UPDATE summer 2025: Unfortunately they had to tear down the cabin, as it was too expensive to repair. I am awaiting a Historical Marker to be created for this site. In the meantime, the only requirement will be to post a picture with your log of something on-site, such as the Town of Clinton sign, the City Hall or Garage buildings, etc.
This building is reputed to be the earliest Norwegian dwelling in Wisconsin. The Skavlem family left Norway and embarked on a ten-week voyage by sailing ship to America. They then spent five weeks traversing the Great Lakes from New York to Chicago. From there they went by ox team to Rock County, Wisconsin, where they bought land from the Government for $1.25 an acre. The original cabin was built on land off of Hwy 67, east of Hwy 140. The site provided ample timber for logs for this dwelling. The logs were joined together with round wooden pegs one and a half inches in diameter. Square nails were also used. The chinks between the logs were filled with plaster. The 17 x 18-foot cabin had a basement and enclosed stairway leading from the one room first floor to the loft. The cabin served as a haven for later immigrants. One December, thirty people came to spend the winter in the cabin.
In 1976, it was decided that the cabin would be moved to its current location. Volunteers numbered the ends of the logs, dismantled the cabin and moved it from the homestead site to the village complex. The cabin shrunk some during the process as decomposing logs were cut away, and in some cases additional logs were used from a similar cabin.
In the nearly fifty years since the cabin was moved here, members of the historical society have endeavored to preserve the structure, although there are signs of deterioration in the exterior corners of this cabin, at the bottom of doorways, the roof shingles, and chinking between logs.
To log this as a find, message me these 3 answers:
1) In what year was this cabin built (an exact year)?
2) What material was it built of?
3) What are the first names of those who built it?
With the removal of the cabin, the only current requirement is to post a picture with your log showing that you were there. It could be a photo of the Town of Clinton sign, or the City Hall building or garage, or something else you find there.