Mercer Log House
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The Mercer Log House is a large
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...
in the city of
Fairborn Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. Fairborn is a suburb of Dayton, and part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the only city in the world named Fairborn, a port ...
, Ohio, United States. Home to the city's first settlers and changed very little since their time, it is one of Ohio's best preserved log cabins from the settlement period, and it has been named a historic site.


Historic context

According to local tradition, part of present-day Fairborn was occupied by an Indian village until the 1790s, when they were driven from their village by a force of soldiers from Kentucky. The land did not remain unoccupied for long; Bath Township's first settlers had become well established by the time that Greene County was organized in 1803. By the end of the 1790s, a family from Virginia named Mercer had immigrated to the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
and purchased a large tract of land at 25¢ per acre (approximately $61.78 per km²) that included the site of the Indian village. While the Mercers' precise date of arrival is unknown, it seems certain that crops were being raised in the township before
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's death in 1799. They were the first of several early families in the vicinity of modern Fairborn, which had at least five resident families by the time of the birth of the
first white child The birth of the first white child is a concept that marks the establishment of a European colony in the New World, especially in the historiography of the United States. Americas Canada Snorri Thorfinnsson, born around 1010 in the Viking settle ...
in 1800.Broadstone, Michael A.
History of Greene County, Ohio: Its People, Industries, and Institutions
'. Vol. 1.
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
: Bowen, 1918.
These early settlers were isolated from surrounding regions for the first twenty years after the Mercers arrived; except for the road running between the cities of
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
and
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
, the township's best transportation routes were paths through the dense forest, although the nearby Mad River could be used for light freight transportation during the spring floods. By the end of the 1810s, more settlers were moving into the area; Fairborn (then known as Fairfield) was platted in 1817, by which time the property was owned by Robert Mercer.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 541-542.


Architecture

The Mercers constructed a log cabin on their property soon after arriving; while its precise date of construction is uncertain, the Mercer Log House is believed to have been built in 1799. Set on a stone foundation, the house is a typical example of the region's turn-of-the-century vernacular architecture, due to features such as its square appearance (produced by the nearly one-to-one ratio between its height, length, and width), the large opening for a fireplace, and the small size of the other openings in the structure. Today, it is distinguished from most surviving log cabins in Ohio by its unusual degree of preservation; in order to expand them into larger structures, most early log cabins in the state have had additional openings cut in their walls, but the Mercer cabin's log walls are virtually unchanged from their original form.


Preservation

In 1981, the Mercer Log House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its historically significant architecture. It is one of three Fairborn buildings listed on the National Register, along with the
Fairborn Theatre The Fairborn Theatre is a historic movie theater in the city of Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Built soon after World War II in an Air Force community, it has been named a historic site because of its aviation-themed architecture. Architecture Ar ...
of 1948 and the former
Bath Township Consolidated School Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
of 1924. The house is owned by the city as part of the small Mercer-Smith Historical Park.City Park Guide
, City of Fairborn, n.d. Accessed 2016-03-12.


See also

* Log building


References

{{NRHP in Greene County, Ohio Houses completed in 1799 Houses in Greene County, Ohio Fairborn, Ohio Log cabins in the United States Log houses in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Greene County, Ohio Vernacular architecture in Ohio Museums in Greene County, Ohio Historic house museums in Ohio Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio