The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Log Cabin

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Institution Name: Warren Wilson College
Original/Historic Place Name: Log Library
Location on Campus: 115 Lower College Rd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1933	original construction Clark, Oscar
1952	addition of stone wings

Designer: Campus engineer, Oscar Clark
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete

Walls: pine logs, cement, rock

Roof: composition shingles

Function:

1933-1965	library
ca. 1965	academic department building (music and art, until the Kittredge and Holden Arts Centers were completed)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	other (Work Program Office, College Press)

Narrative:
Using pine logs cut on campus and other materials from college land, the Log Cabin was built in 1933 with student labor (at that time the institution was a high school) for use as the school library. In 1952 student labor was again employed to add the wings to the building. Donations from the Davella Mills Foundation of Montclair, New Jersey and other anonymous matching funds provided these additions.

For many years the staff Christmas party and church events were held in this building. It was also used for social events and weddings for the staff until the Williams Chapel was competed in 1942. With the construction of the new library, the building was converted for the use of the Music and Art departments until Kittredge and Holden Arts Centers were competed. It now houses the Work Program Office and the College Press.

References:

Holden, Reuben A. Warren Wilson College: A Centennial Portrait. [Swannanoa, NC: Warren Wilson College,] 1994.

Jensen, Henry W. A History of Warren Wilson College: On the Occasion the College's Eightieth Anniversary. [s.l.: s.n.,] 1974.

Martin, Elizabeth G., comp. The Buildings of Warren Wilson College. [s.l.: s.n.,] 1972.