About Us
It is believed that the Walker-Ewing Log House located at 1355 Noblestown Road, in
Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, dates back to c. 1762-1790. In
October, 1973, Mrs. Jane Ewing Rovensky Grace, a descendant of the original owners
of the Walker-Ewing Log House, and her husband, Robert Grace, gifted the Log House
and the property on which it is situated to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks
Foundation (PHLF). 
In April, 1975, Mr. & Mrs. Grace gifted a contiguous piece of property to the PHLF.
On January 30, 1976, the Log House was listed on the U. S. National Register of Historic
Places. On August 5, 1998, Mr. and Mrs. Grace purchased back the property (both parcels)
from the PHLF.
The Pioneers West Historical Society was founded in 1997 and had as its primary purpose
to assist in the preservation of the Walker-Ewing Log House; to detail its history
and to work with other similar organizations to help educate the public as to the
pioneer frontier settling of Western Pennsylvania. On October 14, 1998, the Graces
gifted the property to the Pioneers West Historical Society.
The Society was organized as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and is classified
by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt private operating foundation.
Due to a dwindling number of active members, who over the years, contributed a mixture
of love, labor and money for the Log House, the organization came to a crossroad
as to its continuation.
On August 13, 2020, ownership of the Log House and property was transferred to the
Allegheny Land Trust, a non-profit conservation organization which owns or holds
conservation easements on more than 2,700 acres of land in Allegheny and Washington
counties. In addition, and at the same time, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
became a holder of a Building Preservation and Conservation Easement on the Log House.
This Easement, granted by the Trust, in perpetuity, is to help ensure that the architectural,
historic and cultural features of the property and building will be retained substantially
in their current or better condition for conservation and preservation purposes and
to prevent any use or change of the property and building that will impair or interfere
with the property and building.
This transfer was a joint effort, over more than twelve months, of many parties,
including representatives of Allegheny-Collier, LLC (owners of adjacent property)
and the board and staff members of the Pioneers West Historical Society, Allegheny
Land Trust and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
