Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Township preserves 18th century log house
UWCHLAN » With a nod to the past, the township has preserved three structures at the Ship Road Administrative Building dating to the 18th century.
A replica log house was dedicated on May 8.
Miniscule by today’s standards, the planks of a family home were moved and assembled on a small knoll just north of the police station.
Some of the logs came from a home where Foster Field township park now stands on Route 113, about a half-mile west of Route 100.
Joe Hoffecker donated his 21- acre property to the township and lived in the house until his death.
In a bid to create more park space, the township was surprised when demolishing Hoffecker’s home.
Hidden, enclosed within the modern day home, were the wood logs for the walls on three sides of a 1700s home.
Demolition was temporarily halted. The logs were transported across the township to the administration complex and reassembled for posterity.
Much like the children’s toy, Lincoln Logs, the logs are notched at the corners, with chinking placed in between to keep out the cold. Trees were probably cut at the property.
“We had always heard that there were logs in there,” Township Supervisor Patricia D. Gaines said. “They kept adding on; they dry walled over them.”
Doorways were built low, and window frames are small, to preserve heat. Gaines said it’s a myth that people were shorter in the Colonial era than today.
While visitors point to the height of the doorways, she said that diet often determined height, and that George Washington stood over 6 feet tall.
Two flags fly outside the log house. An original 13star Betsy Ross flag flies high.
A Uwchlan Township flag, with a red dragon similar to that of the Welsh flag, also complements the building.
Many of the area’s early residents were originally British. Uwchlan is defined as “upper land” in the Welsh language.
The Hugh Pugh Room is located within the administration building. Pugh was the original owner of the structure built in the early 1700s.
While much of the joints are pegged, an original beam with dozens of nail holes graces the ceiling. Visitors can hold an original nail.
Gaines pointed out a
“They were not stupid people. They had a great background for doing things by themselves. They knew how to build.”
— Township Supervisor Patricia D. Gaines
“square peg” that was designed to snugly fit into a “round hole.”
There was little privacy in the home. The whole family likely lived in the same room, close to a fireplace, with children sometimes sleeping in a loft.
Typically, early homes were built near a water source, with an outhouse not far away.
Most residents did not receive a full formal education.
“They were not stupid people,” Gaines said. “They had a great background for doing things by themselves.
“They knew how to build.”
Many early Americans were indentured servants who traded a ship ride for several years of work.
“In order to get here, they had to work off their passage,” Gaines said.
A stone barn, c. 18th Century, at the site has also been refurbished to preserve the exterior.
Supervisor Joe Toner said the gift of the log house and park is a “real tribute” to Hoffecker.
“We can’t just keep bulldozing everything,” Toner said. “The whole world wants to put everything in a dumpster.
“It’s a wonderful legacy that this house here is based on (Hoffecker’s) generosity.”