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  • 2022-02-13 (xsd:date)
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  • Was 'World's Largest Log Cabin' Oregon's Forestry Building? (en)
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  • In September 2021, a picture was posted to Reddit of two children standing with a balloon in front of what was purported to be the world's largest log cabin. It showed the Forestry Building, a massive structure that was part of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905 in Portland, Oregon. In February 2022, the Historic Photographs Facebook page put up the same photograph with the caption: 'World’s largest log cabin.' Portland, Oregon, USA, 1938. Built in 1905, burned down in 1964. We found no evidence that the photograph had been faked. However, we did discover that the Forestry Building, which burned down in 1964, was not considered to be the world's largest log cabin, but rather the second-largest log structure when it was built. In this story, we'll examine the Forestry Building's history, learn about its original exhibits, provide evidence of its being considered the second-largest log structure, and reveal what is considered to be the world's largest log cabin building. On June 23, 1905, The Evening Statesman newspaper out of Walla Walla, Washington, described the Forestry Building as a big log cabin. The paper printed its dimensions and explained why the people of the time chose to construct it for the exposition: When it opened, the Forestry Building put on display exhibits meant to depict the progress of the saw-mill industry of the Pacific Northwest. The Scranton Republican provided more details on what visitors found inside the Forestry Building during the 1905 exposition. This included quite a few miniature exhibits: As for the evidence that it was considered to be the second-largest log structure at the time, the following Centennial Notes column was printed in multiple newspapers in December 1904, including The St. Helena Star in St. Helena, California: Another report claimed that the largest log weighed 32 tons, not 27, so the large log's actual weight is unclear. On April 6, 1905, the Davenport Democrat and Leader also printed that the Forestry Building, dubbed a log palace, would be the second-largest of logs ever built. It said that one of the logs measured 52 feet long (16 meters) and six feet in diameter (1.8 meters), meaning that if it were cut into standard size flooring boards one inch (2.5 centimeters) thick and three inches (7.6 centimeters) wide, it would stretch for around 13 miles (21 kilometers). Another report said that the log was eight feet (2.4 meters) in diameter. If the Forestry Building was the second-largest log structure in 1905, then what was the world's largest log cabin? We didn't find much help in the newspaper archives from 1905 that described the Forestry Building. However, a further search of early reporting brought up one name: Old Faithful Inn. This might have been the answer. On Sept. 1, 1904, The Madisonian newspaper out of Virginia City, Montana, printed that Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful Inn was the largest log building in the world. It was constructed during 1903 and 1904. While Oregon's Forestry Building measured 206 feet (63 meters) long and 102 feet (31 meters) wide, the Old Faithful Inn's length in 1905 was 380 feet (116 meters), according to reporting from O.H. Bentley from The Wichita Daily Eagle. The veranda of the inn measured 26 feet (8 meters) wide and 210 feet (64 meters) long, while the covered entrance was 26 feet wide (8 meters) and 110 feet (34 meters) long. Also, while the Forestry Building was made of logs, poles, stakes, and shingles, the Old Faithful Inn was constructed with logs and stone. The Yellowstone National Park Lodges website said that the Old Faithful Inn is still considered the largest log structure in the world, complete with a massive stone fireplace and a hand-crafted clock made of copper, wood, and wrought iron serving as focal points. In sum, as of 2022, all evidence pointed to the world's largest log cabin structure being the Old Faithful Inn in Wyoming, not the Forestry Building in Oregon. The same was true in 1905 when the latter was erected, as the former was already in operation at the time. It's possible that the Forestry Building may have contained the largest individual log or more overall wood. However, at the time, according to newspaper archives, it was not considered the world's largest log cabin structure. (en)
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