Any information on location of Simon McGrew cabin in Westmoreland County?

Question

I've just returned from a "heritage tour" through the northeast with my father. I had discovered photos from the not-too-distant past of a log block house originally constructed by Simon McGrew, probably about 1765, during the establishment of the Quaker community in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.  However, I was unable to definitively locate the cabin, although we discovered a partially collapsed relict just southwest of Rilltown that we believe may be its remains, or at least the remains of an early McGrew cabin (most of the northern part of Sewickley Twp, was owned by McGrew's in the early 1800s).  Is there anyone familiar with this line who may be able to help me identify the ownership history of the cabin? I know that the cabin was subsequently owned by Simon McGrew's son, William, through most of the 19th century, and the site we identified appeared to be one of two attributed to "W. McGrew" on the 1858 Westmoreland County land ownership Atlas.

Answer 1

He was in North Huntington at the time of the 1790 US Census,   //familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHK5-Y7R 

 

Note: There were several Simon Blackburn McGrews in Westmoreland County, PA, in the 19th century, and they have been confused. Simon B., the son of Simon B. McGrew, Sr. and Martha McKnight, is not the Simon B. of this memorial.

familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2J-FDNS

Answer 2

You were probably looking at the remains of the cabin. According to a link I've found, it is/was on Mars Hill Road, SW of Rillton. http://www.familyoldphotos.com/photo/pennsylvania/4722/mcgrew-blockhouse#comment-10232  There are some comments there about the history of the cabin. Several years ago I could see the cabin on Goggle Maps, but haven't tried lately. (I'm a McGrew through my paternal great grandmother.)

Comments

Thanks -- It does sound like the right one.  Too bad it is no longer standing, if so. Was it still standing the last time you looked at it?

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I haven't seen it in person -- just on Google Maps and on the familyoldphotos.com website. You can see that the cabin already had a distinct lean in the photo. Today I couldn't locate the collapsed cabin you saw on Google Maps. I did notice that there is a McGrew Road off of Mars Hill Road. Was the collapsed cabin near there?

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Thanks, June. Your feedback has been very helpful. I just checked Google Maps myself. The cabin is at 280 Mars Hill Rd and is definitely the same one that we saw on our recent trip. There is a short gravel drive entering the road at an angle directly across from the cabin. The imagery is from May 2009 and the cabin was still standing at that time.  What a shame it has since collapsed almost exactly 250 years after its original construction.

I am adding the Google Maps photo and my own photo to my profile for Simon McGrew.

Answer 3

Another source showing a photo of the cabin, page 601:

https://archive.org/details/historyofwestmor01bouc