John Wolf Cabin
Jacob Wolf House Site, Norfork AR

John Wolf and his wife raised many children in this rustic 283 sq. ft. home from the 1830s. The cabin was moved to Jacob’s nearby historic site in modern times. In contrast to the musty quiet of the tiny
space, we wanted visitors to realize that in prior times this was home to vibrant family life. This is the classic chance to experience history where it happened.

The look and feel of the cabin walls’ hewn timbers and mud and daub construction is one of the most palpable and thought provoking visual features of the space, so we didn’t want to cover
that up. We also didn’t want to fill the small space with traditional interpretive panels with old pictures and fake props that make the past look dull and dusty. Instead, we chose sleek minimal
transparent graphics with modern full color imagery that shows how life was as real then as it is now, and that imagery is justaposed directly to the materiality of the authentic structure.

We wanted the young visitor to realize that two hundred years ago, the eggs were fresh, and a lush vegetable garden was green. The periodic laughter of children and family was much of what made
life worth living just as it does for the exhibit visitor today. Silhouette period-era portraitures alludes to what the family may have looked like. Two of the text panels also feature a button the visitors can
press to hear a short audio collage reenactment of the sounds of cabin life: a mother working at her spinning wheel and children at work and play, laughing and bickering amongst themselves. Within
a few moments, the audio ends, and the visitor finds themselves again in the calm of the old home as it stands today.

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Opened September 2023