Nathan Poyner's son Thomas purchased 200 acres of land on this site in 1851 for $102. He purchased another 160 acres for $228 the following year. Horatio Sanford, a land speculator who had purchased the land from the government a short time before using land warrants, made both sales.

The Poyners were originally from North Carolina but had lived in Linn County before moving up the Cedar River to this site. Nathan Poyner, who was a Baptist minister, built a cabin near the spot where the Davenport-Cedar Rapids trail crossed a small creek. Here he worked a farm and continued his calling as a preacher. He became well known and respected in this rural area, which was organized as Poyner Township in his honor.

Mrs. Poyner died in 1853. She is buried in the nearby Poyner Cemetery, located on the original farmsite.

It was not discovered until the 1960s that the house on this site is Poyner's original log cabin. Its walls were lathed and plastered on the inside and sided on the outside. The present owners discovered the house's secret when they decided to build on an addition. It still remains a private residence.

Another Poyner son, James, moved to Black Hawk County from Linn County in 1856. He purchased land southeast of Gilbertville along Indian Creek, about four miles from his father's. James Poyner and his family lived in a cabin here until 1860, when the present stone house was built.