DECATUR -- Since its removal from a century-old home near the Simmons feed mill in the early 1990s, an old log cabin has become the symbol of endurance for a city that nearly went extinct.
Like the Phoenix that died and was reborn, the old log cabin in Decatur withstood the ravages of time and has become a vital part of the downtown Decatur landscape. But years of neglect left the structure's roof in a deteriorating state.
Several places in the old roof have simply disappeared, blown off by heavy winds or rotted away from exposure to wet and rainy weather.
With the formation of the Decatur Historical Commission earlier this year, the years of neglect for both the log cabin and depot will now be addressed.
One of the group's functions is to make recommendation to the city council on various needs of the historical complex. After a series of meetings by the commission on the condition of the buildings in the historical complex, the commission decided that the priority was to replace the roof on the log cabin. The commission's recommendation was presented to the city council during the Sept. 17 meeting at city hall.
After a lengthy discussion on the log cabin, council member James Jessen made a motion to have the city obtain bids and repair it with city funds, setting a cap at $12,000. The council voted unanimously to pay for the repair to the roof on the log cabin. The complete project came in under budget at $11,050, worth the price to preserve a lasting piece of this town's rich heritage. Shannon Braun from Braun's Home Repair did the roof restoration.
The old log cabin has been a part of Main Street Decatur since 1993 when Lloyd Peterson paid to have it moved, piece by piece, to its present location as part of the Decatur Museum complex which includes the depot, shed, locomotive, caboose and work car.
In 1845, James Heaslet and his wife Mourning moved to the Decatur area from Cane Hill and set up a homestead near what is now part of the Simmons feed mill and dog food plant. The Heaslets built the log cabin a few years after. Over the years, the log cabin was thought to be lost to time but, while tearing down an old condemned home on the property, the old log cabin appeared perfectly preserved.
The old house, it seemed, was built around the log cabin, shielding it from the sun, wind and various forms of precipitation.
While the log cabin does not qualify for the national historical record, it is a part of history that defines the city of Decatur and its surrounding area.
The old log cabin is now under the watchful eye of the Decatur Historical Commission. The commission, along with the city of Decatur, plans on opening it and the depot to the public sometime in the next two years.
But for now, the log cabin on Main Street stands as a legacy to one man's determination to preserve the history of Decatur and the people that made her an important part of Northwest Arkansas.
General News on 10/17/2018