Harbour Log Cabin

[Abby Brown] The Davis County Historical Society has gathered some historic structures so that visitors can really imagine what life was like here in southern Iowa, right about the time we were becoming a state.

(Map marking Davis County in southeast Iowa.)

In Bloomfield, you can visit some of the buildings early Iowa settlers constructed when they were setting up towns. Like a church and a school.

There's a livery barn, too, where travelers could leave their horses to rest.

Today, lots of interesting artifacts, including an authentic covered pioneer wagon, are housed inside to help shine a light on life here a long time ago.

Before planes, trains and cars, people migrating across our country walked or rode horses, sometimes hitched to wagons. Winter weather could make traveling like that really hard.

So, in a spot not far from here, some weary travelers decided to build a log cabin and stay for a while.

The historical society moved the cabin here so history lovers can see it firsthand.

It's called the Harbour Log Cabin for the family that lived here. But they weren't the first ones to occupy this cabin. They were even the ones who built it. Here's what happened.

When the Mormons, a religious group of people, started to migrate west from Illinois in the mid 1800s, they needed a place to build a shelter during Iowa's harsh winters. The Harbour family gave them permission to build on their land. In exchange, they wanted to be able to call the cabin their own when the Mormons had moved on.

This structure was built in 1848.

(A home built out of straight logs with chinking between each of the logs. The chimney is made out of stacked stones and reaches far above the roof of the home.)

The information panel next to it says, “Mormon craftsmen leave legacies along the trail.”

It's hard to know exactly how many Mormons passed through here on their journey west, but we do know that they stopped along the way to work for settlers who lived here. In exchange, they received food and supplies as payment.

And in this case, they were able to build a cabin that helped to shelter fellow travelers for many years.

(A straight back wooden rocking chair and two metal and wood washing boards sit inside an iron tub in front of an unadorned, tall, rectangular wooden chest.)

Inside there are original pieces of furniture and even the original fireplace that helped to keep winter weary Mormons warm.

Every county in Iowa has seen travelers come and go throughout its history. Here in Davis County, there's proof that some of those migrating groups stopped and stayed a while.

Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.