Historical Society Dedicates Bell Knapp Cabin

By DIANNE ALWARD-BIERY

Cleaver Senior Staff Writer

HARRISON – A special aspect of the Sept. 28 Old Fashion Day was the dedication of the Bell Knapp cabin which had been relocated from Athey Avenue to the Clare County Historical Society’s property at the intersection of Dover Road and Eberhart Avenue.

Throughout the Old Fashion Day event, visitors could step into the past of the cabin, and marvel at the fastidiousness of the building’s restoration and structure.

The ceremony itself began with words from Dennis Guerriero, who welcomed attendees and spoke of what it took to make the cabin relocation a reality. He began by saying “It takes a community,” and continued with “Thank you to all the individuals and entities who worked and contributed to the successful relocation of the 1888 Bell Knapp cabin during the summer of 2024 to the Clare County Historical Society grounds on Dover Road.”

Guerriero detailed all the contributing forces that made the move a reality, beginning with it having been funded by Robert and Carolyn Knapp, and additionally listed Williams House Raising & Moving; Humphrey Brothers Masonry; Clare County Road Commission; Consumers Energy; AT&T; Grant Township Commission; A.L.E. Construction Co.; Clare Tree Trimming & Removing; Rich Magnus Excavating; Clare County Sheriff Department; Amish Community: Ed Byler, John, David, Noah and Abe Hostetler; CCHS volunteers: Sam Sellers, Andy Coulson, Dennis Guerriero, Carron Nevill, Liz Ringelberg, and CCHS Project Manager Jon H. Ringelberg.

Next to speak was Jon Ringelberg, who related with great fondness stories of the late Robert C. Knapp, whose vast historical knowledge and reach enabled myriad answers to be discovered over the years. Knapp – a professor emeritus, University of Southern California at Berkeley, California, and the author of many books based in Clare County – contributed to the evolution of the CCHS despite the physical distance between California and Michigan. Ringelberg noted one specific time when Knapp insisted on physically being part of the grounds work and managed to paint one of the yellow bridge railings that bound the entrance to the southeast portion of the property.

That distance was overcome once again Saturday, as Knapps’s widow, Carolyn Knapp attended and briefly spoke of her memories associated with the cabin and its restoration. She also thanked all involved with the project, noting her appreciation of the care rendered by those who completed the cabin which was so much a part of their family’s lives.

In all, it was a wonderfully respectful and sincere honorific – not only for Robert Knapp as a historian and his life partner who shared his vision, but also for the fulfillment of his dream of placing his family cabin in the safekeeping of the Clare County Historical Society.

© Clare County Cleaver