Settler's Cabin(s)

The two cabins in the area of Settler's Cabin Park are confusing. One is called the "Walker-Ewing Log House" (below). It bears the official plaque of a historical landmark, and it's located on Noblestown Road just south of the park.

As you can see, the bottom house is still loved by somebody, and might even be inhabited. There was steam rising from the furnace vent when I stopped by. Actually, this place has three different markers, one claiming that it was constructed "circa 1785," one claiming "circa 1790," and a third asserting "circa 1795." That's what happens when you start lying about your age...or anything else for that matter; you lose track of the lies and forget what you've told people.

The smaller, simpler log cabin pictured above is actually inside the park on Pinkerton Run Road, just next door to the farmhouse posted below. The park is named for this cabin. It's called the "Walker-Ewing-Glass Log House," and nobody gives a damn about it. According to Wikipedia (truth democratized), this house "may have been built in the 1780s by a man named John Henry." Another source says that it was attacked by Indians in 1782.

How did anyone get any sleep back in those days? Every bump in the night might be a whole band of marauding murderers. Not to say that the indigenous peoples were bloodthirsty, but the attacks in the late 1700s were ruthless and gruesome. No police, no 911, not so much as a streetlamp. What would impel anyone to camp out in a place like that under the threat of being tortured and scalped, together with wife and children?

The top house, which is apparently a slightly older structure, sits boarded up and neglected, like the farmhouse next door to it. There are no historical markers, and even the sign that gives the name of the house is broken and leaning against the wall. On one exterior wall, someone has spray-painted the words, "I just wanted to say hi."

Alas, lord help the people, and the buildings, and the places that rely on Allegheny County for their upkeep and maintenance.

That neglected cabin would definitely require a flashlight if a person were to find a way inside. Just saying...