Vermont's oldest log cabin reveals how early settlers lived.

This one-and-a half story structure was built
by Jedediah Hyde, Jr. circa 1783. Made of 14- to 18-inch diameter cedar logs, the cabin consists of one 20' x 25' room, with a massive fireplace at one end and an overhead loft.

In 1945, the Vermont Historical Society acquired the cabin, moved it about two miles to its present location, and stabilized it for further restoration. In 1952, the cabin was turned over to the Vermont Historic Sites Commission and the stabilization was completed by the Department of Forests and Parks. An agreement with the newly formed Grand Isle County Historical Society allowed that organization to furnish the cabin and use it as a meeting place, museum, and local information center. In 1985 further restoration of the cabin was undertaken by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the successor to the Historic Sites Commission. This work included the reconstruction of the original roof proportions which returned the cabin to its original, documented appearance. The cabin is owned and maintained by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

HISTORY OF CAPTAIN JEDEDIAH HYDE, JR.
Jedediah Hyde, Jr. was born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1761. His father, Captain Jedediah Hyde, later became a prominent resident of a town which

In 1945, the cabin was moved to its current location.

was named Hyde Park in his honor. Captain Hyde fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, then joined Captain William Coit’s Connecticut Grenadiers. The younger Hyde was in school at the time of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, but like many of his generation, enlisted at the age of fourteen, joining his father in the Connecticut Grenadiers. Jedediah Hyde, Jr. served in various capacities during the war. One of his assignments was in Captain Rufus Putnam’s Corps of Engineers, where he undoubtedly learned something about surveying. At Bennington, from among the spoils of war, he was given a surveyor’s compass and a theodolite which he would use later in surveying Grand Isle and other parts of Vermont.

	A thorough stabilization project in 1945 preserved the cabin for future generations.

In the summer of 1783, Jedediah Hyde, Jr. and his father came to Grand Isle as surveyors of the island. Four years earlier Ira and Ethan Allen had modestly named the island “The Two Heroes,” and, with Governor Thomas Chittenden, parceled out grants to the Green Mountain Boys. Most of the grantees sold their rights and Captain Hyde purchased several parcels on what would later be called Grand Isle. These deeds are in the office of the South Hero Town Clerk and were recorded June 12, 1783. On one of his father’s parcels, Jedediah, Jr. built this cabin, which served as a home to various members of the Hyde family for nearly 150 years. The original site was approximately two miles southwest of the cabin’s present location.

In the cabin today are maps of the county’s original grants, furnishings from the cabin and other homes in the county, agricultural and household implements from the area, and other items relating to the history and settlement of Grand Isle.

HOURS

The Hyde Log Cabin is open July 4 through mid-October, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (802) 828-3051

ADMISSION

Adult $2.00 Children 14 and under, free

NEARBY AMENITIES

Lodging ~ Dining ~ Other Attractions

HOW TO GET THERE

Hyde Log Cabin State Historic Site 228 US Route 2 Grand Isle, VT 05458 The site is located on U.S. Route 2, just north of the village of Grand Isle.