The Neal Log House (renamed Neill Log House in 1970) is a historic log cabin built in 1765 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Neal Log House is the oldest existing residential structure in Pittsburgh and one of the last few buildings left from the eighteenth century. The two other buildings - the Old Stone Inn, 1756 (not confirmed) and The Fort Pitt Block House, 1764 are not residential structures. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation placed a Historic Landmark Plaque on the building in 1970. In 1977, it was named a City of Pittsburgh Designated Historic Structure. It is part of Schenley Park U.S. Historic District The house was originally called the "Neal Log House" which is the predominant spelling of the family’s name. However in various documents the last name was spelled Neil and on one document Neill. In 1969 Charles Covert Arensberg wrote a paper entitled "The spelling of Robert Neill who built the Neill Log House in Schenley Park". It is now known that Arensberg made several erroneous assumptions about the spelling of the last name. Unfortunately the 1969 paper was used to submit to the city to change the name from "Neal" to "Neill" in spite of the fact the most common spelling of the family’s name was "Neal". [6]. History The building was constructed around 1765 and it is uncertain if the first occupant of the Neal Log House was a man named Ambrose Newton, a soldier at Fort Pitt, who laid claim to 262 acres in what is now Schenley Park, or if it was Robert Neal for whom the house is named. It is known as the "Neill (Neal) Log House" after the family who lived in it from about 1765/1770 to 1795 - Robert Neal, his wife Elizabeth (Irwin) Neal, their son John and their five daughters, Nancy; Mary, Elizabeth, Jean and Martha. There was also possibly a second son. Robert was the son of John and Margaret Neal who emigrated from Ulster Ireland. On June 8th 1738, John and Margaret Neal purchased 200 acres of land in Paxtang Township, Lancaster County Pennsylvania (now Dauphin County) near Harrisburg Pennsylvania, for “fifteen pounds and ten shillings for each hundred acres” which they called “Neal’s Garden”. They had 8 children, William, Margaret, Robert, John, James, Jean, Eleanor, and Agnes (Nancy). William and John Neal were surveyors and farmers who purchased land and developed homesteads in