Brief Overview of the Willard Log Cabin

A historical overview of the Willard Log Cabin and the land it stands on, tracing its ownership and transformation from the mid-1700s to modern times:

• 1745: The land was originally part of a 1,000+ acre parcel called Cross Basket, deeded by Lord Baltimore to Robert Peter, a wealthy tobacco merchant and the first mayor of Georgetown. The name comes from Peter’s ancestral home in Scotland.

• 1769: A survey showed just 10 acres developed: a deteriorating log home, a tobacco house, and some fruit trees. The only spring on the land suggests the current log cabin location may have also been the location of the original structure built circa 1745.

• 1825: Robert Peter’s heirs sold part of Cross Basket to Robert Dick, a Georgetown businessman. He renamed it Piney Hill Farm. Until 1864, when slavery was abolished in Maryland, Piney Hill Farm was operated by enslaved people. Census data shows that the number of enslaved people varied between 23 and 33. An overseer named Jessie Hyatt lived on Piney Hill Farm, likely in the one-room northern portion of what we now call the Willard Log Cabin. Changes to the foundation suggest the cabin was rebuilt at some point, possibly around this time.

• 1870–1871: Financial troubles forced Robert Dick to sell the farm, which was eventually bought by DeWalt and Charles Willard. The brothers shared the land. Charles Willard farmed the northern half of the property. He likely built the two-story log structure attached to the original one-room log cabin.

• 1888: The farm was legally divided but stayed within the Willard family. A road was built which has now become Izaak Walton Way.

• 1949–Present: In 1949 the B-CC Chapter acquired the northern half of the Willard property. Over the decades, the cabin was initially modernized, but later restored. A large scale renovation completed in 2013 also added the front porch. Prior to this renovation a log wall divided the first floor. It separated the original log cabin and the newer addition.

• Significance: Overall, the Willard Log Cabin site offers a tangible link to over 250 years of local history, including colonial land ownership, agriculture supported by enslaved labor, and modern preservation efforts. In addition to the log cabin a storage building and the spring box also survive. The term spring box is an old name for a stone building built over a spring. It was used to keep food refrigerated in the cold spring water.