Also known as the Wilson Cabin, the mystery cabin, and the Dodd Gibson property, this cabin was built about 1790 on a cliff's edge overlooking the Ohio River at Elizabethtown, Illinois. The site afforded a view of the river more than 10 miles either up or down the river. It was part of a strategy by river pirate James Wilson, also known as James Ford, to locate boats from the cliff and signal co-conspirators lurking on Hurricane Island directly across the river from the cabin. He could also send a rider down the small crevasse to notify cohorts further downriver. Records show that a James Wilson was awarded 100 acres in 1790 for his service in the militia. In 1790, the property on which the cabin was built was part of Knox County, Northwest Territory; in 1809 the area became part of Randolph County, Illinois Territory; in 1812 it would have been part of Gallatin County; in 1815 it was part of Pope County; and in 1839 it became part of newly created Hardin County.