Boise became a city in 1863. Remarkably, the first home built in what would become Idaho’s capital city is still standing. The O’Farrell cabin was built from cottonwood trees cut down nearby by John A. O’Farrell in June 1863. O’Farrell used a broad axe to flatten out the logs for his cabin. Branches and clay served as chinking between the logs. Inside, visitors would find a dirt floor and fabric covering the walls.
The following year when bricks and saw-cut lumber became available, O’Farrell improved the cabin by replacing the pole roof with cut rafters and hand-split shingles. He covered the inside walls, floor and ceiling with planks, added a brick fireplace, and installed glass windows.
The O’Farrell family lived in the cabin for seven more years before moving to a brick home.
In 1910 the O’Farrell children donated the old cabin to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The DAR moved the home across Fort Street and conducted the first restoration of the little building. Over the years they opened it occasionally for public tours and did some more restoration work. By 1957 the DAR found that it was unable to care for the building, so donated it to the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers. That group erected a roof structure over the entire cabin and installed bars on the windows to protect it.
The City of Boise took ownership of the cabin, and in 1979 the Boise City Historic Preservation Commission did some restoration work. Charles Hummel and the Columbian Club started a fund drive to restore the cabin in 1995. By 2002 the restoration fund was sufficient to bring the cabin back to its 1912 condition, with 85 percent of the original cabin materials still in place.
The following year when bricks and saw-cut lumber became available, O’Farrell improved the cabin by replacing the pole roof with cut rafters and hand-split shingles. He covered the inside walls, floor and ceiling with planks, added a brick fireplace, and installed glass windows.
The O’Farrell family lived in the cabin for seven more years before moving to a brick home.
In 1910 the O’Farrell children donated the old cabin to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The DAR moved the home across Fort Street and conducted the first restoration of the little building. Over the years they opened it occasionally for public tours and did some more restoration work. By 1957 the DAR found that it was unable to care for the building, so donated it to the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers. That group erected a roof structure over the entire cabin and installed bars on the windows to protect it.
The City of Boise took ownership of the cabin, and in 1979 the Boise City Historic Preservation Commission did some restoration work. Charles Hummel and the Columbian Club started a fund drive to restore the cabin in 1995. By 2002 the restoration fund was sufficient to bring the cabin back to its 1912 condition, with 85 percent of the original cabin materials still in place.
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