325 W. High Street - Shepherdstown

In 1998, Dan Tokar was in the market to buy a house in Shepherdstown, and he found available housing to be cost prohibitive; so, he decided he needed to build a house.  He began looking for some sort of house kit.  He came across a log cabin on College St.  The cabin had no running water and no bathroom.  It had been, at best, used as a teenager "club house" and a guest house.

The town of Shepherdstown had annexed College and Ray Streets in 1972 and, from that time on, no one could live in the cabin because of the lack of a bathroom and running water; so, it sat unoccupied for approximately 25 years.  The cabin, according to Dan, could well have been built in 1775; however, based on the materials used in the cabin, wood and metals, Dan says it was definitely built prior to 1820.  Sally Johnston, the owner, could not get a demolition permit, which Dan says "was a good thing."

 Dan agreed to buy the cabin from Sally; however, he had to find a lot to put it on.  He spent 1999 and 2000 looking for such a spot.  There were only 5 or 6 buildable lots available and only a couple that were suitable for Dan's needs.  325 W. High St. was one of those lots.

Dan began disassembling the cabin in 2000 to move it to its new location.  He took it apart, literally, stone by stone and log by log.  He used copper tags with numbers and letters to help him reassemble the cabin once he got it moved.  The only portion of the project he actually had to pay for was some foundation excavation. 

Dan spent one entire year putting together the stone work foundation.  He spent another entire year framing the logs and the roof.  And, he spent another year rebuilding the chimney and fireplace.  Most of the materials used in the rebuilding of the cabin were salvaged.  Dan estimates stones used in the chimney and fireplace were salvaged from at least 3 other buildings.  He estimates other bits and pieces used in the rebuilding were scavenged from probably 15 houses throughout Jefferson and Berkeley counties.  All of the logs, much of the interior wall and roof lumber, and many of the foundation and chimney stones, however, were from the historic cabin. 

A lot of time was spent "getting and cleaning" the salvaged materials.  Since Dan has not had a driver's license since 1979, he relied on what he estimates were 50 to 75 friends "with trucks" to move the logs and materials.  Many of those 50 to 75 people were friends, contractors, and other "interested people" from the community.  Dan estimates he, alone, has invested approximately 6,000 hours in the project over the past 10 years.

Dan has done almost all of the electrical wiring and plumbing.  At the present time, he is putting the finishing touches on the required bathroom and kitchen.  He plans to be living in his new digs before the end of 2010.