The replica log cabin in Winamac will soon have a new owner. Northern Indiana Power from the Past plans to buy the building for a dollar from the Pulaski County Historical Society, which has been looking to divest itself of a few of its underutilized properties.
Historical Society representative Ryan Harrison discussed the issue Monday with the Pulaski County Commissioners. “The Historical Society no longer uses it,” he explained. “Power from the Past says that they will use it. We can’t give anything to anybody unless it’s a not-for-profit. They’re a not-for-profit. We’d like to turn it over to them with the hopes that they will use it more than we have. But the ground is owned by the county, so it’s up to the county to approve it.”
The Pulaski County Historical Society previously offered the log cabin to the Town of Winamac, but the town’s park board declined. During those discussions, Chris Smith with Northern Indiana Power from the Past suggested that organization might be able to help with the maintenance. Now, the power show is taking over the structure outright. “It’s kind of special to me because we started that back in the early 1990s at the sawmill, and we’ve had pretty good support,” Smith told the commissioners Monday. “In fact, we put on the roof, the power show did, and we do the maintenance and stuff on it.”
During Monday’s meeting, the county commissioners approved the lease of the land to Northern Indiana Power from the Past for a period of 50 years. Smith told them the power show isn’t sure yet what it’s going to do with the log cabin, but the organization wants to start the process of repairing it.
