The Tombstone Shaped Like a Log Cabin, Eau Claire

Among the tombstones in the Caldwell Cemetery in Eau Claire is one that stands out:  a limestone log cabin gravemarker.

It belongs to Elwell and Hattie Hoyt, and it was built for a reason: in a sense, he wanted to “take it with him”. I’ll explain...

Elwell came to Michigan from Maine and settled a farm in the late 1850s, where he grew apple trees. He made his regular living by sawing timber and later switched to making apple cider from his own cider mill. Elwell married Hattie True in 1872 and they lived happily until his death in September 1905.

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As for why the log cabin tombstone, by the late 1800s, Elwell was fed up with ‘progress’. Electricity, horseless carriages and such were irritating to him. He was bent on bringing back “the good ol’ days” and turned his back on anything new. He built a 25x32-foot log cabin and purposely omitted any ‘modern’ conveniences, like running water, indoor bathroom, electricity, and store-bought furniture. All furniture was handmade out of hickory with no nails.

In his cabin, he kept his impressive collection of antiques, over a thousand items he referred to as “pioneer relics”. As he grew older, he knew his time was running out; he loved his cabin so much, he commissioned his tombstone to be built, replicating a small log cabin. At least he would be buried near a semblance of his beloved log cabin.

When he died in 1905, the cabin was placed on his grave, and two limestone headstones carved to look like logs were placed, one on each side: one for him, one for Hattie.

Hattie remarried in 1918 and passed away in 1919. The original Hoyt log cabin is long gone, but you can visit their “log cabin” tombstone and grave markers in Eau Claire, Berrien County.