Cabins & Candlelight LLC
7295 N 1100 E
Colfax, IN 46035
Phone: 1-800-864-6717
or 765-436-2133
E-mail:
info@cabinsandcandlelight.com
About Cabins & Candlelight and your hosts, Chuck and Rhonda Smith
The conceptThe initial idea for Cabins & Candlelight originated in 1998 when we first started searching for property on which to build a home. Living in Indianapolis at the time, we quickly discovered that any property in central Indiana that had natural beauty and character was being consumed for subdivision development or private estates.
We figured there had to be others like us who would enjoy getting away to a peaceful natural setting occasionally, and tried to think of a way we could both preserve a small slice of nature for ourselves and allow others to enjoy it as well. That thought, paired with our fondness for log cabins, eventually evolved into Cabins & Candlelight.
Finding the right property and the financial backing took three more years so it wasn't until October 2001 that construction started on the cabins. With the support of The Farmers Bank in Frankfort, our first cabin opened Memorial Day 2002 and the second cabin opened in November 2002.
The cabins
The cabins are built with Indiana native poplar logs. Three semi loads of raw logs were trucked in, complete with bark. The logs were then cut on-site with a portable saw mill, and de-barked. We designed the cabins ourselves, but enlisted a general contractor to help build them. We did, however, complete a good share of the work ourselves, including all of the interior and exterior finish work, running water and power lines to the cabins, etc.Your hosts
Chuck is a 1986 civil engineering graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. After graduation, he worked as a project manager for Mobil Oil Corporation for several years in southern California. He later helped create BBC Environmental, a soil and groundwater sampling company, before eventually returning to his home state of Indiana. After the cabins were completed, he started running a home inspection business. He recently sold this business since the cabins have been demanding more of his time, but he still continues to offer radon testing for home buyers.
Rhonda graduated from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in 1987 with a degree in journalism/public relations. She worked as the director of communications for Special Olympics Indiana from graduation until 2001, when we moved to the country with our two children, Sheraya, now 9, and Braden, 7.
Current photos of the cabins