More than 2,000 hours of labor by volunteers helped disassemble the log cabin from its original location on No Mans Road to the Madison Community Park on West Alexandria Road.
The Blanton Log Cabin is set to be dedicated at 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We want to preserve some of the heritage of Madison Twp.,” said Walter. “This will make people more aware of the pioneers that came here and the hardships they endured.”
On Sunday afternoon, the first tour of the cabin will be given and it will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. every Sunday. A raised 1833 American flag will signal it is open.
“This will be a very visible structure and will be used to educate the youth and adults of the area,” said Walter. “It will serve to be a reminder to the community of its heritage while encouraging preservation efforts.”
Walter wants to see area schools incorporate an informational tour of the cabin, its history and the near-authentic furniture and decor into their Ohio history curriculum.
Log cabins in the area are mostly found inside homes that are still occupied.
“There’s been quite a few under houses,” Walter said of township homes still in use.
People were considered poor if they lived in log cabins, which were mostly one-room structures, Walter said. Families covered them to make them look less like a log cabin, then added rooms as they grew.
“Pretty soon you’d have a house over these log cabins,” she said.
Funding to help deconstruct the cabin, move it to the park and reassemble it came from grants from Middletown Community Foundation, Butler Rural Electric, Duke Energy and Springfest Committee.
Ohio Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp., will present a commendation and an American flag that flew over the state capitol building in Columbus.
“It’s a really big event,” he said. “It’s a nice place, and it’s a destination for folks, mainly for the township residents, to utilize that.”
Derickson said Madison Community Park is a local gem for a township that is still pretty rural.
“This log cabin adds to an already good thing,” he said.
In the event of rain, the dedication of the log cabin will be held at 3 p.m. May 20. Madison Community Park is next to the Madison Twp. administration building, 5610 W. Alexandria Road.
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