The Creemore Log Cabin
The cabin in its original location on George St.
The finished cabin, awaiting the installation of the doors and windows.
From Jim's NotesThe wood pictured in the header above was provided to me by Paul Vorstermans. It came from the area above the logs and below the peak of the cabin. The planks were wide enough that I was able to make all the chargers without having to laminate.
The wood is white pine and is knot free. Pine this clear would not be used on the outside of a house or cabin today. This would be considered premuim wood and only be used for the finest products. In the 1870's this kind of pine was so common that it was used for everyday purposes. From this wood I was able to make a set of 4 chargers. I have named them as follows: "Henry Mather's Lot", "Hazel & Robert Shaw", "Rehabilitation" and "The Best of Both Worlds". |
The Story
The cabin was built in the early to mid 1870s on five acres of land running south from George Street along Mary Street to the Mad River, on the very eastern edge of Creemore. This lot was purchased by Henry Mathers for $250 and Mathers owned the property until 1909. In 1880 James Scarrow, his wife Abigail, his widowed mother and nine children moved from Lavender to Creemore and rented the cabin for the next twenty-seven years. In 1910 the cabin was rented by Joseph Veitch, a widower with two daughters. One daughter, Hazel, married Robert Shaw and the Shaw family continued to live in the cabin. Eventually their son Marlyn became the sole occupant until he went to the Creedan Valley Nursing Home in 2004. After 1909 the ownership of the cabin changed hands several times until it was bought by the Shaws in 1921. Most of the five acres were also severed, leaving only the lot where the cabin stood. After Marlyn Shaw moved out, the cabin was purchased by Kevin Ralph and in 2006, donated to Clearview Township. The logs were carefully stored and funds were raised for the reconstruction. While a new location was chosen and funds were raised, the logs were stored at the Clearview works yard. A few of the original logs had to be replaced because they were rotten. The logs were brought from the Clearview works yard. The original chinking, the material used to fill in the space between the logs, was cement, which shrinks and tends to pull away from the logs. The restored cabin uses a modern product that stays flexible and bonds permanently to the logs. (The above story, the pictures of the cabin and the material for the pieces were provided by Paul Vorstermans of Creemore. For more information and pictures on this cabin, please click here.) 
Charger from the Creemore Log Cabin
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