Beth Babb Log Cabin

“It was built at a time when Tennessee wasn’t even a state, when the Constitution had not been ratified and George Washington had yet to take office,” Daniel Babb, president of the Babb Family Association, said. “It is one of the oldest structures in Greene County. I believe it is among the oldest structures in the state.”nnThe home was built in 1787 by Seth Babb Sr., a corporal in the Revolutionary Army who fought with then-Gen. George Washington at the 1781 Seige of Yorktown. According to first-hand accounts, Babb saw Washington and captured British Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis after the final, major battle that would ultimately lead to the Redcoats’ surrender.nnAfter completing his service in the Virginia State Legion, he was discharged in 1782. Babb’s homestead, moved to downtown Greeneville from its original site off the present-day Kingsport Highway, was built just five years later.nnThe two-story dwelling is simple by design; logs and chinking are punctuated by small windows and solid wood doors. Don’t call it a “log cabin,” though. Multiple rooms and finished logs without bark distinguish it from the more primitive cabins of its day.nn“It’s a log home or a homestead, but it is not a log cabin. It’s an important distinction. This has three rooms and a closet. The finished out logs make it a homestead,” Babb said. “Now, I think we’ve made it into a home. I was stunned when I saw what it looked like decorated.”nnArtifacts — mostly original to the home and the seven generations of Babbs that lived in it — have been added to the decor. Some textiles, like quilts and clothing, and other heirlooms, like the family Bible, are being stored on a more permanent basis in the museum, since the log home is not climate controlled. Reproductions, however, are planned, and the family intends to keep adding to the site.