This mid-19th century cabin and farmstead is representative of cabins built by early settlers in the Stone Mountain area. The site is located on the southernmost side of Stone Mountain. In 1855, Hutchinson built the west pen that included a bedroom, kitchen, and upstairs loft. Later, to accommodate eight children, the original kitchen was converted into a living room/bedroom and a framed passageway and east pen were constructed with a new kitchen and front porch. The farmstead consists not only of the cabin but the following outbuildings: blacksmith shop, corncrib, barn, and meat house/tobacco loft.
Phase I: Restoration. Because of poor drainage, foundation problems, log deterioration from water and insect infestation, chimney movement, and a leaking roof, the Architect was faced with a restoration project requiring extensive study, planning, and drawings before work could begin. A log-by-log assessment was made with respect to wall and corner joints, and logs were numbered as to reuse, epoxy consolidation, or partial/entire replacement. A similar assessment was done for all materials. The floor was shored up and underpinned, and the stone foundation walls received footings and a careful realignment. Because of the overall deterioration of the fabric, jacking of the walls was ruled out. Carefully the entire structure was dismantled. Once the stone foundation wall had been reset and new piers placed in the crawl space and root cellar the floor was lowered onto the foundation wall. At the same time a partial footing was installed beneath the west chimney followed by a careful re-chinking of the stones. When the metal roof was installed in the 1970’s, many of the original rafter poles were replaced with 2x4’s. Late ca. 1800 poles were found to replace the modern framing.
Phase II: ADA accessible pea gravel (in concrete) paths, wooden bridges, and ramps to allow access in and around the cabin were added.
