Historic Lehigh Valley cabin in danger, historians say

A historic cabin in Northampton County is at risk of being torn down if funding for preservation efforts are not forthcoming in the near future.

The nonprofit Preservation Pennsylvania last month added the Springfield Cabin to its 2026 Pennsylvania At Risk list of historic properties that face “credible threats,” the nonprofit said in a news release. The cabin in Lower Saucon Township is deteriorating, and its roof is failing, the group said.

“The Springfield Cabin is a rare surviving example of early vernacular log and stone construction in the Lehigh Valley, dating to the late 18th or early 19th century,” the news release said. “Local advocates and historians are organizing around a phased restoration plan that would stabilize the cabin and ultimately reopen it as a public educational resource interpreting early settlement history.”

Preservation Pennsylvania Executive Director Mindy Crawford said a group called the Saucon Legacy Trust is working to preserve Springfield Cabin, and that the cabin’s owner, the Hellertown Borough Authority, is willing to help with the project.

“Sometimes we get applications where someone tells us about a property that is endangered and they basically say, ‘We need you to do something,’ which is not really how it works because we are one organization that covers the entire state,” Crawford said. “No one wants someone from Harrisburg to come in and tell them what to do, so we just try to support from the bottom and give them advice and encourage them because that’s really how they’re most successful.”

Also known as the Getter Cabin, it at one time was part of a working farm and passed through several families before being purchased by Hellertown in 1944, Preservation Pennsylvania said. While other farm structures on the property were removed, the cabin remained.

“Structures like this are increasingly rare,” the nonprofit said, “and once lost, they cannot be replaced.”

According to Saucon Legacy Trust, the first phase of restoring Springfield Cabin is expected to cost $60,000. The funds, which are being received via donations, will be used to stabilize the cabin’s stone elements, preserve wood elements and create a virtual reality experience for visitors.

John Scully, executive director of the Hellertown Borough Authority, said the cabin’s instability presents a liability if someone were injured by the structure’s continued deterioration.

However, the authority is not allowed to use its own funds to repair it because that’s not related to water and sewer issues, requiring Saucon Legacy Trust to obtain the funding for the cabin’s restoration itself.

“Right now it’s in a really bad shape,” Scully said. “I think the whole authority would like to see it get preserved, but I don’t know if they can raise the money to preserve it.”

Scully said discussions between Saucon Legacy Trust and the authority are ongoing to determine the best course of action, which potentially could include leasing the land to the trust.

Mark Connar, treasurer for Saucon Legacy Trust, said while other historic log cabins in the Lehigh Valley have been expanded and modernized over the years, Springfield Cabin bucks this trend, having remained in a similar if not identical condition to when it was built.

The historic Springfield Cabin in Lower Saucon Township is at risk Tuesday, June 23, 2026, of being demolished due to deterioration. A local organization, the Saucon Legacy Trust, is trying to get the funds needed to restore it. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

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Connar said the authority’s decision to allow the trust to attempt to restore Springfield Cabin is an example of how collaborations between the authority and the surrounding community can take place.

“A lot of groups might just say, ‘Oh, this thing’s a liability, knock it down,’ and, ‘let’s do it quick before anybody knows about it.’ They did not take that approach,” Connar said. “They tried to reach out to the community to see what could be done to preserve the cabin, recognizing that their hands are tied in a sense they really can’t spend their money on it.”

Connar said the preservation of the cabin and its historical significance to the Saucon Valley was pivotal to providing current and future generations a clear window into America’s past.

“If you look at it, you’re going to look at something that our first settlers in this area would have seen,” Connar said. “We’re talking about adults coming out to understand about our earliest days, about the hardships and the experiences of the first settlers. It’s going to be useful for future generations, for school children, to come on school trips and so forth to really understand and appreciate our history to create pride in our traditions, our heritage. It’s irreplaceable, so that’s why we feel it’s important.”

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