Nature Center
[edit]In 1974, the log home became part of Brukner Nature Center.[4] The surrounding nature preserve now includes 165 acres of diverse wildlife habitat, more than 6 miles of hiking trails, and a wildlife rehabilitation unit for injured and orphaned animals.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ https://www.bruknernaturecenter.com/activities
- ^ Beers, W.H. (1880). The History of Miami County, Ohio. Chicago: W.H. Beers & Co. p. 774.
- ^ https://www.bruknernaturecenter.com/activities
- ^ https://www.bruknernaturecenter.com/about