By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — An old log cabin will get a new home on the Bowers School Farm after the Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously on a bid project to relocate the building.

The log cabin has stood near Lone Pine and Franklin roads. The property owners want to redevelop the land and are donating the cabin to the farm, which is owned by Bloomfield Hills Schools.

Township Supervisor David Payne said preserving the cabin is worthwhile because it was built in the 1830s and is part of the area’s history. “It’s one of the oldest structures in the township,” he said.

According to Payne, Bloomfield Township agreed to pay for the cabin’s move because of an approaching Aug. 31 deadline. But in the long run, the township does not expect to be holding the bill.

“We have an agreement with Preservation Bloomfield to reimburse us for the cost over a period of time,” Payne said.

Preservation Bloomfield, a fundraising group, wants the cabin on the farm because it can teach children about life in the old days. For the same reason, the group was behind the successful push to move the 1832 Barton Farmhouse from Bloomfield Hills to the Bowers Farm. The farmhouse’s oldest two sections were transported to the new site by truck in July.

In early August, the township received two construction bids for the cabin relocation, and officials picked the low bid of Brock & Associates of Novi. The company wanted $49,700, whereas Peerless Improvements Inc. of Bloomfield Township wanted $61,760.

During the meeting, Township Clerk Jan Roncelli wondered why Frank Rewold and Son Inc. did not bid, since it just handled the Barton Farmhouse relocation. “I thought they would’ve given us a great deal,” she said.

But consultant Gene Hopkins said the company’s involvement would’ve probably raised the price tag despite the project’s small scope.

The cabin relocation will remove the house’s roof and fireplace, the latter of which was deemed anachronistic. The building will travel to the farm and be placed on new foundations. The company will also place temporary roof protection on top of the cabin to protect it from the elements.

“We’ve done the minimal amount to get it there, stabilize it, weather-proof it and make it secure for future reconstruction,” Hopkins said.

According to a map provided with the plans, the cabin will go to a spot on Bowers Farm east of the farmhouse, the windmill, the root cellar and the gazebo. Hopkins said the cabin could amplify the farmhouse’s ability to teach children.

“It could be a natural progression in the chronology of the community,” he said.

Typically, a pioneering family would build a log house as a short-term dwelling place and would later build a farmhouse once the property prospered, said Pam Carmichael, head of the Bloomfield Historical Society. Although the log cabin and the Barton Farmhouse were built by different people, she said the two types of buildings share a story about the Bloomfield area’s first settlers.

“The fact that it still exists in this period of time is really unusual,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.