As the nation gets ready to officially celebrate the semiquincentennial anniversary of this country’s founding, it seems appropriate to select an image of something from the revolutionary period. Few things can be found locally that define that period of our nation’s history. Shinnston is fortunate enough to have the original log home still standing on its original site when the Shinn Family settled here. Known to have been standing by 1778, it is that year which has been chosen as the defining permanent settlement by the Shinn Family.
The details of the original settlement by the Shinns are pretty vague and without solid evidence, so I typically steer away from trying to create assumptions. The facts remain that the Shinn brothers claimed tomahawk rights and settled the area currently known as Shinnston during the 1770’s. Claiming tomahawk rights meant deadening a few trees near the head of a spring, mark the bark of them with the initials of the name of the person who made the claim, and plant a row of corn. With the West Fork River being located to the west and a stream now known as Shinns Run located to the east, the home was built a decent distance from an immediate water supply. However, there were several natural ground springs in back of the house.
Why this western part of Virginia was chosen as a location for the Shinns lies largely based on their faith. They were Quakers & Quakers didn’t believe in bloodshed. In general, Quakers migrated once conflict was less prevalent. One advantage of having Quaker ancestors is that their movements can be traced because they were required to obtain a certificate of removal to be presented at their monthly meeting house to show they were members in good standing. After the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Levi Shinn, having been born and raised in New Jersey, left that colony and settled in the Apple Pie Ridge area of Virginia, about 10 miles north of Winchester. He was moving further away from the conflict developing from the war.
The Shinns were known to arrive here (West Fork Valley—still a part of the Virginia colony) in the mid-1770’s. But why stay within the colony of Virginia when he left the Winchester area? Why not keep going further away from conflict? The most likely answer is because the colony of Virginia gave to every settler, who built a cabin and raised a crop before 1778, a title to 400 acres of land and preemption (1st come, 1st serve) to 1,000 acres. Levi’s still-standing log house is known to have existed by 1778 and he did have a title to 400 acres as well as preemption to 1,000 acres. So my conclusion is that he chose this area of Virginia to be away from conflict in the mountainous region while still being qualified to receive the acreage.
Some people have assumed that the Shinns were very well-to-do, based off of the knowledge that they owned so much land and Levi’s still-standing log house was so much larger than a typical dwelling house. However, it is most likely the exact opposite. The Shinns came here with nothing except skill and built off of that. They stayed in Virginia in order to get the land that the colony promised, yet remained in the western half where the mountains and forests were, hoping for less conflict.
Often times, log homes were built by simply cutting trees and then immediately constructing a home. When the trees were cut to build the Levi Shinn House, the Shinns took the time to square off the logs. This process allowed the logs to sit more solid upon one another as well as keep the wet weather from sitting on the rounded crevices of a typical log. This process has helped the structure last throughout the ages.
Log cabins required few building resources– just trees and an axe or saw. They didn’t need metal nails or spikes to hold them together and they could be built fairly quickly, too. Most log cabins were simple one room buildings where the entire family would live. The Levi Shinn House is simply four large rooms, being two over two construction. It may seem like large space for its time, but the original Shinn family that lived there consisted of Levi and Elizabeth (Smith) Shinn and their nine children—a decent size family for that house.
Once the logs were cut to the correct length, notches were cut at each end where the logs would fit together at the corners of the structure. They would also strip the bark off of the logs as the bark would rot over time. Hewing is the last step in this whole process, which is done on each log’s sides with a broadaxe.
Once the walls and the roof were finished, the pioneers would seal the cracks between the logs with mud or clay. This was called “daubing” or “chinking” the walls. Early twentieth century photos of the Levi Shinn House show evidence of very little chinking left between the logs. In fact, one former resident told me that he recalled waking up many winter mornings with snow laying on his blanket where it had blown through the open areas between the logs of deteriorated chinking.
Pioneer log homes usually had one or two windows to let in light, but the early settlers seldom had glass. I often tell people (and there’s no one to prove me wrong) that the Levi Shinn House was most likely built without any windows. In our Indian territory at the time, it would not have been safe to build a dwelling with large openings that were easy access to create a dangerous situation. I do feel certain that there would have been small narrow sections cutout to allow for both ventilation and to act as lookout points. Generally speaking, an advantage to a log home was its greater resistance to hostile attacks than other types of wall construction. Log construction was also used in many forts for this reason. In fact, the Shinns had a fort, simply known to time as Shinn’s Fort. Its location has been lost to time, but it is recorded that it was approximately three miles away from the Levi Shinn House. The Shinn Family settlement extended beyond the current boundaries of the city, into Simpson’s Creek and Ten-Mile Creek, so the fort location was probably equidistant to the entire family.
Many early dwelling houses had doors built facing south, which allowed the sun to shine into the cabin during the day. The door at the Shinn house faces west, which also ensures the same concept.
The chimney of the house is central, meaning that it is located entirely inside the house, which takes up a lot of room, but also maximizes heat retention.
It was always assumed that the house was left to the oldest son, Clement, but there’s no documented proof of that. In fact, Levi died without a will. An appraisement was done of his estate shortly after his 1807 death. Elizabeth was the Administratrix and her son, Solomon, was co-Administrator. Clement wasn’t mentioned. Levi died as a large landholder, but was virtually penniless. Elizabeth Shinn, Levi’s wife, died just 6 years after Levi, also without a will. As the oldest son, Clement most likely claimed possession of the house and then it was sold in 1840 after his death to a man named David Morris. The Morris heirs owned the home for over a century. During the early part of the 1900’s, the house was used as a barn-type structure in which hay was stored within its walls. However, by 1913, it was evidently being lived in again because it was during that year in which a kitchen was built on the rear of the house. Several different families lived in the house during the first half of the twentieth century. In 1959, the house and its surrounding land were sold to Richardson Lumber and Construction Company. The surrounding land was transformed into a housing development known as Villa Terrace, while the Levi Shinn House was being lived in by its last occupant, Elizabeth “Becky” (Richardson) Reger and her three children.
In 1972, a few local residents got together and formed an organization to promote and preserve Shinnston’s history, the Shinnston Historical Association. Six months into its inception, Bob and Shirla (Bice) Richardson, then owners of Richardson Lumber Company, deeded the log house to the historical association. After much work in restoring the home to “as thought” original condition as possible, SHA has used the Levi Shinn House as its headquarters and museum since that time. During the mid to late 1990’s, then SHA President Shirla Richardson, asked local resident Paul Bartlett to construct a portico over the front entrance to the log house. Older images of the home show that it had one at some point. This portico provides a dry spot and weather protection at the front door.
Over time, members have worked to preserve this local gem by both working within its walls to help preserve its history as well as being present to provide tours to interested persons. In recent years, volunteers have dwindled down. In fact, the word ‘volunteer’ is becoming a scarce term to use and/or hear. Regardless, there should not be anyone locally who ever claims that they never had an opportunity to tour the structure. Over the last 45 years, the home has been open for tours—both scheduled and unscheduled—hundreds of times! In addition, local resident Kathleen Panek, owner and operator of Shinnston’s Gillum House Bed and Breakfast, has worked tirelessly to assure out of town visitors are granted access to this 248 year old structure. Over the last twenty-five years during this twenty-first century of time in which we now live, the old log house has been a location for multiple city council meetings, a few church services, and over twenty weddings.
And that is this month’s story behind the photo!
