“My grandfather bought this piece of property in 1942. He hunted it his whole life and so did my dad. When I was a little kid, my dad took me to the property all the time with my mom and sister,” reminisced the homeowner of their family cabin in the woods.
The storied history of this long family-owned Allegheny property has deep roots embedded into its rolling hills and rich soil.
The land had been forested, cleared for homes and agriculture, and then abandoned during the depression. Families started returning in the 1950’s for recreation while various state-run programs began to caretake and reforest the land. Through these programs, the homeowner’s grandparents (the first generation to own the land) planted tens of thousands of trees on the lot—both providing a green future and family fingerprint on the property.
Their land began as a 68-acre portion containing a small primitive cabin called “The Shack” that was previously used as a farm granary. The building burned down in the 1950’s and was replaced with another rustic cabin without plumbing or electric. The first generation of family constructed that cabin from materials they harvested on the site – trees, old planks, and more.
A handful of years later, a second cabin was built next to the first. This new cabin had three rooms, but still no heat, electric, or plumbing, and was occupied by various family members through the years. This second cabin was expanded on, then left behind, when the family outgrew it.
In April of 1962, the growing second generation of family followed in the footsteps of the first, planting several stands of trees across the property. The two original cabins, while gradually falling into a state of disrepair, remained on site until 2001 when, longing for modern conveniences, the second generation came together to construct a fully functional cabin. Built at the top of the rise above the original cabins’ location, the new cabin included running water and electric.
In 2007 the homeowner (now third generation of family) began construction on another cabin 100 yards away from his parents 2001 cabin. “We wanted a place where we could raise our four kids and there just wasn’t enough room in that other cabin,” he explains.
Fittingly, and just like the generations before, much of the timber for the 2007 cabin was harvested from the land—forever connecting the new structure to family’s long-standing heritage. “With my grandfather’s blessing, Larch trees planted on the land in the 50’s were harvested for the 2007 cabin’s frame,” remembers the homeowner.
“The cabin’s actual construction we had very little to do with. We were living in Boston at the time and commuting back and forth when all the work really got going. We had a logger, and a sawyer who harvested the wood. We were working with New Energy Works on our main home, and we brought them in to do all of the joinery and raising of the cabin, continues the homeowner. “It has served us incredibly well.”
“But now, because our kids are young adults with boyfriends and girlfriends – and we have friends that come down to visit – we need to have much more room. So, we decided to expand the 2007 cabin. It now includes a giant mudroom, a new primary suite, and a larger the kitchen, as well as a full basement”
“Unlike the 2007 frame, we’ve had a heavy hand in the construction. My older son and I were the loggers. My younger son, my daughters, and I were the sawyers. So, everyone had their hands in the expansion’s crafting.”
He continues, “For this new addition, we wanted to stick with the same materials as the 2007 build. This time we picked the Larch out of a different stand of trees that my dad had planted in 1962.” Procuring another generation of trees from the property acted as a tribute to over 8 decades of the family planting the land, thoughtfully harvesting its timbers, and constructing a long-standing legacy.
“Other trees on the land were used too. We harvested hickory trees—I was the logger, my younger son was the skidder/sawyer, and my two daughters were the stackers/handlers. We worked together to cut and mill all the wood. Pioneer Millworks turned it into tongue and groove flooring, and that’s what’s been installed in most of the new addition. They had done the same for us in the 2007 cabin, with hickory from my grandfather’s grove.”
A perfect final touch to a place that has meant so much and sheltered to many—the family name was inscribed in the structural timbers of the cabin with a note immortalizing 1962 the year that the homeowners father planted the trees used for the timber frame.
Today the land is 1,200-acres of property which four generations have planted and lived on since that original purchase eighty-three years ago. The recent addition will accommodate future generations who will continue the family legacy in a cabin that is a demonstration of hard work, forethought, patience, and familial dedication.
