HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Hoyle Cabin

Waco, McLennan County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Originally situated on and patented in Rusk County about 1853 to Matilda Holye (later Mrs. Purviance Williams). Built 1858 of hand-hewn and saw-notched native yellow pine logs. After 1880, cabin was owned for many years by family of Eli Benjamin (1845-1911) and Julia Kilgore Snelgrove (1850-1928) and their son John B. and his wife Georgia Ann Waldrop Snelgrove. Purchased 1955, moved to Waco, and restored by Roger N. Conger.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This cabin was raised in 1858 from hand-hewn, saw-notched native yellow pine on land patented in Rusk County to Matilda Hoyle around 1853. After 1880 it long belonged to the Snelgrove family, passing through Eli Benjamin and Julia Kilgore Snelgrove and their son John. In 1955 it was purchased, moved to Waco, and restored by local historian Roger N. Conger.

Why it matters

Hand-built log cabins like this one are the surviving fabric of antebellum pioneer life in East Texas, preserved when later generations recognized their frontier heritage was worth saving.

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Related people

  • ยท Matilda Hoyle
  • ยท Eli Benjamin Snelgrove
  • ยท Julia Kilgore Snelgrove
  • ยท Roger N. Conger

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryHome

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