Pop Collins Cabin

Parks & Recreation
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Pop Collins Cabin

Pop Collins Cabin at Stephens Lake Park

History

The cabin was built in 1818 by Captain David Gordon and served as a home for the Gordon family while they were building Gordon Manor. (The Gordon Manor was a key Boone County historical site until it burned in 1998.) After completing the manor, the Gordons turned the cabin into their slave quarters.

The cabin was purchased in 1926 by Stephens College. A Stephens College administrator, Enoch Arthur "Pop" Collins, had the cabin restored in 1935 with logs brought in from other Kentucky cabins. It is estimated that less than one-third of the cabin is from the original structure.

Over the years the cabin fell into disrepair. When the City of Columbia acquired Stephens Lake Park from Stephens College in 2001, the cabin was fenced in, boarded up, and had crumbling cement between the rotted wooden logs. Through an extensive public input process for the master planning of the park property, citizens expressed a strong desire to preserve the cabin. Park planners proposed Nifong Park as the best site to relocate the cabin, so that it could be administered by the Boone County Historical Society and made available for public viewing. The City Council approved the decision to restore and relocate the cabin to Nifong Park.

Condition of cabin exterior	Condition of cabin exterior
Condition of cabin interior	Condition of cabin interior
Condition of cabin interior roof

Restoration and Relocation

The City of Columbia contracted with Trillium Dell Timberworks to dismantle, restore, and relocate the cabin. It was agreed that Parks and Recreation staff would assist in the work to reduce the cost of the project. Work began in May 2004. As the cabin was disassembled, logs were carefully marked to facilitate re-assembling the cabin. Rotten logs were replaced. The fireplace was dismantled, with its stones marked and saved for re-assembling. The roof and floor were not dismantled, but transported intact.

Transporting of cabin roof	Transporting of cabin floor

Transporting of cabin logs

Trillium Dell re-assembled the cabin at Nifong Park. Parks and Rec crews transported materials, built the foundation, installed the windows, installed the shake shingles on the gable ends, and assisted in other areas. Zekoll Masonry was contracted to re-assemble the fireplace using the original stones and complete the chinking between the logs.

Reassembling of cabin	Cabin stone work

Restored fireplace	Restored cabin near completion

Photo of renovated Pop Collins Cabin at Nifong Park
Restored Pop Collin Cabin at Nifong Park

After the renovation of the cabin was completed, the Boone County Historical Society prepared the cabin for public tours. The cabin is now part of Boone Junction, a historical village at Nifong Park. The Boone County Historical Society provides tours of the historic buildings, including the Pop Collins Cabin, the Easley Store, and Maplewood Home. Find out more about the historical village tours on the Boone County Historical Society's website.