HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

"Dog Run" Log Cabin

Liberty Hill, Williamson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Built 1851 by Wm. Williams, settler from Arkansas. Owned 1901-1956 by family of A. Buck, also from Arkansas. Wood -- cypress, oak, cedar -- and stone were cut by hand; logs are joined by wooden pegs. Solidly built rooms are separated by a "dog run." Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

William Williams, a settler from Arkansas, raised this cabin in 1851 from hand-cut cypress, oak, cedar, and stone, joining the logs with wooden pegs. Its two solid rooms are separated by an open central passage—the classic 'dog run' or dogtrot that let Texas breezes cool a frontier home. An Arkansas family named Buck owned it for more than half a century, and it was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1968.

Why it matters

The dogtrot log cabin is one of the signature folk house forms of the American frontier, a practical design that spread across the settling South and West.

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Related people

  • · William Williams

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryHome

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