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Early Republic

Orrin L. Winters Cabin

Moulton, Lavaca County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Originally a two-room cabin, built about 1853 near the Lavaca River (2 miles northeast) by Orin L. Winters (1811-1902), a native of Tennessee. He lived in the structure until 1873. About 1902, the oak log cabin was torn down by Adam Schutz, and used to construct a barn and a blacksmith shop. The blacksmith shop later burned, and in 1973, the barn was dismantled, moved here, and restored as a cabin, to represent the pioneer heritage of Lavaca County. Incise on back: Donors: Building - The Adolph Petrek family Restoration and fence - William W. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Alton C. Allen, Wilbur H. Baber, Jr. Marker - Descendants of Winters Family Site - City of Moulton Restoration contractor - Newton Peschel Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

About 1853, Tennessee native Orin L. Winters built a two-room oak log cabin near the Lavaca River and lived in it for two decades. After it was dismantled around 1902, its timbers were reused for a barn and a blacksmith shop, and in 1973 the surviving barn was taken down, moved, and rebuilt as a cabin to honor Lavaca County's pioneer heritage. Community donors and Winters descendants funded the restoration, recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1974.

Why it matters

Humble log dwellings like this one are the tangible remnants of the first generation of Anglo settlers who broke ground in mid-19th-century Texas.

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Related people

  • · Orin L. Winters
  • · Adam Schutz

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