//
Photo: Pubdog (talk), Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Quite the misnomer: no hardscrabble log dwelling, this turreted, three-story Queen Anne beauty was built in 1895 for Simeon Robbins, a local resident who struck it rich during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon, hence its name. It's been restored by the Ischua Valley Historical Society to its original appearance — the first floor is fully furnished with antique furniture, while the upper floors are given over to historical exhibits concerning the history of the local high school, Ten Broeck Academy; the Ontario Knife Company (the oldest extant one in the country, headquartered in Franklinville since 1889), and archived newspaper articles and other historic documents.
Simeon B. Robbins House, or The Miner's Cabin, is a historic home located at Franklinville in Cattaraugus County, New York. It is a three-story, Queen Anne style wood frame dwelling built in 1895. The building features three towers. It is currently used as a museum and meeting space by the Ischua Valley Historical Society.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
This beautifully-preserved nucleus of downtown Franklinville was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Around a quaint, brick-paved central square, where Main, Chestnut, Pine, and Elm Streets meet, you'll see an arrangement of historic commercial and municipal buildings in a variety of 19th- and early 20th-century architectural styles such as Queen Anne, Italianate, and Neoclassical. In the middle of it all is the verdant village green, where events are frequently held.
To call Skateland an old-fashioned roller rink would be to sell it short: this Franklinville perennial on the cusp of its fourth decade of existence is a youth hangout of a multifaceted bent. Not only roller skating but also laser tag, a video arcade, inline hockey, and (in the summer) outdoor batting cages and a go-kart track are on offer. And on Friday and Saturday nights, the skating hall becomes Passions, Cattaraugus County's only teen dance club.
The Howe-Prescott House is one of the oldest extant buildings in the area: it was erected circa 1814 by a family of prominent abolitionists (a movement that was extraordinarily strong in the hamlet of Cadiz, just a short distance south of Franklinville village center) and served as a station on the Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War. Under the ownership of the Ischua Valley Historical Society, nowadays it's done up as a pioneer homestead, with exhibits and demonstrations illustrating life in the very earliest days of white settlement in Western New York.
Far from the hoity-toity, members-only affair you usually think of when you hear "country club", at Ischua Valley everything's friendly, down-to-earth, and open to the public. Bisected by the lovely Ischua Creek, the club's 9-hole, par-36 golf course becomes 18 holes and par 72 when you realize that each hole has two different sets of tees — play through twice for a different scenario each time! If golf isn't your game, Ischua Valley has also got a bowling alley, and if you're hungry, the fish fry at the onsite restaurant is renowned.
Located on the first floor of the Old Stone House in Machias, this museum contains a wealth of historic photographs and artifacts covering daily life in pioneer days, the contributions of local residents to the Civil War and the two World Wars, and the history of the Cattaraugus County Fair. A range of special events and temporary exhibits appear frequently on the programming schedule, and there's an onsite research library for those who want to dig a bit deeper.