Crane Family Cabin
Conroe, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Nickolas Crane (b. 1830) came to Texas from Alabama, 1848, and in 1850s married Mary Ann Havard. A Confederate veteran of the Civil War, he built this large cabin on the Angelina County land claim that he occupied in 1867. Walls were of pine logs split and hand-adzed to give smooth finish to the interior. Cabin had a stick-mud-and-moss chimney; a cypress board roof. Kitchen was detached. Carroll and Mae Tharp moved and restored the cabin in the 1970s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Nickolas Crane came to Texas from Alabama in 1848 and, after Confederate service in the Civil War, built this large cabin in 1867 on his land claim, hand-adzing split pine logs smooth on the interior and topping it with a cypress-board roof. The Tharp family moved and restored the cabin in the 1970s, preserving a rare example of post-war frontier homebuilding.
Why it matters
Hand-hewn cabins like Crane's document the everyday craft and hardship of settling the Texas backcountry in the years just after the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Nickolas Crane
- · Mary Ann Havard
Themes & tags
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