CAVE SPRING — A handful of Berry College students visited the newly discovered log cabin in Cave Spring on Thursday, intent on determining the age of the structure.

“I am not completely used to American culture and food but coming to the cabin and working with something this old is exciting,” stated Kartee Johnson, a student from Liberia.

The cabin, believed to have been made by Cherokee Indians, has caught the attention of the students, who working to determine when the cabin was built.

“Our goal is to use data to help with the dating in the logs the cabin is made of and find out when the cabin was made,” said Martin Cipollini, a biology professor at Berry College.

Berry College students who are involved with the college’s longleaf pine and American chestnut projects visited the cabin to begin their study and dating process.

“The cabin is amazing. It’s kind of hard to believe. You would definitely have to see it to believe it, I’m just baffled,” said Alicia Wade.

Cipollini believes the log cabin is made from longleaf pine because the tree is native to Cave Spring.

“I think this is just awesome,” he said. “It’s a great find and most of it looks authentic. It really caught my interest and the fact that it may be made of longleaf pine makes it so much cooler.”

Although the cabin is said to have been built in the 1830s, the students plan to study it and try to get the exact date it was built.

Dianna Edwards Haney, a member of the historical cabin committee of Cave Spring, said the students will use a process called den-

drochronology, which is based on patterns of tree rings, to date the cabin’s age.

The cabin is attached to the old Green Hotel. Crews with Paul Davis Restoration are planning to restore the cabin and maybe even move it to a different location.

“Plans are still under consideration, but we know they would involve the city of Cave Spring and likely Floyd County officials,” said Haney.

Chelsea Latta, a senior at Model High School, is an intern with the Rome News-Tribune.