■ properties & PRESERVATION properties & PRESERVATION ■ Hyde Log Cabin Grand Isle, Vermont Randall Decoteau One of the oldest log cabins in the United States lies in a pasture off Rural Route 2 on Grand Isle, Vt., just near the elementary school. The cabin was acquired by the Vermont Historical Society in 1945, stabilized for further restoration and moved two miles to its present location. In 1952, the cabin was turned over to the Vermont Historic Sites Commission and its initial restoration was undertaken by the Department of Forests and Parks. Today, the cabin is owned and maintained by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, successor to the Historic Sites Commission. About 10 years ago, local residents discovered that the cabin was illustrated in a book by Bob Vila. The entry prompted the group to start the Grand Isle Historical Society. Today, its 70 members maintain the interior of the cabin and its furnishings, using the structure as a meeting place, museum and information center. A local single-room schoolhouse has been moved to the site to further illustrate the history of Grand Isle. The one-and-a-half storey, cedar log structure was built by Jedediah Hyde around 1783. He and five generations of his descendents made this cabin their home. Hyde was born in Norwich, Conn. in 1761. His father fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Jedediah enlisted in the Connecticut Grenadiers at the age of 14. He fought at Bennington, wintered with Washington’s army at Valley Forge in 1778, and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Monmouth the following year. In ABOVE: The classic pitched roof was returned to its original documented proportions during restoration in 1985. The cedar shingles were replaced at that time. INSET: The front of the cabin showing the cement used to seal the joints between the logs. the summer of 1783, Hyde and his father came to Grand Isle to survey the island. His surveyor’s compass and theodolite (a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes) came from his duties in Captain Rufus Putnam’s Corps of Engineers at Bennington. September 2010 ■ Antiques Journal ■ Page 81