Website
https://www.facebook.com/marklehistoricalsociety
Address
Corner of E. Wilt St. and S. Miller St. in Markle
In 2016, the Markle Log Home was uncovered and close to being lost forever. Since then, the Markle Historical Society has worked to save the home from demolition, restore the home, improve a town park, and create a local heritage site. All of this has been done through community support and grants. This project is so close to being complete!
The original log house is in good condition. The structure had been erected in 1835 by Albert Draper, who came to the area to set up a milling operation along the Wabash River. A late nineteenth-century photograph shows the home was covered in then-fashionable Victorian board-and-batten siding, which helped preserve the original logs. Draper white washed the logs to brighten the interior (the walls were later plastered). The original chinking, finely hewn logs and carefully notched corners all speak of Draper’s skill in building his tidy home with only a few simple tools.
Albert Draper was one of the first settlers in Rock Creek Township. After coming to the area and operating a mill on the Native American Reservation, the Richardville Reserve around 1832, Draper made the area his home. Draper began a family in Rock Creek Township (his son was the first child born in the township), and he took an active role in the young community of Markle.
Photo credit: Evan Mower
The original log house is in good condition. The structure had been erected in 1835 by Albert Draper, who came to the area to set up a milling operation along the Wabash River. A late nineteenth-century photograph shows the home was covered in then-fashionable Victorian board-and-batten siding, which helped preserve the original logs. Draper white washed the logs to brighten the interior (the walls were later plastered). The original chinking, finely hewn logs and carefully notched corners all speak of Draper’s skill in building his tidy home with only a few simple tools.
Albert Draper was one of the first settlers in Rock Creek Township. After coming to the area and operating a mill on the Native American Reservation, the Richardville Reserve around 1832, Draper made the area his home. Draper began a family in Rock Creek Township (his son was the first child born in the township), and he took an active role in the young community of Markle.
Photo credit: Evan Mower
