Jesse Elvis Hendricks Log Cabin

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Jesse Elvis Hendricks Log Cabin, out in Grayson County. Now, a log cabin has a way of holding onto its stories. The wood remembers.

And this one here has been holding on for a good long while. Jesse Elvis Hendricks was born in Missouri, in 1837. He came to Grayson County in 1846, which means he arrived as a boy, and Texas had a way of keeping the people who came to her young.

He put down roots, and those roots held. Then, in 1863 and into 1864, Jesse built himself a log home. Five miles southeast of where you're standing right now.

One room. A loft above. That was it.

Just enough walls to keep the wind honest and enough roof to argue with the rain. But life, as it tends to do, grew fuller. Jesse and his wife, Susan Matilda, who came from the Dumas family, kept adding to their household.

And around 1870, after the birth of their fourth child, the one-room cabin with a loft just wasn't going to cut it anymore. So Jesse and Susan Matilda added more rooms. The cabin stretched and breathed and became something bigger.

Now here's the part that I think is worth savoring. This cabin, built five miles away, was moved to this very site and restored in 1978. Somebody looked at those old logs and decided they were worth the trouble of saving.

Worth the hauling. Worth the work. Jesse Elvis Hendricks was born in 1837 and died in 1920.

His cabin is still standing. I'd say the cabin won.

What the marker says

A native of Missouri, Jesse Elvis Hendricks (1837-1920) came to Grayson County in 1846. In 1863-64, he built this log home five miles southeast of this site. It was originally a one-room cabin with a loft, but Hendricks and his wife, Susan Matilda (Dumas), added more rooms about 1870 after the birth of their fourth child. The Hendricks' log cabin was moved to this site and restored in 1978. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983