Dewitt Log Homestead
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The Dewitt Log Homestead is a historic building near
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, listed in the National Register on April 13, 1973.


Overview

This
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally 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 settl ...
was built in 1805 by Zachariah Price Dewitt and Elizabeth Dewitt and is the oldest extant structure in the Oxford Township of
Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat and largest city is Hamilton, Ohio, Ham ...
. It is the only remaining home of the several built by pioneers along the Four-Mile Creek, just east of what is now the
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
campus. The cabin and surrounding land is now owned by Miami University and is maintained by the Oxford Museum Association as a
historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...
. The cabin is on the north side of
Ohio State Route 73 State Route 73 (SR 73) is an east–west state highway in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Its western terminus is on U.S. Route 27 in Oxford at the intersection of SR 732. SR 73’s eastern terminus is in Portsmouth at US ...
where it crosses Four-Mile Creek.


Biography of Zechariah DeWitt

Zachariah DeWitt was born on April 24, 1768, in New Jersey, and by the 1780s, he had resettled in Kentucky along with two brothers. He married Elizabeth Teets (b. 1774) on March 11, 1790. When Ohio became a state in 1803, residents of Kentucky were drawn to its cheap and newly available land. By 1805 Zachariah and Elizabeth DeWitt had resettled near Four Mile Creek where he built his cabin and opened a sawmill. The cabin is on the east bank of the creek just north of Route 73. Both Zacariah and Elizabeth Dewitt are buried in the
Darrtown, Ohio Darrtown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 514 at the 2020 census. History Darrtown was laid out in 1814 by Conrad Darr, and named for him. A post office called Darr ...
Pioneer Cemetery.


Recent Years

The cabin is located on property belonging to Miami University, and the structure has been leased to the Oxford Museum Association. The association undertook the restoration of the house in 1973. Work included exposing and fixing the original adz-marked timber walls, rebuilding the limestone chimney, and replacing floors. The smokehouse was restored in 1999–2000. The association finished its work in 2003. Later work included interior work. The site was dedicated in May 2003.


References


Further reading

*Smith, Ophia D. ''Old Oxford Houses and the People Who Lived In Them''. Bicentennial Edition, 1976.


External links


Oxford Museum Association - official site
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Miami University buildings and structures Log cabins in the United States Houses completed in 1805 Houses in Butler County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Butler County, Ohio Museums in Butler County, Ohio Historic house museums in Ohio 1805 establishments in Ohio Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio {{Ohio-museum-stub