Highlights from 2021... Free family fun, musical theater, history, and ice cream!
Who built and lived in this log cabin in 1885?
Free ice cream to first 500
Dream Arts Company presents excerpts from Peter Pan
102nd US CT/Black Civil War history group
Detroit Mounted Police
The Wheelmen on penny farthings
Spinning and weaving demos
Barbara M. Allen, sixth-generation granddaughter of Sojourner Truth, will do readings from her children's book on Sojourner Truth and talk about her history
Griot's of Cloth Quilts and Historic Gee's Bend Alabama Quilts
Arts and crafts activities and make a mini log cabin
Flamingo to Go will be there with food and treats
Dress up in 1880 to 1920s attire and vintage hats
And more surprises!
But on a typical year... People for Palmer Park (PFPP) and the City of Detroit open Palmer Park’s historic 1800s Log Cabin each year for a rare public tour of the only authentic log cabin in Detroit. The public is introduced to some of the 'modern' amenities of the 1800s: Mrs. Palmer's treasured American Jewel stove, an indoor toilette, and Victorian-style pocket doors, as well as the recently restored original stained-glass windows and Dutch front door!
Visitors at this fun-filled free family event are welcomed throughout the cabin by historians and actors in costume as well as treated to an old-fashioned ice cream social, live music with young fiddlers, traditional blacksmith demos, hat-making with a hat and bonnet parade/contest, Civil War camp with the 102nd USCT Black History group, African American quilters, locally-made refreshments, and much more. It has become an annual summer event that reconnects people of all ages to early Detroit memories and history, and aspirations for Detroit’s continued revival.
The cabin is rustically covered on the exterior with trees harvested from the surrounding forest, with a Victorian-style interior designed by architects George Mason (who designed Masonic Temple) and Zachariah Rice (the two also designed Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel, the Detroit Yacht Club and many other notable buildings).
Built in 1885 by Senator Thomas Palmer and his wife Lizzie as their summer retreat, the cabin was once filled with antiques and visitors who would travel north on Woodward in horse-drawn carts. By 1897 Palmer had donated the cabin and majority of the land surrounding it which would come to be known as Palmer Park.
Log Cabin Day 2019 highlights:
Free family fun for all ages
Guided Tours of the Log Cabin
Free Guernsey Ice Cream for first 500
Mad Hatter & Bonnet making and parade with prizes
Live Music with Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic
Face Painting
Beer & Wine Garden
Food Truck and Vendors
102nd USCT Black Civil War History Group
Detroit Mounted Police
Square & Round Dancing with Dudes & Dolls Dance Club
African American Quilts & Detroit Unity Temple Quilters
Historic Gee's Bend Alabama Quilt Display
Weaving Demos
Costumes and actors
PFPP is a nonprofit 501 (C)(3) organization committed to the revitalization of Palmer Park. The group makes possible free classes for yoga and t’ai chi, weekly bike rides, a walking group, tennis programs for children and adults, a community garden and gardening workshops... and more.
Palmer Park is an urban oasis of 296 acres of lawns and historic woodlands, a Splash Park and playscape, tennis courts, hiking and biking trails, Lake Frances, and some of the most valuable and diverse ecosystems in the state. Located between 6 and 7 Mile Roads and west of Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Palmer Park has been a treasured nature park and recreation site for more than 120 years.
Thank you to our 2019 sponsors: City of Detroit Recreation Dept., City of Detroit General Services, Motor City Brew Works, and Guernsey Dairy.