Courtesy of Historic Sappington House Foundation
When Joseph Sappington and his wife Elizabeth built their log cabin home in 1816 and raised their 13 children there, 1,000 people inhabited downtown St. Louis, an acre of Missouri land could be purchased for one dollar, and James Madison was president of the United States.
Four years ago, that same log cabin on Clearwater Drive in Affton was in danger of being torn down. Its new owner had acquired the three-acre property and wanted to clear the lot. He offered to give the cabin to the City of Crestwood, but they didn’t want it or couldn't take on the responsibility of moving it. When the Sappington House Foundation learned about the log cabin, they paid $172,000 to have the house taken down and moved.
“We needed a building so why not use and preserve a Sappington log house?” said Sally Cakouros, site manager of the Historic Sappington House.
Courtesy of Historic Sappington House Foundation
Covered in white clapboard siding, the log cabin itself–with a cathedral ceiling room and three stone fireplaces weighing 150 tons–was undetectable to passersby. According to Cakourous, the cabin had likely been under siding for most of its existence, a tendency among homeowners who wanted to show their wealth.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, volunteers, board members, and local civic leaders gathered at the Historic Sappington Park in Crestwood, the future site of the relocated cabin, for a ground-breaking ceremony to kick off its reconstruction. The log cabin will be placed next to the Thomas Sappington house, built in 1808, and widely considered to be the oldest brick home in St. Louis County. Joseph and Thomas Sappington were first cousins who lived three miles away from one another.
“This wouldn’t be happening without your support,” Dyann Dierkes, president of the Sappington House Foundation, told the crowd. “It’s been a joy to work together.”
Plans for the cabin include turning it into an events center that will provide much-needed space for meetings and educational activities. The first floor will feature three rooms, two bathrooms, storage space, plus a caterer's kitchen and gift shop. The second floor will hold additional storage and an office. “If we’re to continue to grow, we have to make ourselves known,” said Dierkes. “The Foundation needs to be out there in the community.”
Photography by John Frey
John Crumrine, CFO, BMC Enterprises Inc.; Scott Shipley, Mayor of the City of Crestwood; Dyann Dierkes, President of the Sappington House Foundation; Mark Pratt, Owner of Antique Logs Unlimited; and Axton McCormack, Architect, Jeff Day and Associates break ground on January 11, 2025.
In 2020, the Foundation hired Mark Pratt, owner of Antique Logs Unlimited of Kirkwood, to guide the cabin’s restoration, which is mostly taking place at his lumberyard in southeast Missouri. “Dyann and I, working together, began to put the framework together to design the steps to get it down, to get it transported, to fix the problems with the cabin–because there are always problems–and in addition make some modifications in order to make the engineers happy.”
Pratt will use architectural plans produced by Jeff Day and Associates to meet today’s building codes. The front door to the cabin, for example, will be moved to make the staircase longer. Termite and water damage will be addressed, as will the harm caused by at least two minor fires. To maintain the look and feel of the original logs, any replacements will be made of antique oak. On the first floor, a 33-inch discrepancy between the main part of the cabin and the left side addition will be leveled to create seamless transitions.
“We’re going to fix all those problems, and all the damage to those logs, in this restoration process,” said Pratt. “Then we’ll renumber the cabin [logs] again, and then I’ll dismantle it again, and bring it up here and set it on the foundation.”
Courtesy of Historic Sappington House Foundation
Dismantling of the cabin
If phase one was tearing down the cabin, phase two is building it back up. A temporary road leading to the site will be built and nine trees removed from the site. By May, the logs are expected to make their way to their new home and set up will commence.
The Foundation expects to open the log cabin to the public sometime in 2026, but Cakouros doesn't want to get more specific than that. “We’re just thrilled to be where we are,” she said.
A fundraising event will take place on May 31 at Historic Sappington Park, from 6 to 9 p.m. Check back here for updated ticket information.
