The Darby Cabin

An original pioneer log cabin, built in our part of Tennessee some time during the early or mid-1800s.

 

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bailey donated the Darby Cabin to Horse Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in 2004.  Reassembling the cabin required several months and was completed in 2006.

 

The cabin is called "The Darby Cabin," because the Darby family were its first residents to be recorded by any local history. Many families lived in the cabin over the years in its location, southeast of what is now the Cypress Inn community in southern Wayne County. In 1898, this piece of history and its surrounding land was sold to the Bailey family (Jasper and Martha Bailey). It has been handed down through the generations to Bailey family descendants, and we are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bailey, who donated the cabin to us.

The cabin, as you might imagine, was not picture perfect. Some small parts of it were too deteriorated to save, and the chimney was completely gone. But most of the structure did remain in good shape. It was meticulously labeled and disassembled and brought here to Horse Creek, where it was carefully reassembled. It has a new roof and a few new boards here and there, but it looks very much like it would have looked in the 1800s when it was home to early settlers in this area. It is a reminder for us that, not so long ago, this area was a wilderness that required strong people to create lives here.

 


We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bailey for The Darby Cabin. They, as we, value the importance of cherishing our history. When you enter the Darby cabin, you are immediately aware of the many, many years of family life that centered in this small space. How many children were born here? (Those who should know tell us that three sets of twins were born in the Darby Cabin!) How many families worked hard in tough times to settle this country and make a better world for all of us?

Darby Cabin, welcome to Horse Creek. We will treat you with the respect and dignity you deserve. 

Mr. Roy Bailey and his aunt, Mrs. Ida Bailey McClanahan, are sitting in the doorway of the Darby cabin in its original location.

 

Thanks to the Bailey family, the Darby Cabin now serves the wonderful purpose of sharing a part of our history with children.
   

 

© 2011 Horse Creek Wildlife