Frisco January 2022

REGIONAL 1860s log cabin found inwalls of modern home becomes exhibit

History reconstructed Researchers traced the origins of the Gibson-Grant Cabin as well as changes made to the house over the years.

1846

Denton County is established.

BY SAMANTHA VAN DYKE

blueprints. There is also an accessible bathroomon the property but outside of the home for visitors to use. “Visiting the cabin will be such a cool experience,” Flower MoundMayor Derek France said. “It’s not every day that we’re given a chance to revitalize a structure so that we can use it to learn about the history of our area and how early settlers here lived.” Grant’s decision to preserve the cabin rather than tear it down ulti- mately shaped the entire project. “It just felt like it was the right thing to do for generations to come,” he said. But back in 2015, standing in the living roomwith a hole in the wall, Grant said he had no idea the cabin held such historical signicance. A friend connected himwith Peggy Rid- dle, museumdirector for the Denton County Oce of History and Culture. Based on research Riddle had been doing on cabins from the 1800s, she said it was common for land grants in Texas to require owners to build a structure that was, at minimum, 16 feet by 16 feet, Riddle said. The living room was 16x16 feet, Grant said. Research done by the Denton County Oce of History and Culture andMcCoy Collaborative Preservation Architecture revealed the home’s original owner as WilliamGibson. Gibson and his family moved to Texas in 1844, a year before Texas was admitted into the union and two years before Denton County was established. Gibson is believed to have built the one-room, post oak log cabin between 1860 and 1861,

Developer Curtis Grant said he had every intention of demolishing the old yellow house on Quail Run Road in 2015 tomake way for a new subdivi- sion in Flower Mound. But when he knocked a hole in the living roomwall and saw the old, stacked logs, he said he knew he had made a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. Buried behind the walls was a log house erectedmore than 150 years earlier. Ocials now believe it is the oldest structure in Denton County still standing in its original location. The town of Flower Mound’s master plan describes it as being of “exceptional historical signicance” with ties to Peters Colony, the earliest settlement in Denton County. Grant eventually donated the house to the town of Flower Mound. Six years and nearly $2 million later, the house has been restored to an earlier design. Grant donated the struc- ture and the land it sits on to the town. He also sold two plots surrounding the cabin for $454,098 to the town to allow room to convert it into a historical site. A $1.5 million grant from the state of Texas funded the master plan, design and construction work. The historical house museum opened Dec. 11. The museum features several dierent rooms where visitors can be immersed in the history of early Denton County settlers. There is a living room, where the original log cabin stood, as well as two bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, and a work room in the back for sta, according to

William Gibson builds a single-room log cabin.

1860

The cabin expands to a double-pen, or two-room, structure.

1880-90

The property is purchased by the Kerr family, who is likely responsible for many of the cabin’s early additions and expansions.

1890

The cabin is expanded to a triple-pen structure.

1890-1910

The property is purchased by the Warlick family, who is responsible for the house’s more modern additions, including the garage, bathroom and HVAC system.

1959

The town of Flower Mound is established.

1961

Curtis Grant purchases the property, along with several surrounding parcels, to build a residential subdivision. He discovers the log cabin within the walls of the home.

2015

Grant donates the cabin and the land it sits on to the town of Flower Mound.

The town hires McCoy Collaborative Preservation Architecture to come up with a master plan to restore and convert the home into a historical exhibit.

2017

The exhibit opens for the rst time to the public from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held to mark the exhibit’s debut.

Dec. 11, 2021

SOURCE: MCCOY COLLABORATIVE PRESERVATION ARCHITECTURE MASTER PLAN COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

according to historical documents. The house was sold roughly nine more times before being purchased by Grant, per the master plan. McCoy Collaborative developed a master plan to restore the third

phase of the home, now deemed the Gibson-Grant Cabin in honor of its irst and inal owners. For information on visiting the cabin, go to www.flower-mound.com/ gibsongrant

FRISCO EDITION • JANUARY 2022