The Historic Benton Cabin
LEBANON, MO. – It sits unobtrusively on Highway 64, approximately six miles west of Lebanon Mo., and yet this humble log cabin has survived nearly two hundred years of history in what is now Laclede County, although it was built 10 years before the official establishment of said county.
Constructed by Abel Benton in about 1840 after coming to the unpopulated area on horseback with a friend on a hunting trip, Abel traded his horse, a saddle and a bridle to purchase 160 acres outside of what today is nearby Phillipsburg, Mo. He built a two-room cabin with a loft that was also divided into two rooms, along what was then called the old Indian Trail. His new home was twice the size of most area cabins and as more settlers moved into the area, the name of the road was changed to the old Wire Road. In the next century, that same road became part of Historic Route 66 and most recently, County Highway W, running parallel to Interstate Highway 44. And still the old cabin remained, bearing mute testimony to the changing modes of travel of a growing nation.
Throughout the early years, Abel Benton and his wife, Matilda who was believed to be of Native American heritage, raised eight children in that same cabin which also became a stage stop during the middle of the nineteenth century, the years surrounding the US Civil War. Women slept in the two upstairs rooms of the loft and men slept, stretched out on the original dirt floor or in chairs, downstairs.
Abel, born in 1789, just over ten years after the United States of America declared itself an independent new nation, died at the beginning of the Civil War. His wife, Matilda was known to have cooked for and served food brought to her by both Union and Confederate soldiers. Before he died, Abel was said to have gone to the Missouri State capital, declaring he had no intention of joining either side during the war and apparently, that wish was respected throughout the war years. The oldest Benton son, William was killed in the civil war and is buried in the Lonesome Hill Cemetery, near Phillipsburg. The story is told that Matilda hid her youngest son in nearby caves to keep him out of the war effort and sent his sister to take him food on a regular basis. Matilda also served as a local midwife and a nurse for many years. At one point, bushwhackers attacked and killed a group of Union soldiers who had just eaten at the cabin, a short distance away.
Over the years following the civil war, the railroad came to Laclede County relegating the stage stops to their place in history. The cabin continued to be used as a residence for sometime into the twentieth century.
In 1979, the late Dr. Bruce Carmichael, a well-known local chiropractor purchased the cabin with the intention of historical preservation. He paid for it to be disassembled and moved to its current location, just a few miles east of Bennett Spring State Park. For several years it was used as a local church.
Earlier this spring, Gwen Riggs, a descendant of Abel and Matilda Benton, Dr. James Carmichael, son of Bruce Carmichael and also a chiropractor, and Noah (Gene) Smothers, president of the Lebanon-Laclede County Historical and Museum Society met at the cabin site along with a photography class from Lebanon High School and their teacher, Eric Adams.
The students had the opportunity to take a closer look at the original construction including the log structure and its accompanying stone chimney and fireplace. Earlier this summer, Noah Smothers and others from the local historical society hosted an open house and yard sale.
“Dr. Carmichael is willing to donate the cabin to the historical society and we would like to get it moved onto property belonging to the city of Lebanon,” Noah Smothers explained. “The plan is to once again have it disassembled and moved onto a site near the Cowan Civic Center. The oak logs were cut on the original cabin site and the chimney and fireplace stone was also from the area.”
The logs were joined together, not with nails, but using wooden pegs which was the custom at a time when metal nails were not always readily available.
Noah added, “The cabin in a new location would be used for educational purposes and living history demonstrations. The problem at this point is raising the money needed to complete this project. We are getting quotes from a couple of different companies that do this sort of disassembly and moving. We are talking something in the six figure range so it is a serious consideration.”
He concluded. “At the moment, we are preparing paperwork at the request of the city of Lebanon, to present to their city council to see how they might be able to help in this effort. In the meantime, we are hopeful and continue to work on fund-raising to be able to preserve this important part of our history.” Anyone interested in more information or donating to this project, is encouraged to contact [email protected].
