The distress at finding the Snelson-Brinker cabin burned was soon replaced with an outpouring of local, regional, and extended support for rebuilding and preserving the site. “Up from the ashes!” became the focus for an historic site that has local, statewide and national significance.

 

The Snelson Brinker Foundation was formed as a 501c3 non-profit organization to restore the cabin to the site and replicate what it would have been in the 1830’s Ozark, Missouri wilderness.

 

Local sources for stone have been identified so that repairs can be carefully made to the chimney and foundation using the same type and color as the original stone. Master craftsmen, skilled at historic masonry and cabin building, have met on-site to review the damage and assess the reconstruction project and preservation of the smokehouse/root cellar that stands near the cabin foundation.

 

In order to recreate the cabin authentically and build it to last, we are committed to using White Oak logs - the same log type that the original cabin was built from. In the fall of 2020, the Snelson-Brinker Foundation will launch its LOG (Live Oak Gifts) program. We will be seeking White Oak trees that can be cut for logs from timber in the Crawford, Phelps and Dent counties that surround the cabin site. The trees will be valued and the landowner donating a tree for a log will receive a receipt for a tax-deductible gift to the project. Their name and home town will be added to “The Team” page of this website in the special “Thank You” section for log donors. When the cabin construction is complete, a plaque will be installed on an interior wall with the names of all log donors thanking them for their gifts.

 

There is also the potential to place markers on and around the property indicating the events and hardships that the Cherokee people endured at this place on their Trail of Tears. This and other historic content and attractions involving local, state, and national resources and agencies will be explored and welcomed by the Snelson Brinker Foundation.

 

We can’t bring the cabin back and preserve the site for future generations without YOU!

 

If you have timbered property in Crawford, Phelps and Dent counties and would like to donate a White Oak log, please contact me, Frank J. Snelson, by phone, email or leave me a message on the contact page.

 

 

Please support the reconstruction and preservation of the Snelson-Brinker site by making a secure donation to the Snelson Brinker Foundation today! All donations are tax-deductible.

 

 

Thank you,

 

Frank J Snelson

Director

Snelson Brinker Foundation