Dotey-Kirkham House (Little Old House)

Duane's take

Here's the official marker's account of it, the way I heard it told. Now, somewhere in Johnson County, there's a little house that's been holding its ground since the days when Cleburne was barely finding its footing. They call it the Dotey-Kirkham House, though some folks know it simply as the Little Old House, and honestly, that name fits just fine.

Believed to have been built in the late 1860s or early 1870s, right around the time Cleburne was getting established, this single-story, white clapboard southern colonial cottage sits within what the marker calls 'water-totin' distance of City Spring on West Buffalo Creek. Now think about that for a second. Not a stroll, not a walk; water-totin' distance.

The kind of distance where you could haul a bucket back before your arms gave out. That kind of close. The original owner was Martha Elizabeth Featherston Dotey, known to everyone around her as Aunt Pat, and she wasn't just anybody.

She was the sister of W. B. Featherston, a prominent Cleburne educator who lived from 1817 to 1878.

So this little cottage had pedigree from the very start. Then, in 1912, the T. P.

Kirkham family acquired the house and held onto it all the way until 1965; more than fifty years in the same family's hands. Mr. Kirkham, it turns out, was a hatter, and he added a rock structure behind the house to use in that trade.

A hatter's workshop, built in stone, tucked behind a white clapboard cottage next to a creek spring. Some houses hold history. This one held hats.

What the marker says

Believed to have been built in the late 1860s or early 1870s, soon after Cleburne was established, the house is within “water-totin” distance of what became known as City Spring on West Buffalo Creek. This single-story, white clapboard southern colonial cottage was originally the home of Martha Elizabeth Featherston (Aunt Pat) Dotey, sister of prominent Cleburne educator W. B. Featherston (1817-1878). The T.P. Kirkham family acquired the house in 1912 and retained it until 1965. Mr. Kirkham added the rock structure behind the house for use in his business as a hatter. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965