In 2001 the Henderson Historical Society received an amazing piece of history. Eileen DeLaVergne Pretre of Thomaston, Conn., donated a piece of the home she grew up in on Rays Bay Road in the town of Henderson.
The home had been damaged by a fire in the summer of 2000. The fire was mainly contained to the kitchen area, and the older, main part of the house – a log cabin dating back to the 1820s.
The original cabin was built with squared logs, measuring 18 feet by 24 feet.
A grant from New York Society Council on the Arts aided the society to hire an architect from the Syracuse firm of Crawford & Stearns to examine the structure in the spring of 2002 to assess the history and condition of the cabin; as well as the feasibility of the society’s plan to disassemble the cabin from it’s original location and reassemble next to the society’s museum.
Thanks to the architect’s favorable report, the cabin was labeled and disassembled in the summer of 2002 by Richard LaCrosse of Parish, NY. Mr. LaCrosse, an historical site preserver at Fort Ontario in Oswego, lives in a restored log cabin and has participated in several other log cabin reconstructions.
Uncovering original cabin. 
Cabin was hidden under siding. 
Tearing old building down exposed the original cabin. 
Tagging each log helped to reassemble back in same position. 
Preparation of site for cabin. 
Transportation of cabin pieces. 
Unloading of cabin pieces. 
Beginning of reassembly. 
Advancement of rebuild. 
Cabin coming back together. 
One of the mystery carvings of ship found on logs of original cabin. 
The cabin in the winter. 
The cabin surrounded by the summer.
The cabin is available for personal tours during our museum hours. Please visit the museum to gain access to the cabin.
