John A. Logan College to Dedicate Hunter Cabin on October 17

John A. Logan College will officially open the historic Hunter Cabin to the public at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 17 at 1:30 PM. The log cabin was built in 1818 by Emmanuel Hunter. The house and 40 acres were deeded to Elijah Lodge Grant in 1886. He and his descendents preserved the building for the next 120 years.

In February 2005 Richard H. Hunter purchased the cabin from Wendell E. Grant who then owned the original Emmanuel Hunter homestead. Richard donated the cabin to the Jacob Hunter Trust, named after the Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Hunter, who was Emmanuel Hunter's father. In July 2005 the Jacob Hunter Trust donated the cabin to the College.

The cabin was dismantled and rebuilt in Knoxville, Tennessee by Trillium Dell Timber Works, a company that specializes in historical restorations. Reconstruction of the cabin began on campus this past summer. The cabin became the second phase of a historic complex located next to Purdy School; the historic one-room schoolhouse was used in southern Illinois from 1861 to 1951. According to President Robert Mees, the historical complex sits on a beautiful area on the east side of John A. Logan College Road across from the administration building.

Funding for the project was secured from the Julia Harrison Bruce Foundation in Herrin. "This is a wonderful time for the College, with the opening of the historical complex and our planned construction project, slated to start in early 2008. We will be able to look into the past while building for the future." Said Mees

The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Third Annual Civil War Lecture Series and will feature Earl Webb as Abraham Lincoln reading the Gettysburg Address. This year's event brings noted historian and Pulitzer-Prize nominated author Steven Woodworth to the College. The day's activities will conclude with Woolworth's keynote address at 7 PM in the College's Conference Center. For additional information, call Steve O'Keefe , extension 8569, at one of the following numbers: CARTERVILLE AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY - 985-3741 (operator) or 985-2828 (direct extension access); CARBONDALE AND JACKSON COUNTY - 549-7335 (operator) or 457-7676 (direct extension access); DU QUOIN - 542-8612; WEST FRANKFORT - 937-3438; CRAB ORCHARD, GORHAM; AND TRICO AREAS - 1-800-851-4720; AND TTY (deaf and hard of hearing) - 985-2752.