ORR CABIN HOMEPLACE, early 1800s - 2003
The former Orr Cabin Homeplace on Etowah School Road & Misty Meadow Lane was built by John and Jane Clayton Orr sometime in the early 1800s (year unknown). The family moved here from another part of what was then southern Henderson County . . . now Transylvania County, established 1861.
In 2003, after careful consideration by the property owner, it was determined that the old cabin, the original John Orr home, was unable to be rehabilitated for historic preservation. The cabin was sold to a salvage company from West Virginia. They disassembled the structure for cleaning and refurbishing of the logs in order to build another structure at a private island off the coast of South Carolina. |
The following account is courtesy of Henderson County historian and writer Tom Orr.
Highlights of Deed History of Property
compiled by Glen Davis
compiled by Glen Davis
7 January 1800
John Orr (1775 - 1849) marries Jane Clayton (1783 - 1873) They live in the Little River / Davidson River area for an unknown period, then move and build a homeplace. They raise 15 children there, adding a second cabin in a back-to-back configuration with the first one. 1852 Sold to Jason, Joshua & Gideon Orr, added to larger tract 1862 Owned solely by Jason Orr. 1908 Division of Jason Orr estate, conveyed to Jason Stepp & Cora Guice |
1908 Sold to George W. Weese one month later.
1950 Sold to Carl & Nannie Cantrell . . . . additional owners, 2nd cabin built from old cabins of Cascade Lake, a foreclosure, a public sale on courthouse steps , more owners . . . 1999 Sold to Glen & Jeanine Davis 2003 After unsuccessful efforts to pursue historic preservation, the 1800s John Orr Cabin was sold and disassembled by a salvage company for re-use in a hunting cabin on a private island off the coast of South Carolina. |
" Orr Cabin Homeplace "
Orr, Weese, Cantrell
by Patricia Bell Cantrell
Orr, Weese, Cantrell
by Patricia Bell Cantrell
About the Cabin
by Glen Davis, the last owner The old log house was one of the charms of the place for us. It was a big place, the main section made up of the two cabins was a little over 20 feet wide and 45 feet long and had two stories. The logs were hand-hewn and squared and about 5 inches thick. The corners of the logs were joined with chamfer-and-notched joints. The cabin was oriented North-South, with the main entrance and the front porch facing East. The first floor of the bigger cabin - probably the older of the two was about 7 feet high and consisted of a single room about 20 feet by 25 feet. The north end of this room had a massive double-sided stone fireplace about 10 feet wide and 7 feet thick, with an opening of about 8 feet wide and 5 feet high.. There were doors through both the eastern and western walls and windows in the eastern and western walls. There was a stairs along the western wall to the second floor. The second floor had a very steep peak that rose about 15 feet from the floor in the center and the side walls continued above the floor to about 6 feet. It was very roomy and unusual for that time. There was a double window in the southern wall of the peak. The entire eastern side of the structure had a porch about 8 feet wide along its’ length. The western door accessed a room that may have been a porch at one time, but was now walled in, that now ran down the entire western side and had a brick chimney for a cook stove. It made up a kitchen, dining room and a bath. There were windows in the western wall of this additional and also a door to the outside. There was a door on the second floor through the wall that allowed access to the area above this part that was used for storage. The second cabin, about 25 feet wide and 13-14 feet long was attached to the north side of the first cabin. It also had a massive fireplace on the first floor that shared flues with the other and was part of the same huge pile of stone and mortar. You accessed this cabin by a door from the kitchen (west) side or a door from the porch on the eastern side. There was a storeroom snuggled in-between the walls of these two cabins on the west side of the fireplace and had a door into the kitchen. There was a third door on the eastern side, and this lead to a stairway built over the shoulder of the fireplace up to the second floor of the second cabin. This stairway was the only access to the upstairs room. This room was floored with 14-18 inch wide heart-pine boards no less than 1 ½ inches thick. There was a window in the north wall of the roof peak. Strangely, the upstairs rooms above both cabins were walled off from one another and there was no evidence that they ever were connected, although that would have been easily done on the west side, where a floor could have been placed over the little storeroom along the side of the fireplace. |
Photos courtesy of Glen Davis, unless otherwise noted