Royston Log Home (c.1835)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
This saddlebag log cabin was built for the foreman of Grandison Royston’s plantation located up the Southwest Trail from Washington. Later lived in by Grandison's son, it was moved to town in 1986, and currently demonstrates frontier life. This house is available regularly on guided tours.
Images
Royston Log Home (c.1835)
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
This saddlebag log cabin, built in 1835, was originally on the plantation of Grandison D. Royston, which was located northeast of Washington. It was originally used by an overseer/foreman of Grandison Royston’s slaves. After the Civil War, the house was used by Grandison’s son, Charles Royston, as a farm residency until 1910.
It was moved to its present location in 1986 by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and now, as a park structure, it is used to interpret early housing and lifestyle In Hempstead County. Decorated in the pioneer style of the 1830s to 1850s, it contains rope-style beds and simple handmade furniture.
Sources
Brooke, Steven. Historic Washington, Arkansas. Gretna, Louisiana. Pelican Publishing Company, 2000.
Medearis, Mary. Washington, Arkansas : History on the Southwest Trail. Hope, Arkansas. Copies + Office Solutions, 1984.
Williams, Charlean Moss. The Old Town Speaks : Washington, Hempstead County, Arkansas, gateway to Texas, 1835, Confederate Capital, 1863. Houston, Texas. The Anson Jones Press, 1951.
Williams, Joshua. Washington. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism