Lower Swedish Cabin

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Lower Swedish Cabin
LowerSwedishCabin.JPG
Lower Swedish Cabin, November 2009
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Location Drexel Hill, Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°56′17.78″N75°18′04.75″W / 39.9382722°N 75.3013194°W / 39.9382722; -75.3013194
Area1.7 acres (0.69 ha)
Built1640–1650
Architectural styleSwedish Plan
NRHP reference No. 80003484 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 9, 1980
Designated PHMCOctober 21, 1989 [2]

The Lower Swedish Cabin is a historic Swedish-style log cabin which is located on Creek Road in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, along Darby Creek. The cabin may be one of the oldest log cabins in the United States and is one of the last cabins built by the Swedish settlers that remains intact. [3]

Contents

History

The house was likely built sometime between 1640 and 1650 by Swedish immigrants who were part of the New Sweden colony. [4] During the early 1900s, film pioneer Siegmund Lubin filmed several movies at the site. Despite this being disputed, [5] several local residents have evidence of being used as extras. The filming became such a distraction to the workers of the nearby mill, that the owner filed for an injunction to prevent Lubin filming during work hours.

The house served as a private residence until 1937, when it was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey. In 1941, the cabin became the property of the township of Upper Darby. [6]

Afterwards, it was offered to local Girl Scouts who used it as a campsite for several years. Then, a series of Township-appointed tenants lived there until 1964. A partial attempt to fix-up the house was done for the Bicentennial in 1976. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places [1] in 1982.

A full historical restoration and archeological excavation were completed in 1989. The site is now cared for by the Friends of the Swedish Cabin.

It may be visited from April through October, on Sundays from 1 - 4 pm. Admission is free. Donations are accepted.

In 1937 View from northwest. February 5, 1937. Photo by Ian McLaughlin. - Lower Swedish Log Cabin, Darby Creek vicinity (Clifton Heights), Darby, Delaware County, PA HABS PA,23-DARB.V,2-1 cropped.jpg
In 1937

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Lower Swedish Cabin". Atlas Obscura . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ "National Park Service - Explorers and Settlers (Pennsylvania)". Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ Eckhardt, Joseph P. (January 1, 1997). The King of the Movies: Film Pioneer Siegmund Lubin. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN   9780838637289.
  6. ↑ David C. Stacks (October 1974). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Pennsylvania SP Lower Swedish Cabin. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 17, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)

Ambrose, George. —'The Log Cabins of New Sweden'.The New Sweden Centre, Wilmington, DE (2003).

Smith, Thomas R. Drexel Hill 1875-1912. Life in Addingham and Garrettford/America's Clandestine Hollywood. Drexel Hill, PA (1980).

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