Barker Cabin - Federal Way, Washington
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 17.377 W 122° 19.750
10T E 550724 N 5237567
This cabin was home to the first non-native settlers of the area, the Barker family. Built in 1883, It is the oldest structure in Federal Way. In 1993 the building was moved to this location which is being made into a park for the historic cabin.
Waymark Code: WM14ZV
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2007
Views: 76
The Historical Society of Federal Way is restoring the Barker Cabin for public display at Historic Cabins Park next to West Hylebos State Park on 348th Street and 4th Avenue South. Once called the “Ivied Cottage” because it was draped with ivy, the Barker Cabin is the oldest original structure in the Federal Way area.
John Barker moved west from Nebraska in 1883. After arriving in Tacoma, he moved his family of five to a homestead north of Tacoma and built this small cabin. He established a 160 acre homestead and his family lived in the area through the 1960’s.
The cabin was the first house in the immediate area where it was built. It originally sat somewhere behind the location of the Federal Shopping Way Mall (now Pavilions Centre) which was located
on the southwest corner of Highway 99 and South 312th Street. The Barker Cabin was the original inspiration for J. R. Cissna’s Old Line Historic Park when he built the Federal Shopping Way Mall in the mid 1950s. This park was to be one of the many scenic attractions in association with the shopping mall and he moved the cabin in 1955.
In February of 1993 the new shopping mall owners gave permission for the Historical Society of Federal Way to move the cabin from the shopping mall. In September of the same year the Barker Cabin was moved by volunteers from the shopping center to an area near the West Hylebos Wetlands at the 348th Street and 4th Avenue South.
The Barker Cabin is an excellent example of the common architecture of homes built by the first settlers in the area. The cabin is a sixteen-foot by sixteen-foot horizontal hewn log cabin with a high pitch shaked gable roof and small plain vertical plank door with a hand made wooden handle. The cabin has one large and two very small windows. It was built with a cross-cut-saw, axes, sledges etc., to cut the logs up. The logs were chinked with thick moss held tightly
into the crevices by additional smaller poles.
The cabin is now in the process of final restoration along with the historic Denny Cabin, which was moved to the same site. The two cabins will make up Historic Cabin Park.
How it was moved: Wheels / Dolly / Truck
Type of move: Inside City
Building Status: Public
Original Location: Not Listed
Related Website: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Tell of your visit. Post an original photograph if possible.