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Nns iam 10-900e
<br /> (Fier.Nt) OYB Appear No.tcasmrl
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<br /> United States Department of the Interior
<br /> National Park Service
<br /> National Register of Historic Places
<br /> Continuation Sheet
<br /> Jacob Jackson Farm / Maple Hill
<br /> Section number 8 Page 4 Orange County, NC
<br /> sold to the highest bidder and the money divided among my heirs." 12
<br /> An 1819 deed conveys property from Isaac to James Jackson but the description of the
<br /> land is vague and does not appear to suit the subject property well.' There is no question,
<br /> however, that James Jackson, likely the brother of Isaac, acquired title to the land though the
<br /> exact time and the nature of the transfer are uncertain.
<br /> James Jackson's will indicates that Jacob lived on the property in 1822 when he inherited
<br /> an estate for life in it. This is the earliest written record to be had that implies the presence of a
<br /> dwelling on the subject property. The log cabin with its chimney of rubble-stone set with clay
<br /> mortar was very likely the first component of Maple Hill to be built, perhaps by Jacob Jackson.
<br /> A local tradition dating the cabin's construction to 1750 is not supported by any documentation
<br /> though the possibility that Jacob may have occupied a cabin already.on the property built by his
<br /> father, his uncle, or someone else, and improved it cannot be discounted."
<br /> Jacob's family numbered one male and one female between twenty-six and forty-five
<br /> years of age, one male and one female between ten and sixteen years of age and three males
<br /> and two females under ten years of age when the census was published in 1820. The styling of
<br /> the Federal-style farmhouse suggests a construction date of around 1820 for this structure, a
<br /> time which would fall within the period of Jacob's occupancy of the property. Though small
<br /> for the Orange County farmer and his large family, the log farmhouse made a sturdy, stylish
<br /> dwelling that was, no doubt, more comfortable than the cabin.
<br /> During the first third of the nineteenth century, farming was the predominant
<br /> occupation of the people of North Carolina. In the central Piedmont, a small farm economy of
<br /> diversified products including corn, wheat, fruits, cattle, and hogs prevailed but conditions
<br /> were such that it was difficult for farmers to produce enough to live above the subsistence
<br /> level.15 Crude tools and labor intensive methods of farming limited products, while corn and
<br /> other grain crops stripped the soils of their nutrients. Bad roads and high transportation costs
<br /> made access to markets impractical and Orange County, like the rest of the Piedmont, had little
<br /> trade. Yeoman farmers like Jacob Jackson contributed to an agricultural economy of self-
<br /> sufficiency that required continuous and hard work.
<br /> 'Z Bacon,Mary Lena Green,The lacksons of Orange Counts NC.unpublished.See also Will dated November,
<br /> 1822,Book E,pp.22-3,Orange County Estate Records,Hillsborough,NC.
<br /> "Deed dated August 28, 1819,Book 18,pp.380-81,Orange County Register of Deeds Office,Hillsborough,NC.
<br /> Early nineteenth-century deeds and estate records in Orange County identify at least three men named James
<br /> Jackson.The will of Isaac Jackson,Sr.,bequeaths his lands to a son,James Jackson,in 1826.The James Jackson who
<br /> conveyed the subject tract to his son,Jacob,in 1822 was probably a brother of Isaac Jackson,Sr. since his demise
<br /> occurred before James,son of Isaac, inherited his father's property.
<br /> "Myers,Ann,personal interview,10 September, 1993.
<br /> 15 Lefler Hugh T.,and Newsome,Albert R.,The History of a Southern State, North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
<br /> University of North Carolina Press, 1954, pp. 298-9.
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