Loeser, Dr. Irwin D., Log Cabin
a.k.a. Loeser Cabin
121 E. Smith St., Tahlequah, OKThe Loeser Cabin is significant for both its age and the quarter-century role its Owner played in a raw, war-ravaged community on the frontier. Dr. Irwin D. Loeser did not build the cabin that bears his name. Its original one room had been erected - by whom no one now knows - some years before he came to Tahlequah in the late 1840s, Construction dates from 1833 to 1848 have been suggested. Whatever the precise date, the cabin stands today as one of the earliest examples of frontier log construction remaining in Oklahoma. It is one of the two or three oldest buildings in the state. Dr. Loeser acquired the cabin in 1852 and it is still owned by his grand-daughter, who lives in a two-story Victorian house standing only a few yards behind it.
The significance of Dr. Loeser's role in early-day Tahlequah can be documented somewhat more precisely. Born in Pennsylvania in 1812, he came west as a medical officer. Receiving his discharge at nearby Fort Gibson, he moved to the newly established Cherokee Nation capital of Tahlequah. For many years he was the area's only doctor. He was still practicing when he died in 1877.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.