301 Henley Perry Dr., Marshall
Current Owner 2013: Fisher & Garrett Key
TX Historical Marker
Received the first Texas historical building Medallion in Harrison County in 1962, for being a structure of historical significance and evidence of the lives of early pioneers, and became a TX historical marker in 1965.Architectural Survey
• Description:The Trammel's Trace Cabin is a one-story Vernacular structure built with eighteen foot long and ten inches thick pine logs. No nails were used and the space between each log was chinked with white pipe clay, which can be seen still today. Support for the structure comes from butterfly mortising tee-braces on the corners of each log. The cabin was once part of a two-room dog trot house originally located in the neighboring Marion county. When cabin was moved to Harrison County, only one room of the original structure was salvageable. The two side additions are made of wood siding which were built at its present location along with the front porch.
• Significance: The Trammel's Trace Cabin is one of the last early Texas frontier cabin standing in Harrison County and the oldest house in Harrison County. It is an example of the simple architecture that was used by the first settlers in East Texas.
Historical Background
In 1813 Nicholas Trammell created the first north to south road from Texas into the United States using early Indian foot paths from Nacogdoches, to points along the Red River. The trace became an important immigration route into Texas for new settlers from Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the trace became known as 'The Robbers Road' because it crossed the neutral ground between the United States and Mexico during the border dispute, which provided a retreat for robbers due to no law enforcement. Originating in Nacogdoches on present day East Main Street, the 180-mile trace follows North Street out of town through Mount Enterprise forming the boundary between Rusk and Panola counties, crossing the Sabine River near Tatum and runs through Marshall and Jefferson ending in Fulton, Arkansas.
Originally built near Smithland, in Marion County and situated on Trammel's Trace, the Key Log Cabin was built sometime before 1842. The cabin was left vacated and undisturbed until Hobart Key Jr. discovered it in 1938, during the Antonio de Los Santos Coy Survey. A historian who had worked on numerous projects with the Texas Historical Foundation, Key moved the cabin to its present location, a lot adjacent to his home, and restored it as close to its original state as possible. Only one room of the original two-room Dogtrot house was capable of being used. The logs were re-assembled in their original order and a brick floor was put in over the foundation floor, a composition roof was used and a kitchen, bedroom, and bath were added. These additions are made of board and are stained light yellow, whereas the logs have been treated for preservation and remain in their original state. The fireplace facing, mantle piece, roof beams, and logs remain original, but the interior trim was added, along with the posts and banister rails on the front porch.
In December of 1997, Elizabeth Fisher Key, the widowed wife of Hobart Key Jr. deeded the property as a gift to her grandson, Richard Garrett Key. Garrett was only twenty years old at the time, so Mary Hobart Key, the daughter of Hobart and Elizabeth, acted as a custodian for her son, until he came of age to inherit the cabin and land. (Harrison County Deed Records, Vol. 1729, Pg. 88, filed January 7, 1998.) Richard Key is the current owner of the Trammel's Trace Cabin as of 2013.
