In 1829,a man named George Coons came alone into the wilderness of north-central Ohio and built a cabin. He was the third settler in York Township, Union County. There were no roads. He cut one himself.

That cabin is still standing.

It sits on 1.69 wooded acres outside Richwood, Ohio; a small island of old-growth hardwoods surrounded on all sides by industrial solar installations. A hand-hewn log cabin with half-dovetail corner notching that has stood for nearly 200 years.

This is the founding homestead of Coons Settlement, one of the three earliest communities in York Township, and it is the last surviving physical remnant of that world.

The land itself is a piece of American history.

The property sits on the Greenville Treaty Line of 1795, the boundary established between the United States and twelve Native American nations after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, opening this territory to American settlement. George Coons built his cabin on this land thirty-four years after that treaty was signed, on ground that had been promised to Revolutionary War veterans as payment for their service.

The land came to George Coons through Virginia Military Warrant No. 659, a bounty land grant earned by Thomas Bowyer for his service in the 12th Virginia Regiment from 1776 through the end of the Revolutionary War. The survey was conducted in 1808 by Duncan McArthur, a man who would go on to become Governor of Ohio. George purchased the 100-acre tract and came west to build his life on it.

What George built here was more than a home.

On June 29, 1839, thirteen people gathered in this cabin and founded the York Township Free-Will Baptist Church. George and his wife Keziah were among the founding members. Their son Thomas Sedgwick was appointed church clerk. The congregation that began in this room went on to become a cornerstone of the community.

George served as Fence Viewer in the first York Township election on April 7, 1834, one of the civic founders of the township itself. He spent 27 years on the farm he built, dying here in October 1856 at the age of 78. His wife Keziah survived him by twenty years, dying at 93.

The family held this land for 149 years.

Four generations of Coons family farmed this ground. George's grandson George W. Coons enlisted in the 82nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry on November 25, 1861, going off to war from this very farm. At the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, he was wounded, his left leg amputated on the battlefield. He was captured by Confederate forces and left for eight days without food. He washed and bandaged his own wounds. He came home.

He farmed this land for another fifty years on one leg.

The Coons family held this property until 1978, 149 years of continuous ownership on the land their ancestor built from nothing in the Ohio wilderness.

Today it sits vacant, surrounded by solar panels, its history unknown to nearly everyone who drives past it.

We intend to change that.

We are David and Natasha Atlas, we are currently in the process of founding Coons Settlement Foundation and Spring Farm at Coons Settlement. We are historians, educators, and regenerative farmers, and we have been documenting this property and its extraordinary history in preparation for a National Register of Historic Places nomination.

Our vision is simple and ambitious at the same time:

Restore the 1829 cabin to its historic appearance. Establish Spring Farm at Coons Settlement as a living history homestead; a working, breathing, producing place where visitors can experience Ohio frontier life as it was actually lived. Grow food, tap maple syrup, raise heritage sheep, tend the stream corridor, and tell the story of this land and the people who shaped it.

Today, this site is the last 1.69 acre piece of the original 100-acre homestead. It is surrounded by homes and massive solar development. The cabin and land have been on the market for a year, and the owner has graciously agreed to hold it for us while we raise the funds needed to save it. We are seeking support to form a nonprofit, purchase the property, and stabilize the historic structure while we apply for grants. Your contribution will help ensure that this irreplaceable landmark is preserved and accessible for future generations.

Please join us in saving the last cabin of Coons Settlement and protecting a vital piece of our shared American heritage.