The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, Tenn., submitted the winning bid of $8,199 when the cabin was auctioned online this spring through the state of North Carolina’s surplus property office.

Handmade by master craftsman R.O. Wilson of Cullowhee, the 12-by-16-foot cabin possesses no historic value, said Scott Philyaw, director of the Mountain Heritage Center. Wilson built the cabin in 1983 to serve as one component of the center’s Scotch-Irish exhibit, and the structure was used as an indoor “prop” for that exhibit over the years.

Owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum promotes the history and culture of the Cherokees in eastern Tennessee, particularly the life and contributions of Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee syllabary.

Staff members from the Sequoyah museum traveled to Cullowhee recently to disassemble the cabin and transport it to Tennessee. It took about two-and-a-half hours to take the cabin apart piece-by-piece, said Charlie Rhodarmer, a Canton native and WCU alumnus who is manager/director of the Tennessee museum. Wilson was on hand to provide advisement during that process.

The cabin parts, including poplar logs, red oak shingles, a wooden door and a window shutter, were loaded onto two trailers. The parts are now in storage at the Sequoyah museum, but Rhodarmer said plans are for the cabin to be rebuilt and displayed as a part of a complete renovation of the museum’s Sequoyah exhibit. Specifically, the cabin will depict Sequoyah’s home around 1809, when he began creating the syllabary, Rhodarmer said.

Philyaw said the primary reason the Mountain Heritage Center sold the cabin was to free up exhibit and storage space. Under the state’s surplus property auction process, 5 percent of the proceeds will go to administrative costs and the center will receive the other 95 percent - $7,789.

The funds will be used to update the center’s Scotch-Irish exhibit, Philyaw said. The entire exhibit, along with the cabin, was constructed with a grant the Mountain Heritage Center received from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1982.

“We feel that this is a very fitting use of the cabin,” Philyaw said. “Not only is the Mountain Heritage Center receiving needed funds to continue our own humanities work, but the cabin itself will continue to help visitors understand our region’s rich history.”

WCU’s cultural connection to Sequoyah (1776-1843) includes much more than the auctioned-off cabin. The university’s $1 million Sequoyah Distinguished Professorship in Cherokee Studies was created to honor Sequoyah and provide enhanced scholarly research into Cherokee history and culture. WCU’s partners in providing funds to match a state grant for that position included the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the Friends of Sequoyah, Cherokee businessman James A. “Jimmy” Cooper and Harrah’s Entertainment. The position is currently held by prolific Cherokee author Robert J. Conley.

For more information about Mountain Heritage Center programs and exhibits, contact the center at (828) 227-7129 or go to www.wcu.edu/mhc on the Web.

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Last modified: Monday, June 8, 2009