Log Houses in Marianna

Few family log houses of old still stand across the landscape, though many once dotted the hills and roads of the area. Most have disappeared, surviving now only in stories and family histories. These early homes, along with log structures once used for church services and schools, formed the backbone of the community, long before later buildings reshaped the land.

What follows is a look at several of the log houses that once stood in and around the area. Some are remembered through records, others through local memory, and a few through both. Each tells a small part of a larger story.

This is not a complete list. As records surface and memories are shared, more log houses will be added, and their stories told.

MARIANNA LOG HOUSES

1. The Log House at Grable and Highland
   Home of George Smith and his wife, Magdaline. Built in the early nineteenth century and later lost to time, possibly by fire.

2. The Log House on Highland Ridge
   A separate structure located nearby, associated with the Grable and Smith families and later occupants, and remembered through both records and oral history. Also lost to time, possibly by controlled fire.

3. The Bigler Log House on Highland Ridge
   Still standing on private property as of 2026.

4. The Bennington Log House on ?

5. The Jacob Horne Log Cabin on Oak Spring Road 
   Fell on its own.

6. The Loar Family Log Cabin 
   In the area of what is now the borough. No longer standing.

Log House on Grable and Highland Ridge (Smith)

This log house once stood at what is now the corner of Grable Road and Highland Ridge Road, approximately one hundred feet from the intersection. This was the home of George Smith and his wife, Magdaline, early residents of the area.

On June 25, 1820, George Smith purchased thirty-eight acres of farmland from Frederick and Elizabeth Shrontz in West Bethlehem Township. A 1929 article in the Washington Reporter claimed that Smith built a log house on the land in 1802. However, the deed clearly records the purchase date as 1820, making the earlier construction date unlikely. It is possible the newspaper mistakenly reversed the final two digits of the year. Smith would have been twenty-eight years old in 1802—an age not uncommon for a man starting out—and forty-six at the time of the documented purchase.

George Smith is buried nearby beneath a pear tree, and Magdaline is buried near him, tying their lives closely to the land they once occupied. In 2024, local memory helped further pinpoint the location of the house, recalling it as standing roughly one hundred feet from the corner of Grable Road and Highland Ridge Road.

At some point, the log house at Grable and Highland no longer stood. It is often said to have burned, though this cannot yet be confirmed, and no firm date has been established.

During his lifetime, Israel Smith, the son of George and Magdaline Smith, cared for his father’s log house at Grable and Highland, maintaining the family’s connection to that original home. Israel married Hannah Grable, who died in 1884; Israel died in 1892. Both are buried at the Ten Mile Church of the Brethren Cemetery. Their burial away from the Grable and Highland site may suggest that they moved later in life.

After Israel Smith’s death, land associated with the Smith family passed out of their hands and was sold to George Wilson Donahoo. His nephew, Thomas Albert Donahoo, born in 1911, later owned the Donahoo farm on Highland Ridge Road and died in 1995.

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Log House on Highland  Ridge (Smith/Grable)

A second, separate log house once stood on Highland Ridge, located nearby but distinct from the Smith house at Grable and Highland. Though close in distance, it followed its own path through time.

According to local accounts, Eli Grable lived in this log house for a time. Eli was the brother of Hannah Grable, the wife of Israel Smith. Eli Grable died in 1897. Like many early log houses, this one likely passed through multiple occupants, though not all have yet been identified.

Over time, the log house on Highland Ridge disappeared. Here too, accounts differ as to whether it was torn down or lost to fire, and the exact date and cause remain unclear.

In later years, the house was lived in by members of the Smith family, including Meryl Floyd Smith Sr. (d. 1981), followed by Meryl Floyd Smith Jr. (d. 1999).

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Bigler Log House on Highland  Ridge (Still standing on private property 2026)

A third log house stands on Highland Ridge and remains in place as of 2026. It is located approximately a quarter of a mile from where George Smith’s log house once stood. Unlike the Smith and Grable houses, this structure has survived, offering a rare, tangible link to the area’s early settlement.

This log house is associated with Benjamin Bigler and his wife, Mary Ann Margaret Bigler (Gayman). Information about the Bigler family comes from a combination of books, ancestry records, and personal accounts. Benjamin was the son of Michael Bigler, himself the son of Israel Bigler, who is buried at Franklin Cemetery. Benjamin was one of seven children, with siblings David, Simon, Henry, Eleanor, Rebecca, and Amanda.

Benjamin and Mary Ann Bigler raised their family here. Among their children were Michael H. Bigler, born in 1869, who died at the age of forty from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, leaving behind a widow, and Jesse F. Bigler, born in 1873, who lived until 1962 and was survived by his wife, Catherine.

Benjamin Bigler’s will, dated March 12, 1879, sheds further light on family life and property. In it, he left his entire estate, real and personal, to his wife Mary Ann for the duration of her life, directing that the property be sold and divided equally among his legal heirs after her death. He named G. G. Gayman as executor, with the will witnessed by L. G. Garrett and Henry Bigler.

Unlike the other log houses discussed here, the Bigler log house still stands. While much of its story remains to be explored, the structure itself continues to bear witness to the lives once lived within its walls.

To be continued. 

Note: The log houses still standing that are discussed here are located on private property. They are not open to the public, and visitors should not enter the land without the owner’s permission.