Above is a picture – taken in 1926 by Iowa City photographer Fred W. Kent – when an older Iowa City home at 514 N. Gilbert Street – built in the 1860’s – was being torn down. Much to the surprise of the demolition team and the owner (John Lechty), this log cabin dating back to 1839/1840 was found within the framework of the larger home that was being torn down!
Apparently, it was a very common practice in the 1860’s-1880’s to built a larger home around an older, existing log cabin – including it in the building project! This log cabin pictured above was described as “a one-room affair, built up of roughly hewn logs mortised together at the corners and the cracks filled with mortar.” Fortunately, Kent took this photograph so we have a reminder of what these original log cabins looked like!
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