monroevillehistorical.org

 

The Johnston House in 1890

The Johnston House in 2006

Johnston House, c. 1790

1744 James Street Extension

 
This log house was probably built around 1790 by John McCully, the patriarch of one of the early pioneering families of Monroeville.  When he died in 1831, the estate valued his log house as worth $20.00. 

In time the house passed on to his granddaughter, Sarah McCully, who was to marry William Johnston, Jr., in 1854.  Family lore has it that at their wedding, held on the front porch of the old log house, someone fired a few shots; and those lead bullets may still be seen embedded in the log walls where once stood the front porch.  

 The house remained in the Johnston family for many years; improvements were made, and a wood frame addition constructed.

 In 1982 the house was purchased by the current owner, William J. Johnson, who began a complete restoration project. In the process of stripping away the interior walls, he uncovered a cooking fireplace along with kitchen utensils, bottles and other artifacts.  A well was discovered on the yard and a hidden tunnel some 20 feet long that ran beneath the house to the well. Such underground sanctuaries were sometimes found in frontier houses where the threat of Indian attack was a very real possibility.

 The more recent addition was torn down to be replaced with a new addition constructed from logs recycled from a nearby log house that dated from 1772. Restoration was completed in 1986, and today the structure is a fully restored 5-room log house.  It currently (2006) serves as the residence of the William Johnson family.