The First 300

The Log House

Contrasts

Gladwyne’s Log House.

At the end of a long lane in Gladwyne is a simple dwelling, probably built for a worker on Herbert’s farm between 1698 and 1700. Nothing is known of its history in the 18th or 19th centuries until the 1860s. William Booth bought part of the Herbert farm, adjacent to his mill, and included the cabin. Booth’s farmer, John Doran and his wife, Martha, lived in the one room building. In 1872, it was made into a six room house to accommodate the Doran’s growing family. They lived there until 1892.

One previous owner relates, “Laurence Jordan, a black handyman, used to live in the cabin. He grew melons in the field by the cemetery (Har-Ha-Zetim) and also had a couple of cows. There was a date stone in the north peak of the cabin: 1698. It was stolen! The cement between the logs was made of hair. I think it’s the oldest standing structure we have on the Main Line.”