CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

The Hivel Und Dahl (Pa. German for hill and valley) Preservation Society is currently conducting a fund drive to restore the Schubert-Graber log cabin. The cabin is a piece of local history in extremely poor condition and needs to be restored before it falls down. Once the restoration is complete it will be used for educational purposes for adults and schoolchildren and as a pocket park for the township.

The Hivel Und Dahl Preservation Society was formed in 1992 by several people who were interested in saving the small log cabin located on the Graber farm on Powder Valley Road, Upper Milford Township.

The builder who bought the farm for a housing development donated the plot of land (1.27 acres). The society was active for several years. They had historical programs about the Upper Milford area and plans to restore the log cabin. Restoration work was done to the stone foundation of the building.

In order to raise money for the restoration of the log cabin, the society had several fundraisers including an art show of local artists and two preservation faires. The faires were well attended with vendors who specialized in restoration work. The society became inactive after several years and was reorganized in 2006. The main goal is the restoration of the Schubert-Graber Log Cabin which was built in the late 1760s and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2018.

Melchoir Schubert moved his wife Maria Krauss and their eight children to the farm in the 1790s. The farm passed through several generations of the Schuberts until a daughter Laura married Frank Graber. The farm then remained in the Graber family until the property was sold. Hence the name Schubert-Graber Log Cabin.

There is no solid documentary proof of who built the little two-story log cabin, or what its original purpose was.

Census data and Melchior Schubert’s will, which he signed Aug. 2, 1831 only a few months before his death that December, listed his occupation as a cooper. There is a strong possibility that Melchior used the building as a cooperage. It is possible the building served various purposes throughout its evolution. Family histories have stated the building once served as a house, though physical evidence does not suggest the building ever served as a long-term residence.

The cabin has construction methods different from most log structures in the area. Unlike a traditional log over log cabin, it has vertical corner posts in which the horizontal logs are fitted in the posts with mortise and tenon joints, then pinned and pegged into place. These building techniques make the Schubert-Graber cabin’s construction unique. This European construction technique is found in Switzerland and Austria. The log cabin is now the fourth stop on the Lehigh County Log Cabin Trail.

The Hivel Und Dahl Preservation Society has meetings and programs of historical interest quarterly on the last Tuesday in the months of March, June, September and November. They are usually held at the Upper Milford Township Building. Everyone is welcome to attend.

If you are interested in local history, consider joining us. There is a small cost for membership and/or consider sending a tax-free donation to the restoration fund payable to Hivel Und Dahl Preservation Society, P.O. Box 416, Old Zionsville, 18092. Include your name, address, phone number and email address with your check. They are a 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information visit the website www.hivelunddahl.org or their Facebook page. They can also be contacted at hivelunddahl@gmail.com.