Mer writing here 🙂
I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend with friends & family, and ate some incredible food! I know we did.
We spent Thanksgiving weekend in the great state of West Virginia on top of a mountain at my family’s cabin! The cabin has been a huge part of my life ever since I was little so I thought this would be a great opportunity to share about the history of this special place with you!
History of the Cabin
The Cabin is located in Monroe County, WV about 1 mile from VA/WV state line. It sits directly on top of a mountain so there are views for DAYS up there. When you look out over the ridge on a clear day you can see at least 30 miles back into the rolling hills of Virginia.
The original cabin was built back in the early 1800s by the Vance family. Four generations of their family lived and farmed on this property. You can still see where they cleared trees to grow crops, a now collapsed barn that housed farm animals, and old wooden fencing cut by hand for the animals. Into the side of a hill, they built a cellar where they stored food and hung meat.
In 1967 my grandfather and a few of his friends purchased the 250-acre property from the Vance family mainly to be used as a hunting club. Because the cabin was built back in the 1800s there was no running water and very little electricity in the house. The Vance’s water supply came from an Artesian well right outside their front door. To keep warm it wasn’t as easy as turning the thermostat up; you had to cut wood and build a fire. For the guys this hunting club was a dream.
In 2010, my dad purchased the land from my grandfather and all the various owners. His purpose in doing so was, and still is, to create a place where our family and friends can spend quality time together and make memories. Because the cabin was so rustic and hardly livable even for a weekend trip there were some serious upgrades that needed to take place so that he could comfortably host friends and family.
In 2012, the renovations started! Some of the coolest things my dad found during the renovation were old artifacts that the Vance family had hidden in the walls. There were things like old promissory notes and their family Bible with birth and death dates of all their family members. It took a whole year to finish renovating because of the cabin’s remote location, but in 2013 it was finished and ready for hosting!
Thanksgiving at the Cabin
Holidays at the cabin are always festive. This year for Thanksgiving the crew included my parents, my grandmother, family friends, my uncle and aunt, and lots of cousins. In past years during the winter holidays, I have many fond memories of early morning hunting trips, all day hikes, front porch sitting, friendly football banter, family card and board games, getting snowed in, staying warm by the fire and eating yummy food. This year was no expectation as we got to participate in a lot of those fun family traditions and more! I’m especially thankful for our family and a special place, like the cabin, to make memories during the holidays.
What’s Next
It’s editing season here at the Rouse house as we’re finishing up our final wedding videos from 2017! Keep a look out for new films being released in the next couple months! We’re also in the full swing of things getting ready for Christmas! First stop (hopefully this week), we will be picking out our Christmas tree and decorating it! There definitely won’t be a dull moment around here any time soon and we love it.
Here’s to finishing the year strong and soaking in all the festive holiday traditions!
Mer (& Matt)
