Is the cabin located at the monument the original Freeman cabin?
No. The cabin open to visitors at Homestead National Monument of America is the Palmer-Epard cabin, originally built in 1867 on a homestead about 14 miles northeast of the Monument. It was built and occupied by the George Washington Palmer family; the Lawrence Epard family later lived in it as well. It was donated to Homestead National Monument of America in 1950 to serve as an example of one type of pioneer dwelling found on homesteads. By homesteader standards, the Palmer-Epard cabin is a comfortable, sturdy home and a vast improvement over the sod houses or dugouts in which many lived during early days on their homesteads. None of Daniel Freeman’s buildings are still located on the property, though the Freeman School, built in 1872 and a part of the Monument since 1970, is original and open to the visiting public.
