WASHINGTONVILLE, Pa. — Piece by piece and very carefully, contractors are taking down this log cabin in Washingtonville. It was discovered last month during the demolition of a condemned bar. The former bar was built around the log cabin.
Recently the cabin was evaluated by historians in Harrisburg, who said it dates to the 1780s.
"Found two old nails upstairs, hand-wrought iron nails, and that's really how he pinpointed it to that time frame. He said we really need to do everything we possibly can to save this," Frank Dombroski said.
The cabin is now being taken down by hand, piece by piece. The log cabin will be reconstructed about a mile away at the Montour-DeLong Fairgrounds.
Washingtonville borough council president Frank Dombroski says the log cabin will be stored at an undisclosed location and then reconstructed during the 2021 fair.
"People can see how it was done and witness a piece of history happening over there at the fair," Dombroski said.
Dombroski says the log cabin, which was the subject of a Newswatch 16 story last month, brought a lot of attention to this community of just over 200 people.
"It went around the United States from Channel 16. Then it went to Canada. It went to Ireland and England. Someone told me it was seen in Turkey," Dombroski said.
Dombroski says the Montour-DeLong Fair board expects to get donations, grants, and volunteers for the reconstruction of the log cabin.