Scout Cabin Becomes Official Historic Landmark

Log cabins are a thing of the past, a true piece of history now. And New Lenox's Boy Scout Cabin is the latest Will County site to be designated an official historic landmark.

According to the Southtown Star, the site's landmark status was approved last week by the Will County Board. Diane Batson, of the New Lenox Area Historical Society, told the Southtown that there Boy Scouts are invited to a short landmark dedication ceremony this summer. It will be at 2 p.m. June 5 at the campground (located on the property) with members of the historical society and the Methodist church. For more information on the event, call the church at 815-485-8271.

Built in 1929, the cabin is on the 11-acre grounds now owned by the United Methodist Church of New Lenox. The cabin was constructed using telegraph poles and not in the traditional log-hewn process, so it's a unique structure in New Lenox Township. Some improvements and repairs have been added over the years, but it largely remains the same in appearance. The cabin was reroofed after a fire., and it now needs a replacement floor and a few new poles that comprise the walls. 

In 1968 the United Methodist Church got ownership of the property and destroyed all buildings on the campgrounds except for the Scout Cabin. 

The Historical Society proposed that the Methodist Church joins with the local Boy Scout troops and the New Lenox Area Historical Society to prepare and exhibit of Boy Scouts who become Eagle Scouts, and that could be displayed in the cabin, as well as other flags and memorabilia. 

In December, the New Lenox Village Board and passed along recommendation to the county.