This 1830s Log Cabin Hosts an Idyllic Old-Fashioned Christmas
The humble hideaway provides an ideal spot to savor the simple joys of the season.
You can almost imagine how the holidays at the nearly 200-year-old Riverwoods cabin looked in its homesteading heyday: heady-scented trees bedecked in dried fruits, tin stars, and handmade ornaments; freshly foraged wreaths and garlands adorned with plaid trimmings and festive bells; white pillar candles glowing alongside windowsills and mantels. “People used what they had back then,” says Katherine Hacker, who lives in and takes care of the historic log cabin for its Virginia-based owner, John Kilgore. (John and his late partner, Ray Clouse, purchased the property in 1992.)
Built in the 1830s in Case, Missouri, Riverwoods now sits on four acres 30 miles south in Washington, Missouri, where it was moved to and reassembled in the early 1970s. From the logs and stones to the door frames, every piece had been meticulously numbered and logged.
Minus a few “modern” touches of her own, Katherine, now, relies on candles, textiles, tin, and all the greens she can gather to compose her own Riverwoods holiday setting. She knows its spectacular bones don’t need much more, just as she accepts its destiny as the default holiday headquarters for her daughter, Louise (“Lou”), and their extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. “This place is made for hosting and has been a gift to everyone who has ever walked through it,” she says.
Keep reading to see how Katherine brings an old-fashioned Christmas to the cabin.
Swags of Greenery
The covered porch wraps around three of the cabin’s four sides, facing the Missouri River from its north side atop a 350-foot bluff. “That wraparound porch is what did it for us,” says John of their first visit. “It was like a cabin-shaped cookie cutout in the middle of the forest. Someone had previously described it to us as one of those places you can toss a plaid blanket on the porch and be done, and they were right.” At Christmastime, thick swags of white pine and arborvitae string along the entire length of the porch, with the occasional pair of galvanized bells tucked in for punctuation.
Meet the Residents
Katherine Hacker lives in and cares for this 1830s cabin with her daughter Louise ("Lou").
Touches of Nature
Painted pine cones and dried orange slices nestle among clip-on LED candles, berry garlands, and galvanized bells on the side porch’s long-needled white pine tree. Equipped with the requisite tartan plaid throw, the bent hickory bench is poised to capture the river views, even on brisk days.
Lots of Candlelight
The virgin-hardwood timber cabin is architecturally extraordinary for several reasons. “The logs are massive,” says John, some as tall as 16 inches. “It also has more—and larger—rooms than most log cabins of its period, with higher ceilings and more light.” In the living room, that mean plenty of room for a cozy red plaid sofa that looks just made for the Christmas holidays. Lush swags and wreaths of white pine go unadorned over the original oak mantel and period-appropriate double-hung six-over-six windows.
Humble Ornaments
The log-wrapped living room is one of at least three spots where Katherine stations a tree. Here, a Canaan fir from the local Christmas tree farm dons ornaments both hand-me-down and homemade.
Dinners by Candlelight
An assortment of candles and small-scale bottlebrush and carved wood trees lines up along the primitive ca.-1800s dining table (serendipitously painted the perfect Christmas red). Paired with the reproduction settee, the ladder-back chairs and corner cupboard were among the truckload of period pieces John and Ray collected during their first year of owning the cabin. Tiny wreaths accent the antique iron hanging candelabra.
Homemade Cookies
Lou knows it’s sugar cookie time when Mom pulls the wood stool up to the kitchen island. Against its butcher-block surface, the Hacker girls won’t roll out the typical Santas and snowmen, but rather a forest of woodland creatures: an ode to the deer, foxes, and squirrels Lou spies from her window every day. The wispy wreaths hanging from the oak cabinets were made by bending faux berry branches into a ring shape and securing with garden wire.
Roaring Fires
Riverwoods is home to three limestone fireplaces, all original to the almost 200-year-old cabin. Similarly aged wrought-iron hearth accessories add authenticity.
Airy White
In her upstairs bedroom, Katherine keeps it light and simple with white-painted paneling and white cotton bedding to balance the ancient hardwood beams and looming ceiling joists and rafters. “Some of those logs could easily have come from 300-year-old trees,” she says. “Trees like that just don’t exist anymore.”
Layers of Rustic Reds
Colonial homes were often accented with an earthy red color derived from the natural clay pigment red ochre (the reddish tint comes from iron oxide), making the hue an appropriate choice for the 1800s cabin. The red-checked pillow shams, dusty rose bed quilts, and antique Turkish runner in Lou’s bedroom go from “everyday” to “holiday” when paired with festive greenery.
What is It? What is it Worth: Cannonball Beds
Identified by their round “cannonball”-topped posts, these wood beds were a staple of Colonial American design. Examples from the early 1800s can cost upwards of $2,000.
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