HISTORY OF THE KARL GREVE LOG CABIN
The Karl Greve Log Cabin exemplifies the first homes erected by Pomeranian and Brandenburger immigrants, who settled in Lebanon between 1843 and 1860. As land was cleared and economic conditions improved, such cabins were replaced with Fachwerk or brick houses.
Karl Greve—born in Lubow, Kreis Neustettin, Pomerania, in 1803—came to Lebanon in 1857. A widower, Greve married Ernestine Riemer (Reimer) in 1858, a widow with a three-year-old daughter, Johanna (Hannah). Before 1860, Karl built this cabin at the corner of Water and Spaulding Streets in Watertown. The site was near water with enough land for growing crops and raising livestock. Ernestine died in 1875. Karl and Hannah continued to live in the cabin for the next three years.
Albert Krahn came from Kreis Naugard, Pomerania in 1877 and married Hannah on March 24, 1878. They purchased the cabin from Karl, Hannah’s stepfather, in 1880, and he lived with them until his death in 1884. Two additions were made to the cabin as the Krahn’s seven children were born. Hannah died in 1931 and Albert in 1945.
Krahn, a carpenter, stored his tool-trunk in the loft. When an addition was made, he changed the location and width of the loft stairs. The opening was too small to remove the trunk! The trunk and its contents, on display in the cabin, were discovered in pristine condition during the disassembling.
In 1979, Jim Roberts purchased the cabin from Meta Krahn, one of Albert and Hannah’s children. It served as a dwelling until 2012. In 2014, Roberts donated the log cabin to the Lebanon Historical Society. It was dismantled by volunteers and rebuilt here in Trechel Park in 2015-2016. A dedication ceremony was held on June 11, 2017 and was attended by nearly, if not more than, 300 persons.
