John M. King Log House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out in northwest Travis County, right along Cypress Creek, there stands a log house. Small.

One and a half stories. Quiet now, but it has seen some things. The marker says it could have been built as early as 1859, which means by the time most of the drama in this story unfolds, those logs had already been watching the world go by for a good long while.

When John M. King bought the property from John Robey in 1879, he noted there was already a dwelling on it. So whatever that house had witnessed before King arrived, it wasn't talking.

King himself was a farmer, originally from Alabama, and he and his family made that log house their home. Now, here is where you do a double take. The marker lists King's years as 1816 to 1918.

You read that right. The man was in that house with his family until 1917. After the Kings, the log house passed to a legislative lobbyist named Jack Dies, who died in 1942.

And if those old cypress-creek logs could lean in and whisper, they'd have plenty to say, because Dies entertained many a Texas politician under that roof. A farmer from Alabama, a lobbyist with powerful friends, and a one-and-a-half-story log house that may well have been standing before the Civil War. Some places just have a way of collecting stories.

This one on Cypress Creek is no exception.

What the marker says

This small one and one-half story log house on Cypress Creek in northwest Travis County could have been built as early as 1859. John M. King bought the property from John Robey in 1879 and indicated there was a dwelling on it at that time. King (1816-1918), a farmer from Alabama, and his family occupied the home until 1917. The log house later was purchased by legislative lobbyist Jack Dies (d. 1942), who entertained many Texas politicians here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984