A prominently recognized landmark of hand-hewn log construction is the massive log museum. With some logs measuring 60 feet in length, there are two rooms at either end, a dog-trot passthrough, and a loft spanning the entire length. The story goes that the building was discovered in the early 1930s by James Voland while rabbit hunting on a farm in Jackson County. The building had been used as a barn and was showing signs of neglect. Voland was able to purchase it from the Indiana Trust Company in Indianapolis, trustees in a bankruptcy proceeding. With the help of Oral Voland in marking the logs for reassembly at its current site, the reconstruction of the old barn was one of many local Works Progress Administration( WPA) projects. Height from the foundation to the bottom of the floor joists of the second floor is 9’ 10”. Fireplaces and chimneys of native stone were added at each end of the building during reconstruction by the WPA. An entry in the Brown County Archives states that James Voland sold the building to the Community Club“ as is where is.” In 1954 an amendment to the deed allowed the Community Club to use the building for meetings by various community groups. Markings on the floor of the upstairs indicate that shuffle board was enjoyed. When the Community Club ended in 1960, the deed was passed on to the county commissioners. Records indicate the Brown County Historical Society received ownership in 1974. Students of Chris Todd’ s Brown County High School building trades class worked to restore the building for its new role as a museum depicting Brown County history. Where replacement logs were needed, students cut timber from a local farm and hewed the logs using antique tools provided by members of the Historical Society.
Today, exhibits and demonstrations in the Loom Room show the processes from flaxseed and sheep to linen and wool yarns. On display are many spinning wheels: a walk wheel or great wheel for wool, and Saxony and German wheels. The barn loom is worn smooth by the many hands that have woven rugs or coverlets over the years. To measure yarns for weaving, there is a niddy noddy and a clock reel, also called a weasel,( as in Pop! Goes the weasel!) Natural dyeing techniques are part of the display.
Part of the museum complex— the old log jailhouse— lies just northeast of the courthouse and was constructed in 1879. It replaces the original jail that was built in 1837. The two-story log jail cost $ 1500 to build and consists of walls of two layers of logs laid horizontally a foot apart, with vertical boards between. Tight quarters, the rooms are twelve by twenty feet, with extremely low door jams requiring bowed heads to enter. Records show that men were kept on the bottom and women upstairs. The pot-bellied stove and stovepipe provided the only heat. Double iron doors had Dutch-type inner doors, with the top providing the passing of food and wood for heat.
The Pioneer Village is open to the public, typically on weekends May through October from 1 to 4:30 p. m. and other times by special arrangement by phoning( 812) 988-2899. •
May / June 2018 • Our Brown County 31