Rexroat Prairie’s Log Cabins Day full of history, food, flowers and activities
By Kyla Hurt
All photos are by Kyla Hurt, except for the ONE photo file named “Debby,” which is “Special to The Source.”
Lob Cabins Day was held on Oct. 10 at Rexroat Prairie in Virginia. Presented by Friends of the Rexroat Prairie, the annual event offers hours of family-friendly fun — and free admission.
The day boasted demonstrations galore, including skilled artisan work by Kurt Walker, a cooper; spins on a potter’s wheel by artist Kirby Drennan; and creations from wood by Elizabeth Anderson, such as a cane, for example. A display of old-time tools was nearby for viewing, too.
Children were hands-on while working a cider press or a cast-iron hand-crank corn sheller.
Members of Virginia FFA volunteered at the event with craft activities such as pumpkin decorating and creating dreamcatchers.
Debby Krohe fixed beef stew and two pies on the fire in the dogtrot cabin, a structure built in 1850 that was relocated to the site in 2002. The cabin style, dogtrot, features two separate cabin spaces connected by an open-ended, but covered central hallway (the “dogtrot”) under a single continuous roof.
There were so many opportunities to learn and discover at Log Cabins Day, plus the prairie itself to explore.
Rexroat Prairie was established in 1976 to protect and showcase native prairie plants that were rapidly disappearing from the Midwest landscape. The historic cabins on-site are typically closed, but paths through the prairie, which now houses more than 120 different types of grasses and plants, are open for visitors.
For a guided tours of the prairie, call 217-741-9527. Search “The Rexroat Prairie of Cass County, Illinois” on Facebook for more information.
