Mark Bowe's future rests on the 200-year-old log cabins that sometimes look uninhabitable when he first finds them on Appalachia's back roads.

By the time Mark and his father, Larry, finish working on the cabins, the structures are in demand by collectors who want the antiques to hold their antiques.

"Our buyers aren't interested in new structures," said Mark, 28, of Belle. "Most of them want the cabins for a bed and breakfast or for a weekend retreat."

The Bowes restore and sell between 25 and 30 cabins a year from their Country Settings production center in Covington, Va. The cabins cost buyers an average of $5,000 to $10,000 a piece.

Mark spends most of his days driving the back roads of a five state region. He looks for cabins that are between 150 and 200 years old, preferably with most beams intact.

If he spies a cabin that looks promising, he goes in search of the owner. If a deal can be struck, the Bowes bring in a crane to remove the logs and load them onto a truck.

In Covington, Mark and Larry assemble the cabins once more, re-notching the boards and replacing diseased logs with healthy spares that they have salvaged from other cabins. Then they look for a buyer.

The job is a career for Mark, who quit his position as a human resource manager for the A.T. Massey Coal Co. It's a hobby for Larry, who is still working full time for A.T. Massey in Covington.

Both men said the business wouldn't be possible without the other. The father and son described each other as workaholics.

The two started their project in 1994 after they had bought 100 acres of land in Fayette County overlooking the Gauley River. They bought three cabins, hoping to restore them on that spot.

They soon learned, though, that the cost of building roads and a water system would negate their plan to turn their land into a sleepover spot for river rafters, mountain bikers and rock climbers.

To view photos of the antique cabins and browse the current inventory (the cabins are for sale) please visit the Country Settings Web site. Telephone: 888-941-9553.

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