Before the 2003 bicentennial, the Oak Harbor Lions Club took up a challenge from Ohio Bicentennial representative and former Oak Harbor native Beth Hansen to do something extraordinary for the celebration. After Bill and Marge (Franck) Priesman offered a log cabin on their land, the club, with help from the Red Horse Squadron from Camp Perry, dismantled the two-story home log by log and moved its pieces to the Ottawa County Fairgrounds for possible reconstruction. It was later decided to build the cabin on the site of the former Town Hall, a space donated by the Oak Harbor Village Council, which also agreed to maintain the building once it was completed. After the logs were moved to the new site and the lumber was evaluated, the planned structure was reduced from two stories to a single-story dwelling. Oak Harbor Lions members Lee Harder and Bruce Michael handled the construction details from drafting the design to laying the foundation, while Lions members, village employees, and area residents volunteered time, skills, and financial support over the next several years to raise an 1800s log cabin replica. In the summer of 2005, the keys were turned over to Mayor Tom Leaser, and citizens from Oak Harbor and other Ottawa County communities provided historic furniture and other 1800s items to evoke life in the Black Swamp Area's earlier era.