Carter Log House
Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(originally located 3 miles east of Kirvin) Typical of pioneer dwellings in early Texas, this house was built in 1845 by David L. Carter, from Alabama. He later served in the Confederate Army and helped start Woodland Boys' College. The tongue-and-groove logs were joined with wooden pins. Square nails were used on the rafters. Materials for floor and ceiling were hauled 70 miles by ox-wagon from near Rusk. A huge fireplace stood in each room-- two downstairs, one upstairs. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1845 as Texas was joining the Union, this log house was raised by David L. Carter, an Alabama emigrant, using tongue-and-groove logs pinned with wood and square-nailed rafters — flooring and ceiling materials hauled seventy miles by ox-wagon. Carter later served in the Confederate Army and helped found Woodland Boys' College. Its careful joinery makes it a fine surviving example of pioneer craftsmanship in early Texas.
Why it matters
Hand-hewn dwellings like the Carter house document how ordinary settlers built permanence on the frontier, and how those same families were soon swept into the Civil War.
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Related people
- · David L. Carter
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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