Moving Day for Cozad Cabin

“One would think after 156 years things would have settled in place. Not so in history, the dust never quite completely settles,” joked Montgomery County History Center Museum Director Dave McFarland, about the Cozad Cabin, which was moved from the fairgrounds to the history center Wednesday, Feb. 16.
McFarland said the day was made even more special by being able to call family member connected to the Cozad Cabin and tell them the restoration project is beginning.
The cabin was built in 1865, when Hezekiah Cozad moved from Ohio to western Iowa.
“He and his family built a log cabin and settled in northern Page County in a settlement known as Binns Grove (Nyman) about nine miles south of Red Oak,” McFarland said. “Hezekiah would go off to serve in the Civil War as a member of the Union Army. He would  return home in 1866, to find his home had been burnt down by marauders from Missouri. While he was away, a group of “bushwhackers” descended on the cabin occupied by his wife and children. She managed to drive off the raiders with the help of a kettle of boiling water, only to have them return later and set fire to the cabin.”
Coming home to a shell of a home, Hezekiah sold his land and bought 40 acres of land north of the Grove with hopes of finding a better water source and better land. He built a new cabin about 12 feet wide and just over 16 feet long. The cabin was just one room, but it had a loft for his five children to sleep in. It was divided in half, boys on one side, girls on the other, and the roof was low enough you had to crawl to bed.
McFarland said ot is claimed this cabin is an exact replica of the first cabin built in Montgomery County by early settler John Ross at the Forks (Villisca) in the 1850’s.
“In 1871, Hezekiah sold the land and cabin to Frank Liljedahl and moved to Dodge City, Kansas for awhile, finally moving back to Essex,  to retire. In the 1960’s, Hezekiah’s grandson, Clint Cozad, became interested in family history and began looking for the site and any remains of the cabin. He had no luck in locating it though, until he happen to spoke to Oscar Wenstrand, Secretary of the local Historical Society and a relative of the Liljedahl’s. Oscar knew exactly where the cabin was. Years ago it had been moved to the Liljedahl Farm, just over the line into Montgomery County, and had been used for years as a chicken coop,” McFarland said.
The cabin was donated by the Kampe Family to the Montgomery County Historical Society, who at the time did not have a permanent place for it, so it was taken to the fairgrounds temporarily. Once at the farigrounds, McFarland said Bill Drey and members of the local FFA Chapter, along with several members of the historical society started to work on its renovation.
“The cabin has not seen a lot of use or love in the past few years and was in need of help,” McFarland.  “The first step is often the hardest, but things are now moving. Once a proper site is finished, the cabin will be set in place and restoration will begin.”
A neighbor to the Cozad Cabin at the center is the  Siola Church, which is the oldest church in Montgomery County. Also nearby is the Wilson General Store, post office from1859, and the Nims Barn from 1884.
“The Stipe log cabin and now the Cozad cabin, they are two of only about a half-a-dozen original log cabin in Iowa,” McFarland said.
Dave’s wife, Roxanne, also integral at the museum, slept in the Cozad Cabin in the 1980s when it was moved to the Fairgrounds. She plans to sleep in it again when the restoration is finished.