The Webber Cabin was dedicated on Saturday, July 7th, 2018 during the 44th Bark Peelers’ Festival
Interpretive exhibit plans are currently underway.
The log cabin that was home to DCNR Forester Bob Webber and his wife Dotty for more than 54 years was originally located on a remote ridge top in the Pine Creek Valley, near the community of Slate Run. The Webbers loved living in this 500-square foot rustic space with no electricity or plumbing, and were always welcoming to friends, hikers and other guests curious about their unique “off-the-grid” lifestyle. Bob was an outspoken advocate for connecting people with the forest, which he viewed as PA’s greatest natural resource. Following Bob’s passing in 2015, an initiative was put forward to move the cabin to the PA Lumber Museum to preserve it and the story of the Webbers for future generations. The PA DCNR Tiadaghton, Tioga and Susquehannock State Forest Districts, along with Jack Duerer (a log home builder and friend of the Webbers,) labeled and dismantled the cabin and moved it to a temporary storage location. If all goes as planned, the cabin will be re-constructed at the museum in the summer of this year.
Bob and Dotty Webber are well known throughout the state as prominent naturalist. Bob personally (and in some cases, single-handedly) cut and maintained a long list of public trails during his tenure with DCNR including the Golden Eagle, Black Forest, George Wilski, Sentiero Di Shay, Francis Kennedy Ski, Pitch Pine Loop Ski, and the eponymous Bob Webber Trail. Acclaimed and respected by so many around the state and throughout the world, the accomplishments of Bob and Dotty Webber dovetail with the museum’s mission of educating the public about the ongoing care, management and recreational use of Pennsylvania’s forests. Once reconstructed, the cabin will be used to tell the Webber’s story; serving as an interpretive tool for teaching broader themes such as the history of trail hiking as a recreational activity, the development of DCNR as a government agency from the mid-20th century, and the challenges and benefits of living a conservation-minded lifestyle.
If you knew Bob Webber either personally or by reputation and would like to be involved with this project, please contact the museum.
