Cabin’s grand opening is Saturday
The volunteer-powered reconstruction is ready to be open to the public, according to Cave Spring Historical Society officials.
Cave Spring will offer a little taste of history Saturday during the grand opening of the Cherokee Vann Cabin.
The grand opening will be at 10 a.m. at 24 Broad St. in Cave Spring.
The reconstruction of the cabin has been a “labor of love,” according to Cave Spring Historical Society board president Mike Burton.
“It’s a source of pride and it’s been a long time coming,” he said. “And it has been done with volunteers and no grants, which is a big thing for a little town like ours.”
During the opening, there will be a woman portraying Avery Vann’s wife who will talk about life during the early 1800s. Local Girl Scout troops will dress as Vann’s daughters.
A Cherokee flag will be presented, along with a moment commemorating the Trail of Tears.
A song about the cabin — written by a local — will be performed as well.
“We also will show videos and a slideshow that show the progression of the cabin,” Burton said. “Local Joe’s will be cooking barbecue to sell as a fundraiser for the cabin as well.”
The historical cabin, built in 1810, was taken apart in February and has slowly been put back together.
It was disassembled because leaks were destroying the floors, and the foundation was falling apart. Volunteers have been working all year to reassemble the cabin,
using as much wood from the original as possible. They’ve also used 1800s building methods, such as dovetails, wooden pegs and stone to recreate it.
The cabin has already started drawing a curious passerby or two, Burton said.
“People love to come up and take a look when the volunteers are out there,” he said. “Many folks who step inside say they just get a good feeling from the cabin when they walk in.”
Burton attributes this to the fact that the cabin is all natural — made of stone and wood.
“When you think about it, some of the wood in that cabin started growing maybe 400 years ago,” he said. “We kept the original corners and the north and east walls are almost 100 percent original wood.”
Volunteers were at the cabin Monday, putting final touches on the cabin and cleaning up.
Local blacksmith Richard Weeks, who has forged all of the iron used for the hinges and shutter locks and fireplace utensils, was hanging the back door for the cabin.
He and fellow volunteer Terry Lemons were even suffering through a fire in the fireplace as they worked.
“We aren’t cold,” laughed Weeks. “We wanted the fireplace to look as if it had been used.”
Burton added that fans of the cabin should be watching the cabin’s Facebook page for the announcement of a kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the cabin.
“We’ve made a number of items using the original wood from the cabin that couldn’t be used in the reconstruction,” Burton explained. “We are planning to sell them and we should have more information up about that by the end of this week.”