Agenda - 01-19-1993 - VIII-H - Laserfiche WebLink

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because not only is it well-preserved on the exterior, but it retains a Federal style mantel on the interior that is probably original. The high number of standardized log houses suggests several things about Orange County during the nineteenth century. It appears to have been a county dominated by small farms. Although the ethnic background of the settlers may not have been homogeneous, there must have been a good deal of community involvement in log house construction, since the same house type occurs over and over. Just to the north, in Caswell County, log houses were built in several different forms, from the single pen to the double pen to the saddlebag and the dogtrot. But here in the Chapel Hill township of Orange County not a single ex- ample of any other traditional type than the single pen log house was recorded. There are just two 2-story single-pen log houses recorded in the township, and all of the rest are one and one-half stories.. Two or three informants spoke quite specifically about the method of construc- tion of these log houses. Each of these long-time Orange County residents re- membered that log houses were built by four men, one standing at each corner to fit the logs into place. Annabel Lloyd, the daughter of Sam Nunn, who built the most recently documented log house, even remembers the names of two of the three builders. She recalled that her father and three local men (Monroe Partin, Green Johnson, and a third man whom she cannot recall) built their 2- story log house about 1905. [Sam & Laura Nunn House, Or 4341 It is logical that all of the houses would look alike if they were all being built by the com- munity. When questioned as to why there were so many log houses in the area, people invariably replied that there weren't any nearby saw mills, and fur- thermore, that milled lumber was expensive. Schools and Churches Three frame early twentieth century schoolhouses were recorded in the township: OR 368: former Smith Level School OR 384: former Damascus Church School OR 493: former Hickory Grove School. All of these are one or*one and one-half story front gable buildings, and all have been converted to houses and have lost much of their integrity. Hickory Grove School was built to serve the black community west of Carrboro, the other two were built for white communities.