A few years ago, Innsbrook resident John Welter would take walks down a secluded gravel road near Alpine Lake and glance over at a forgotten log cabin. Rather than view the deteriorating structure as an eyesore, Welter instead imagined something of value. “There is something historical about it,” he recalled. Since that time, a group of Innsbrook volunteers banded together and have spent countless hours restoring the log cabin, which is believed to have been built in the 1840s. What started out as a small group has now transformed into the Innsbrook Historical Society, an organization that has earned nonprofit status and set a long-range vision for the property where the 170-year-old cabin sits. Since work began in 2010, each week volunteers continue to tackle the tasks of restoring the cabin, which is located just south of Innsbrook Resort’s Alpine dam. Initially, the cabin was stripped down to the bare log walls and the old chinking was removed. From there, volunteers removed the old collapsed front porch and bedrooms and dug out the stone foundation.Over time, volunteers have rebuilt the front porch and reused stones from the old foundation. A new roof has been installed as well. The cabin’s lone modern convenience is electricity and nearly all of the old logs from the original structure have been able to be reused. The restoration project has been under the watchful eye of Wayne Edwards, an Innsbrook resident serving as the project manager, and Welter, who serves as the historical society president. The volunteer group also has received assistance from Tim Kilby, who has a long history of restoring log structures and been used as a consultant on the project. For his efforts in overseeing the project, Edwards was recently honored as the Innsbrook citizen of the year. Edwards, however, is quick to deflect the attention to the other volunteers who have played a role in the project. “This project has really captured the imagination of the residents,” he said. “It’s been a tremendous volunteer effort.” Indeed, one that has greeted the residents with a passion to uncover the history of the property and cabin. “It’s a labor of love for us,” Welter said. “We enjoy doing it.” According to historical research completed on the property, the first known settlers of the 40-acre property were the Bottemuller family. Hermann Bottemuller came to Missouri from Germany with his wife and family in the 1840s and in 1843 purchased the property from a local land office in St. Louis. A land grant was subsequently signed and issued. Prior to the Innsbrook Corporation purchasing the property in September 1997, Thomas and Bernice Quinn owned the land where the cabin sits. The Innsbrook Corporation has since transferred ownership of the nearly 2-acre property surrounding the cabin to the historical society. Besides restoring the log cabin, the historical society’s future plans include refurbishing a nearby smokehouse and turning a deteriorating barn into a pavilion equipped with bathrooms. A small corral may also be built in the future.Both Welter and Edwards envision individuals or families riding horses for a stop at the cabin or sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the front porch overlooking the scenic valley where Charrette Creek flows in the distance. Already one concert was held at the cabin in the past year. Plans are under way to have another concert next summer played from the cabin’s front porch. “When we have youngsters here, they will be able to walk through an exhibit,” Welter said. “This is a way people used to live, this is the way logs were put together. This is the furniture they used to live in. They can come out here and rest and listen to world class music.” Just like the first times he walked past the property and reminisced about the cabin’s history, Welter sees similar reactions from other residents. He hopes that continues well into the future. “When people walk by here, they are interested,” Welter said. “There is an allure to the place. Hopefully we make this a nice place for everybody.”