Navarre Cabin

The Navarre Cabin, which is owned by the Center for History, is the oldest European structure in northern Indiana.  It is located in the City of South Bend’s Leeper Park East.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the log structure was built by Pierre Navarre, a fur traders who was the first permanent settler in this area.

Restoration of the Navarre Cabin took place in 2006.  The project included repair and replacement of original logs and reconstruction of windows.  The structure was then reset on piers.

The Navarre Cabin is used by the Center for History to help interpret pioneer settlement in the area.  It is opened by the Center for History during the annual school program, “Cabin Days,” as well as the annual summer program for youth, “Pioneer Days.”  In both of these living history programs, participants learn about frontier life in the 1820-1830s.