Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Houstonian: Students help move and reconstruct oldest log cabin in Walker County

From the Houstonian:
Back in the 1840s, the thought of moving was a big ordeal. Moving your home also? Impossible.

This past year, some dedicated people have moved the oldest known log cabin in Walker County. With some help of history students, and under the guidance and coordination of Caroline Crimm, history professor at SHSU, the Farris-Roberts log cabin was moved 15 miles from where it was located.

During July, about 33 SHSU senior and seven master history students, helped deconstruct the two-room cabin. They mainly removed the roof and some attachments so the structure could be easily moved.

Allen Roberts built the cabin in 1840 or 1841, and before being moved to downtown, it was located on the Farris family property west of Huntsville. The cabin remained in the Farris family for six generations, until it was donated to the city in 2001.

The Farris family had offered to donate the cabin 17 years ago, but apparently some local citizens interested in historical preservation were concerned that moving the structure would damage the cabin and would be lost to deterioration and neglect, Lewis said. The family had also offered $1,000 toward moving and restoring the structure at the time.

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