What better place to display primitive antiques than a log home?

Of course, David and Janice Cornell were interested in more than display space when they rebuilt two centuries-old log structures side-by-side on their farm in Imperial, Findlay Township.

	Pam Panchak,Post-Gazette The Country Road Bed & Breakfast in Findlay is composed of two old log cabins rebuilt on the site. Click image for larger version.

A retired pilot and lover of all things old, Mr. Cornell found the first cabin in the classifieds in 1993. He spotted the second one a year later from the air, when he was chasing turkey and deer through the valleys aboard his restored 1946 J3Piper Cub.

Both were in terrible condition and required a year or more to reassemble. The couple turned the first log house into the Country Road Bed & Breakfast and rented out the 1860 farmhouse they'd lived in since the mid-1970s.

"It's been wonderful, and so very comfortable," says Mrs. Cornell, who outfitted the rooms with a handsome collection of Early American antiques.

Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette The living room in the bed-and-breakfast opens to a private courtyard. Click photo for larger image.

"It doesn't get any better on a cold winter night than sitting in front of the fire," agrees her husband. "You sit there and look around and imagine people 200 years ago sitting in the same place, trying to keep warm."

However, the Cornells are now at a point where they'd rather spend time with their five children and 13 grandchildren than be married to a business. So they've put the Moody Road residence on the market for $369,900 through Howard Hanna Real Estate Services' West suburban office.

The first cabin, which had been hidden inside an old farmhouse, was little more than a pile of logs when Mr. Cornell purchased it 14 years ago and hauled it home on his hay wagon. Built sometime in the 1800s, the house had no roof or flooring and had lost a set of logs in one wall.

Mr. Cornell had always dreamed of building a log cabin.

	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette A guest bedroom in the log house in Findlay. Click image for larger version.

"So I grabbed it and rebuilt the dang thing," he says, drawing on little more than his imagination as his guide.

Luckily, a friend knew of an old house that was being torn down in Trout Run, Lycoming County, from which they could glean materials. It was the source of the wide-plank pine floors that give the main room so much antique appeal. As for the missing wall, Mr. Cornell built it from scratch using local fieldstone he picked up in the woods and alongside the road.

The second structure, which has two stories, was a tougher sale. After Mr. Cornell spotted it in the woods about 10 miles away in Murdocksville, he tried to find its owner. This despite the fact that its tin roof was rusting and the bottom logs and floor beams had rotted.

When he finally tracked down the owner, he was disappointed to find he wasn't interested in selling. Mr. Cornell, however, felt in his heart that the house should be saved. So every time he ran into the owner, he reiterated his offer.

His persistence paid off: A year later, while the family was eating dinner, the man pulled into the Cornells' driveway and asked if they still wanted it. Mr. Cornell paid him $5,000 the next day and started to take it apart. All the while, his son Andrew would walk around shaking his head, "telling me how crazy I was to fool with that falling-down junk."

Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette The century-old post-and- beam bank barn on the property houses two two-bedroom apartments. Click photo for larger image.

That "junk" turned out to be a piece of history. The house was built around 1796 by Thomas Bigger, a weaver who emigrated with his wife, Elizabeth, from County Antrim in Northern Ireland in 1773. After landing in Chambersburg, Mr. Bigger followed a brother, Samuel, across the Alleghenies to McKeesport. He eventually ended up settling on the eastern bank of Raccoon Creek. Today, the road leading into Murdocksville from the south, along the creek, is still known as Bigger Road.

Removing the giant logs and hauling them -- seven or eight at a time -- to the farm in Imperial was an arduous job. Taking apart the fieldstone chimney and fireplace was even tougher. The stones at the base were so heavy that Mr. Cornell had to use a front-end loader to disassemble them.

Luckily, he had numbered everything before disassembly, so reconstruction was not so difficult.

"It went back up the same way it came down," says Mr. Cornell.

Today, with the restoration complete, the two houses have become one, linked by a large set of double doors inside and a wraparound porch on the outside. Along with three wood-burning stone fireplaces and exposed beam ceilings, this cozy little property includes such period details as a clawfoot tub in the main bath and hand-hewn log mantels on all three fireplaces.

The bed-and-breakfast side has a 19- by 13-foot living room that opens to a private courtyard just large enough for a hot tub. A steep and narrow staircase leads to the loft bedroom, which overlooks the living room. The private first-floor bath has concrete floors and fieldstone walls.

The side where the owners live has an eat-in kitchen with slate-blue beadboard cabinets and tiled countertops. A wooden ladder that originally led to the small cabin's loft now serves as a pot rack above an island with a built-in electric cooktop. A stackable washer and dryer is hidden inside a small closet, and there's also a large pantry behind a set of floor-to-ceiling wood doors.

The adjoining den is a bit smaller than the B&B living room, but just as inviting, thanks to a large fireplace and beamed ceiling. Doors lead to a covered back porch with fieldstone patio and the wraparound porch, which is made from hand-hewn beams ( if you wear heels, watch out for the notch holes).

The second floor holds two bedrooms connected by a Jack-and-Jill bath with vintage fixtures. The master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and overlooks the front yard. The guest bedroom features an open staircase in one corner that leads to a tiny hideaway for the kids.

The 1.5-acre property also includes a century-old, post-and-beam bank barn with two two-bedroom apartments in the space where the Cornells used to raise cows and pigs and a corn crib-turned chicken coop that provides eggs for the B&B's breakfasts. There's also a picturesque pond that's stocked with trout, bass and bluegill and a small greenhouse/pump house for cultivating plants and flowers. Give wide berth to the crotchety old goose that stands guard there.

Mrs. Cornell said the house has less closet and cupboard space than newer homes. But what it lacks in space and modern amenities, it more than makes up for with charm. She would be willing to sell some of the period furnishings along with the house.

The bed-and-breakfast could be a turnkey operation for the right buyer, especially given its location just 10 minutes from the airport. One potential buyer considered renting it out for wedding receptions.

Mrs. Cornell hopes to find understanding buyers who will appreciate the property's history. Her husband's dearest wish is that the new owners would allow his ashes to be spread under the house once he's gone.

"He's put so much of his heart and soul into it," she explained.

For information on 195 Moody Road call Brenda Petkunas of Howard Hanna at 724-774-5590, ext. 223, or go to www.howardhanna.com, MLS No. 659086.