(La Porte County, IN) - There’s a new log cabin in Pioneer Land at the La Porte County Fairgrounds.

 

This La Porte County Farm Bureau cabin is on the same site as the organization’s old cabin, which was moved to another spot a short distance away.

 

The new Amish-built cabin was made with real logs from white pine trees brought in from Wisconsin and has a projected lifespan of 100 years.

 

In comparison, the old cabin, where milk was served for 25 cents per cup during the fair, was showing signs of age less than 30 years since it was constructed.

 

“We used true logs.  That was the plan to have it here for 100 years,” said La Porte County Farm Bureau President Mark Parkman during a Thursday ribbon cutting.

Parkman said the beloved tradition of selling milk in a cup will continue at the new cabin, which has a fireplace along with heating and air conditioning, features lacking in the old building.

 

Construction of the new cabin, which began in March, was over $100,000. Much of the expense was offset from over 100 families and organizations contributing $1,000 apiece.

 

After the ribbon cutting, the donors in attendance received a free ribeye steak dinner hot off a food truck and eaten on picnic tables following a tour of the cabin.

 

Farm Bureau member Luann Troxel said she was especially taken back by the scent of white pine when she stepped inside the cabin but also admired the rustic look on the inside.

 

“You see these huge beams and you see the barn doors and the antiques on the shelves. It’s just really nice,” she said.

 

Parkman said the cabin will also be open during the annual Christmas at Pioneer Land in early December.  For now, he said the old cabin will be used as a place for mothers to breastfeed their babies in privacy during the fair and change a diaper, if necessary.