Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Grayson County Frontier Village

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Guess what I got to do today? Well maybe don't guess because I'm sure by the pic above you can see.

Let's just say that I was totally in my environment this afternoon. It's not the first and I'm sure it won't be the last time that I talk about my love for Pioneer days so when I found out that just a few minutes from where we are stood the Grayson County Frontier Village, there was no way I was going to let this vacation end without visiting.

Take a walk back in time to the days when pioneer Grayson County residents used hand tools to shape logs notched together at the corners to form one-room cabins, some with lofts for added space to house families of six or more.

I have a lot of photos on my flickr album, so I won't post them all here but I still wanted to share some on the blog and also tell you a little about each house we visited.


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Thompson House

Judge James George Thompson came to Grayson County in 1830 and was the first county judge. He built this home at the tip of Preston Penninsula and it was moved to the Frontier Village in 1990.

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Hendricks House

Jessie Elvis Hendricks migrated to Texas in 1845 and built the log cabin section of this house on land northeast of Sherman near the old Shannon Church.

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Bradley/Bodkin Cabin

Thomas Bradley built this cabin around 1842 after coming to Sherman with his parents in 1838. He married twice and reared 14 children in this one-room cabin.

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Evans Carpenter Cabin

Built around 1857 by R.J. Evans in the Cherry Mound Community. J.C. Carpenter bought the cabin about 1900 and added three additional rooms.

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Country Store

A replica of a typical pioneer Texas business, it contains original equipment and other artifacts of the late 1800s.

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Weaver Wagon

In 1934 two young Sherman women and their mother traveled to Colorado in this tin-covered wageon, enduring hardships similar to that of pioneers who came to Grayson County. Winnie their cow made all three trips for a total of about 4000 miles.

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Fitzgerald House

Constructed by George S. Fitzgerald in 1866 on his 800 acre farm on Red River. All of the framing is hand-hewn logs fastened together with wooden pegs in the absence of nails.

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Bullock/Bass House

Randolph Bullock built this house in 1850 and is said to have the first glass windows in Grayson County. It was later sold to Col. T.C. Bass. His daughter, Miss Nettie Bass, was born in the house, lived there 97 years and died in the house.

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Cold Springs School

The Holder family emigrated to Texas in the mid 1840s and built this school house. Miss Maud Mangum, the first teacher, slept in the loft and ate with the families of the pupils.

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Sophia's Cabin

When Sophia Augenbaugh Coffee Butt Porter came to Grayson County in the late 1830s with her second husband Holland Coffee, they lived in a one-room clapboard cabin.

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Barber Shop/Dentist Office

An early day barber shop and dentist office with a display of furniture and instruments used in their profession in the late 1800s.

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Newspaper Office and Saddle Shop

A replica of a newspaper office on one side and tack room on the other.

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Lankford Home

William T. Lankford, one of the first five Commissioners of Grayson County, built this house in 1847 on his 1800 acre land grant east of Denison. He hauled the lumber by ox-freight from Jefferson, TX.
The ceiling was removed to make coffins during the cholera epidemic in the 1870s. The home was in the Lankford family for 124 years.

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Country Church

This replica of an early Texas church is fully equipped with pews, organs, kneeling bench and pulpit.

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Price/Shaw Cabin

This Texas Dogtrot cabin was built about 1860 by Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Price.

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Davis/Ansley Cabin

This cabin was built about 1838 by Micajah C. Davis, one of the original founders of Grayson County. Rev. Sumner Bacon formed the Pilot Knob Presbyterian Church in the cabin in 1842, Davis served as the first elder.

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Smokehouse

Early day tools and other equipment are stored in this replica of an early Texas smokehouse where meat, usually pork, was smoked or packed in salt for preservation.

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I had such a blast and I can't wait to sit down and learn a bit more about the families that lived in these homes and what their lives were like in the 1800s. Hope you enjoyed it too.

I'll have more fun stuff for you, I'm so glad I'm able to take you on this trip with me.

14 comments:

my home sanctuary said...

Great photo's enjoy your trip to the great state of Texas.
I had lost you and just found you again nice to be back. I am going to write a Homemaker Monday late post. I hope you have a fun safe trip. Can't wait to see where you end up.
Blessings,
Sherry

skywind said...

Oh, very tranquil and delightful homeland. :)
Health information & Humor & Fun World

Mari said...

What a fun thing to visit. It's something my family would love. Did Jasmine and Nicholas enjoy it?

Bonnie said...

oh my goodness Sandra, i can only imagine how much you loved visiting this place !! it looks soooo cool ! one day, i would like to visit it too ... or someplace like it !! can't wait to see what else you have been up to ...

Jen said...

I loved this. Can you imagine having 14 kids in a one room cabin...no privacy is all I have to say....or even traveling that far with a cow...4000 miles...it probably took months. Gatlinburg has something like this too...its really cool to look back on those days...we are very lucky.

threesidesofcrazy said...

Looks like you're having a great trip. This Texas girl knows though you are going to run out of time before you see all there is to see in Texas!

Jen said...

I loooooved that tour! When I have more time I'll study the pictures to see every detail in them. Thank you for sharing these.

Wendi said...

How I love to visit these little villages! It is great to walk through homes of the past and see all of the goodies that I read about in books. So glad that you are having a wonderful vacation!

Unknown said...

What a fun vacation your having!! Life was much simpler then. It looks like such an interesting place. I love to learn about our history. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Cool pictures. Very interesting indeed.

Glad you're really enjoying yourselves and having lots of fun!

Hugs n' love.

Unknown said...

That's a lot to take in! I especially like your interior shot of the Bradley cabin. You take some great photos, girl.

Anna said...

Love those old houses. Wish I had one in good shape to live in....with all the old fashioned furnature, etc.
Thanks for sharing the cool pictures!

Anonymous said...

Oh My Gosh, Sandra1 These photos are wonderful. I would love to be able to tour around there with you. I am in awe of it all. Thanks for sharing, Debbi

Frontier Village said...

Good morning! This is Charla Harris, the new President of the Board of Directors for Grayson County Frontier Village. I loved your article and we would love to have you visit us for the next Civil War Days. Schools and home schoolers are invited to attend on Friday, March 2nd, 2018. The cost is just $1 each to join us. Please pass the word along to any home schoolers that you know and thank you again for your kind words.