In January of 1967, a two-story log cabin was discovered inside a house that was being torn down at 1155 Spring Street in Greenwood. A photo of the house, taken in 1960, can be seen here. This house (not the cabin) was itself “one of the city’s oldest buildings with hand-hewn beams of heart of pine and hand-made nails used in its construction.”
The logs of the interior cabin were described as “massive” in a photo caption in 1967. Images in the Lander University archives depict adults standing near the doorway of the cabin, allowing for an estimate of 12-inches square for each log.
The cabin gets its name from its builder, Andrew Logan, a Revolutionary War veteran. It was purchased from Logan by John Blake, "one of the Greenwood area’s early settlers who had come from Laurens around 1795 and owned considerable land around what is now Spring Street.” Blake’s son William was born in 1798 and died in the house in 1875.
The Greenwood County Historical Society purchased the cabin and arranged for it to be relocated for preservation on the campus of nearby Lander College. On March 3 1967, the cabin was transported along a 12-mile route to its new home at Lander. Due to the height of the cabin, trees had to be trimmed along the route. Power lines also had to be adjusted as seen in photographs of the move in the Lander University archives.
Images of the cabin appear in the 1968 Naiad, the Lander yearbook (pp. 4, 46, 48, 90, 128). One image appears in the 1969 Naiad (p. 132).
In 1971, the cabin was moved to the location that is now the Ninety Six National Historic Site. The images in this display document the participation of Lander University in the preservation of a structure that is part of our national treasure.
David Mash, Lander University Archivist
A footnoted version of this text is included with the physical file in the Lander archives.
This shows the cabin on the perimeter of the Lander campus during transport.
The former Lander apartments are in the background.
The worker on top of the cabin may have been there to manage power lines along the route.
This shows the cabin on the perimeter of the Lander campus during transport.
The former Lander apartments are in the background.
The worker on top of the cabin may have been there to manage power lines along the route.
This shows the cabin on the perimeter of the Lander campus during transport.
The former Lander apartments are in the background.
The worker on top of the cabin may have been there to manage power lines along the route.
Arrival on campus.
Arrival on campus.
Arrival on campus.
This photo features Lander College president Don Herd (center in front of door).
His wife Beverly is in the doorway with one of their sons and Herd's other son is standing to his right.
The house in the background to the right of the cabin is identical in appearance to a house that is still occupied at 320 Lawson Street.
The segue from the street to Lander grounds is flat, making this the likely location of the cabin while it was kept on the Lander campus.
The following picture shows this location as it appears today.
This picture shows the location of the log cabin on the Lander campus as it appears today.
Photo by David Mash.