Log Home Restoration in Marianna, FL

Log Homes in Marianna and Jackson County

Jackson County was created in 1822 — one of Florida's first counties — and Marianna was founded in 1827. The families who came down from Georgia and Alabama around 1820 "built crude log cabins and cleared fields," as local historian Dale Cox puts it. By 1920, millions of board feet of lumber and thousands of barrels of turpentine and rosin had been shipped out of the county.

Some of the region's early log homes survive. The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement in nearby Blountstown has gathered historic buildings from around the area, including the Chason Cabin (1820s), built of hewn logs with dovetailed corners; the Sexton Cabin (about 1872), of round pine logs with saddle-notched corners; the Bailey Log Home (about 1860); and the Yon House (1897), a double-pen dogtrot. It's open to visitors and well worth the trip.

What Marianna's Climate Does to a Log Home

• Two wet seasons. Marianna averages about 51 inches of rain a year, spread through the year. The Panhandle gets winter rain from cold fronts as well as summer thunderstorms, so March here is nearly as wet as July.
• Hot summers, real winters. About 100 days a year reach 90°F, and about 22 nights a year drop to freezing — among the most in Florida.
• Hurricane Michael. In October 2018 Michael came ashore near Tyndall Air Force Base as a Category 5 — the strongest hurricane on record to hit the Panhandle — and drove inland through Jackson County. Marianna's airport recorded a 102 mph gust; about 400 buildings in the county were destroyed and 600 more badly damaged, and timber losses across the region topped $1 billion. On the coast, nearly 1,000 structures were destroyed in Gulf County.
• Termites. Native subterranean termites are active statewide, and Formosan termites have been found along the western Panhandle coast since at least 2016.

What That Means for Your Log Home

With rain in every season and more freezes than the rest of the state, open checks and failed chinking are where Panhandle log homes get hurt: water gets in, freezes, and widens the gap. Keep chinking and caulking tight, keep a healthy stain on the logs, and don't let the bottom courses stay wet. The annual routine is a gentle log wash (never a pressure washer) and a UV protective coat every third year. After a storm like Michael, a structural check of the logs, corners and roof line matters as much as the cosmetic repairs. Our recent Port St. Joe job, an elevated coastal home with rot and insect damage in the lower courses, is shown below.

Related services: Chinking & Caulking · Log Rot Repair · Inspections

Climate figures: NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Marianna Municipal Airport. Storm details: National Hurricane Center, NWS Tallahassee. History: Jackson County Chamber / mariannaonline.com; Panhandle Pioneer Settlement.