DeWitt Homestead
The DeWitt cabin was built in 1805 by Zachariah DeWitt. At the time, Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth had seven children, and traveled here from Kentucky to claim the cheap and newly available land.
Zachariah became an important member of the pioneer farming community. He built several houses in Oxford, including the initial portion of what would become the building still housing Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the corner of High street and Campus Avenue in Oxford. He was village treasurer when he accepted a captaincy in the War of 1812, took command of a company of Butler County riflemen, and marched them to Detroit to assist General Duncan McArthur. He became a pillar in the Baptist church, was co-owner of the Mansion House Hotel, and in 1822 became a founder and secretary of the Masonic Lodge. A Whig, he supported William Henry Harrison for President; a memorable reception at the Mansion House was part of Oxford’s celebration of Harrison’s election.
The log house of Zachariah Price DeWitt is now the oldest remaining structure in Oxford Township. It also is the last of a string of pioneer homesteads established along the Four-Mile Creek before Oxford Township, the town of Oxford, or Miami University even existed. It stands on the east bank of the creek about three hundred yards north of Route 73. Located on Miami University land, the structure is leased to the Oxford Museum Association, which in 1973 took on its restoration to preserve this rare example of early 19th-century log construction.
The DeWitt Log House is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons from Memorial Day through Labor Day featuring interns in living history who provide first-person interpretation of the site. It is also open during the annual Hike-A-Thon.
DeWitt Cabin is located off of SR 73. Parking is available at DeWitt Cabin Parking Lot.
