The McCaleb cabin originally stood at the edge of the bluffs east of the Illinois River along Route 100. The cabin pre-dated the McCaleb family, who, most likely, covered it with clapboard siding shortly after they moved there. It would eventually disappear within a framed 19th century farmhouse. An early military survey map from the 1780’s of the Illinois River shows a “trading house” at the approximate location of the McCaleb cabin site. The Center for American Archeology confirmed that the cabin site was the only improvement along the bluff in that vicinity. It became logical to suppose that the cabin may have been the trading house. Artifacts found in the crawl space of the cabin’s stone foundation (debris from original construction) were all consistent with 18th century material culture. The cabin was discovered during the I-72 Corridor Survey (1979) by a cultural resource survey crew documenting existing historic properties within the corridor. The McCalebs framed house was abandoned and deteriorating. An exposed interior wall revealed one of the earlier log house walls. Cody Wright and Chalmer Herring had learned that the property owners were planning on demolishing the house. They successfully negotiated the acquisition of the log structure. The owner agreed to give the men time to dismantle the frame house and relocate the cabin with the provision that the reconstruction site remain within Scott County.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:15:39 +0000
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