Built around 1640, this two-story building is located on Creek Road in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
During the 17th century, Swedish immigrants used the cabin as a trading post with the local Indians, trading simple tools, furs, and native crafts. Once the Swedish settlers left the area, other settlers used the cabin throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before film pioneer Siegmund Lubin used the a locale for movies from 1904 to 1906.
Afterwards, the Lower Swedish Cabin was used as a private residence and then a meeting space for Girl Scouts before being abandoned altogether. Afterwards, it fell to neglect and vandalism. In order to rejuvenate one of Pennsylvania’s most historic buildings, a group of county residents formed the Friends of the Swedish Cabin, restored the building, and succeeded in having the building designated a National Historic Landmark.
National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Form
A Swedish Log Cabin – Three Centuries of History on Darby Creek