By CAMILA FERNANDEZ
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A historical cabin in Westfield will finally open next month after it was nearly lost.
The community says it’s the only historical structure, specifically a family dwelling, that’s been saved in the city.
Westfield Washington Historical Society (WWHS) President Diana Peyton said, “It’s a part of our history, it’s a part of us, [and] it’s a part of me.”
Now, the historical society is doing whatever it can to keep it in their community.
According to WWHS, in the 1830s Nicholas Barker built this cabin for his wife and 11 children. The Barker family moved from North Carolina to Indiana in search of a better life.
Westfield Washington Historical Society President Diana Peyton shows how the cabin is constructed of hand-hewn logs, some as thick as 26 to 28 inches. (Photo provided by WISH-TV)
“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,” Peyton 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.”
“This gentleman had 11 children,” WWHS Program Director James Peyton said. “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 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. It was moved to Penn Street, and after a long pause during the pandemic, WWHS is getting ready to open it to the public as an educational center next month.
“It’s a huge thing to honor the pioneers of this community that came in here,” James Peyton said. “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.”
This is not the only historical structure (family home) saved by the city. We have several on the National Registry of Historical Places.