Following the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795, the Ohio territory was opened for settlement. Benjamin, perhaps because of his famous cousin's experience in the area, made an exploratory trip up the Stillwater River into what is now Newton Township. He moved his family to Miami County, acquiring a patent on 160 acres on SE 1/4 Sec. 33-7-5E. Here, in 1804, Benjamin constructed the log house on what is now Brukner Nature Center property. Benjamin and Phoebe lived here with six of their ten children, as Rachel had passed away and Ruth, Talbot & Joseph were married and on their own. Interestingly, Benjamin built his house on the property of his neighbor, Benjamin Pearson and later paid him the sum of $11.62 for an additional four acres upon which his house was built.

Although this sounds strange for modern times, it was not unusual for property lines to be mistaken in the wilderness of 1800 Ohio. Phoebe died in 1818 and in 1822, Benjamin married his widowed neighbor, Ruth Pierce. Benjamin died in 1826, and both he and Ruth are buried in Old Union Cemetery, on Horseshoe Bend Road. Through extensive research, the underlying historical value of the structure itself was realized, not only for its handsome construction but for the significant family history. In 1976, the 1804 Iddings Log House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and a successful restoration was completed in 1981. Through its doors have passed many visitors stepping back in time, from Iddings relatives looking for a link to the past to children too numerous to count making memories to last a lifetime.