Moorhead log cabin to get new home near Woodlawn Park

By David Olson

April 02, 2010 at 11:00 PM

A log cabin that was once part of a stagecoach stop may get a new home near Moorhead's Woodlawn Park.

The cabin on Fourth Street South in Moorhead already sits on the edge of the park.

But the site is prone to flooding, and the city has been looking for a new location for the structure since 2007, when engineers decided that repeated flooding of the building and destabilization of surrounding soil made the cabin unsafe.

About a year ago, city officials considered moving the cabin to M.B. Johnson Park in north Moorhead.

But citizen reaction was negative. Many people wanted the cabin to stay in the Woodlawn Park area, said Holly Heitkamp, Moorhead recreation division manager.

The Park Advisory Board recently voted to recommend moving the cabin to a spot near a city water tower in the southwest corner of the park that is owned by Moorhead Public Service.

If the Moorhead City Council approves the relocation plan, which could cost an estimated $140,000, the cabin would be moved and a small play area eventually created around it, said Larry Anderson, the city's park and forestry division manager.

Anderson said officials hope the cabin can be moved later this year or early next year.

If it happens, the move would not be the first for the structure.

The cabin is believed to have been built around 1859 as a stagecoach stop along the Red River near First Avenue North.

It was later moved to 225 10th St. N., where it was used as a family home.

It was eventually taken apart, but in the early 1930s the Moorhead Garden Club rebuilt the cabin at its current location in the 300 block of Fourth Street South.

The building was used by the club for meetings and flower contests until the Town and Country Garden Club, which took over the building in the 1980s, disbanded it in 1997.

Before it was idled in 2009, the cabin served as a site for community celebrations. For a time, it also operated as a folk art center.

The City Council may discuss whether to move the cabin at a meeting later this month.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555

By David Olson

I'm a reporter and a photographer and sometimes I create videos to go with my stories.

I graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead and in my time with The Forum I have covered a number of beats, from cops and courts to business and education.

I've also written about UFOs, ghosts, dinosaur bones and the planet Pluto.

You may reach me by phone at 701-241-5555, or by email at dolson@forumcomm.com.

Moorhead log cabin to get new home near Woodlawn Park

A log cabin that was once part of a stagecoach stop may get a new home near Moorhead's Woodlawn Park. The cabin on Fourth Street South in Moorhead already sits on the edge of the park. But the site is prone to flooding, and the city has been look...