The Dixon Washburn Cabin Brick Fundraiser – Brown County Historical Society2024-07-09T09:54:40-05:00

The Dixon Washburn Cabin

Hosted by Fundraising Brick

Engraved Brick Order Deadline: October 15, 2024

Buy a Brick and Save Our Cabin
And for $50 you will leave a legacy

The funds are needed for a major preservation project
on the The Dixon-Washburn Cabin

The Dixon-Washburn Cabin is the gem of the historical buildings in Brown County. Built in 1793 it was the first permanent structure constructed in the county. She was born to protect the early settlers in Kentucky from Shawnee raiding parties and has seen over two centuries of our history. Two hundred and thirty years have taken a toll on her exterior and she needs your help. We can’t let this the oldest symbol of our past and the stories she tells be lost to future generations. As William Dixon and Cornelius Washburn stepped forward to protect the settlers, we need you to step up and protect this grand old structure.

In Kentucky the years from 1780 to 1790 were known as the ‘Bloody 80’s”. Thousands of settlers in the territory were being killed each year by the Native American Tribes that also claimed the rich land south of the Ohio River. War parties numbering into the hundreds swooped across the river and raided many settlements for periods of weeks then re-crossed the river to the relative safety of the wilderness that would become Ohio.

Simon Kenton, the Indian fighter, came up with two ideas. First, he would hire brave frontiersmen to watch the Ohio for those war parties. Second, he would form an army that would punish any war party that entered Kentucky. Dixon and Washburn with the help of a group of men from Mason County, Kentucky built a small cabin a half a mile north of the Ohio river in Logan’s Gap. Kenton’s first idea was now in place and the Dixon-Washburn cabin was saving lives. This was the first cabin in Brown County; the year was 1793.

The cabin was saved from destruction in 1976 when it was moved to the Brown County Fairgrounds in Georgetown, Ohio and was made available for everyone to enjoy her rich history. This brick project will fund the needed preservation cost and provide a way for you to honor your loved ones, veterans, and those courageous early pioneers. Many settlers coming to Ohio in those early days were Revolutionary War soldiers. This would be a wonderful way to honor those brave souls. Buy some bricks to save the Cabin and help build a memorial brick yard.

For additional information regarding our engraved brick campaign please contact Mike McQueary via email: bchs.cabin@gmail.com or text/call at (513) 500-8588.

To Order Brick On-Line, complete the required fields indicated by the *, then enter your inscription and click on the next button at the bottom of the form: You will be directed to the confirmation page to confirm your inscription. After you have confirmed your inscription, click the submit form button at the bottom right of the page. Please enter the text exactly as you want it to appear on the brick. You do not need to center the text; the laser software will automatically center the inscription. If you would like to order more than one brick, you will need to fill out a new order form for each brick that you would like to order.