The Active Historian

Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to tell you about the mid-nineteenth century log cabin I found in downtown Dallas, Texas. This log cabin is literally in the heart of the downtown historic district and was such a neat surprise. Let’s get started!

History

“Log Cabin Pioneers of Dallas County”

“Most colonists first settled in this “Three Forks” area of the Trinity River as members of the Peters Colony after 1841. Immigrants from such states as Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee brought with them a tradition of building log shelters.

Land title was granted to the settlers who worked at least 15 acres and built “a good and comfortable cabin upon it.” This region was abundant in oak, juniper (popularly called cedar), walnut, ash, bois d’arc, and elm trees, which furnished sturdy building timbers.

John Neely Bryan, a colonist from Tennessee, arrived near this site in late 1841 and built a log cabin in 1842. The area’s first school and church was built of logs at Farmer’s Branch (12 Mi. NW) in 1845. J.W. Smith and J.M. Patterson brought goods from Shreveport (184 Mi. E) in 1846 for resale at their log store in Dallas.

Milled lumber appeared in Dallas buildings by 1849, and bricks were available by 1860. That year a fire destroyed most of the town’s original log cabins.

The nearby log cabin was built out of cedar logs before 1850, possibly by Kentuckian Guide Pemberton. It was moved from its original site (7.5 Mi. E) in 1926 and rebuilt at several locations, including Bryan’s designated courthouse site (1 Blk. SW) in 1936, and this block in 1971.”

Photos

Dallas County Historical Marker

The plaque transcription reads:

“Dallas County”

“The unincorporated town of Dallas was designed as a Post Office by the Republic of Texas in 1845. The County of Dallas was created by the first legislature of Texas on March 30, 1846 from portions of Robertson and Nacogdoches counties. Both city and county were named in honor of George Mifflin Dallas. 1792-1864. Pennsylvania Democratic Stateman who was elected the eleventh Vice-President of the United States on a platform favoring Texas Annexation.”

Concluding Thoughts

I loved seeing this historic log cabin the middle of a bustling city. Seeing the skyscrapers mere blocks away just goes to prove that history is still present among modern day luxuries.

I hope you’ll make a point to visit the cool historic buildings next time you’re traveling.

I’ll talk to ya soon! 🙂

Visit

100-198 N Record St,

Dallas, TX 75202

Sources

Text from the historic marker by the cabin.

Texas Historical Commission – Website.