A Modern Story

How a little log cabin went from being a home to a guest house

- By Jen Roberts

Meghan and James Reed live in St. Charles in an Italianate house dating to 1865. Over time, many of its original features have been removed and replaced with elements of Greek Revival architecture, like the tall windows with simple surrounds and a front porch with round columns. A log cabin on the property is 30 years older than the house. Built by Fidelis and Euphrosine Schwendeman on their farm in St. Peters, like the main house, it’s undergone its own aesthetic transformations. In the late 19th century, frame additions were built onto the cabin as the Schwendeman clan grew, eventually enclosing it. It wasn’t until the St. Peters house was torn down, in 1997, that the little log cabin was discovered inside. The previous property owner labeled each log and moved the cabin to its current location, on Morgan, updating it with new insulation, electrical, and plumbing. In 2020, the Reeds embarked on a renovation of their own, turning the cabin into an Airbnb and propelling it into the modern age.