The Oldest House In Tiffin?

The Oldest House In Tiffin?
Not all historic homes are luxurious.

Photos & Information By Stephen J. Hartzell

Is this the oldest house in Tiffin?
No one knows for sure, but cabins such as this one are rarely considered.
While a house on Riverside Drive is usually referred to as being the oldest house in Tiffin,
there is no doubt that many surviving log cabins in Tiffin are surely older.

Located at 386 West Market St., at the NW corner with Oil St.
This house has been vacant for many years, and all utilities have been disconnected.
When the rear siding was removed, a piece of history saw it's first light of day in over a century.
Since the exposed side is to the rear, people who pass every day do not even know it is there.

This is a perfect example of a second generation log cabin.
There are likely a large number of these surviving in Tiffin.
Nearly all of them are buried in the middle of often-added-to houses.
Remarkably, the basic structure of this one is virtually undisturbed.

With the above being a second generation log cabin, the first generation cabins are surely all gone.
First generation cabins were hastily constructed with the help of friends and neighbors.
Normally the logs were stacked as they fell and contained by uprights at the corners.

The second generation cabins like the one above require much more labor.
On this cabin the timbers are all hand hewn with a broad ax.
They vary in size from about 10 - 16 inches square, and there is not a saw mark on them.
Note that there were sawmills within 1 mile of this cabin by around 1820.
Either this cabin is older than 1820, or this person was not able to pay for sawmilled lumber.
In either case, this cabin was probably built between 1820 and 1850.

This is a corner view of the cabin.
Notice how the timbers are notched in order to form a secure joint.
Also visible are the marks of the broad ax.
Since the finished timbers were not perfectly straight, large gaps were left between them.

Pieces of wood were split from rails and stuffed in the large gaps between the timbers.
This was called "chinking".
Then finally, the smaller gaps were filled with earth clay.
The floors were often of compacted clay at first, with hewed planks added later.

I do not know who owns this house, nor do I know what their plans are.
Generous Tiffin people have spent many thousands of dollars in preserving historic buildings.
However, houses such as this one have been left completely out of the loop.

Here's my thought for the day:
Is this house any less historic because it is not luxurious, because it was the work of a common man?

Go to the Tiffin Seneca History Notebook