Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

A Typical Settler's Cabin

Bledsoe's Fort Historic Park

— Nathaniel Parker Cabin, ca. 1785 —

A Typical Settler's Cabin Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 11, 2021

1. A Typical Settler's Cabin Marker

Inscription.

A Typical Settler's Cabin. Bledsoe's Fort Historic Park. This sturdy log house was the home of Nathaniel Parker and his family. It originally stood about three miles north of here, in the neighborhood of Greenfield, one of the eight fortified stations built in the Bledsoe's Creek area in the middle and late 1780s., Built About 1785 , Nathaniel Parker built this log house about 1785, soon after he brought his family to this area. He constructed it of select logs set on a foundation of limestone piers. He also used dressed limestone to build the chimneys. The raised floor allowed Parker to dig a small root cellar under the northeast corner of the house., Practical and Easy to Build , More than any other building type, log cabins symbolize Tennessee's pioneer era. Their popularity was rooted in practicality. Log buildings efficiently used the trees cleared to create agricultural fields. Their thick walls provided protection from predators and the elements. , Log buildings were also fairly easy to build. The corner notch, coupled with the weight of the logs above, locked the lower logs in place, creating a very stable building. Parker built his house using the full-dovetail notch, the most popular style at the time., A Typical Residence , The Parker cabin is typical of those built in Tennessee during the early years of settlement. It is small, with two rooms. The doors on the front and rear walls are off-center. The house has side gables and rests on rock piers. It is atypical in that it has two chimneys rather than one., A Family Home for 150 Years , The Parker cabin was a residence into the 1940s. It stood on its original site until 1994, when the Robert Alexander family donated the house to the Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association. After being disassembled and moved to this location it was reassembled using as much of the original material as possible. The back porch was added in 1997. , Photo captions: , The Parker cabin on its original site, shortly before it was disassembled and moved to this location in 1994. , The east room of the Parker cabin. , Corner with full-dovetail notched logs. , The east room of the Parker cabin. , The west room of the Parker cabin.

This sturdy log house was the home of Nathaniel Parker and his family. It originally stood about three miles north of here, in the neighborhood of Greenfield, one of the eight fortified stations built in the Bledsoe's Creek area in the middle and late 1780s.

Built About 1785
Nathaniel Parker built this log house about 1785, soon after he brought his family to this area. He constructed it of select logs set on a foundation of limestone piers. He also used dressed limestone to build the chimneys. The raised floor allowed Parker to dig a small root cellar under the northeast corner of the house.

Practical and Easy to Build
More than any other building type, log cabins symbolize Tennessee's pioneer era. Their popularity was rooted in practicality. Log buildings efficiently used the trees cleared to create agricultural fields. Their thick walls provided protection from predators and the elements.

Log buildings were also fairly easy to build. The corner notch, coupled with the weight of the logs above, locked the lower logs in place, creating a very stable building. Parker built his house using the full-dovetail

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notch, the most popular style at the time.

A Typical Residence
The Parker cabin is typical of those built in Tennessee during the early years of settlement. It is small, with two rooms. The doors on the front and rear walls are off-center. The house has side gables and rests on rock piers. It is atypical in that it has two chimneys rather than one.

A Family Home for 150 Years
The Parker cabin was a residence into the 1940s. It stood on its original site until 1994, when the Robert Alexander family donated the house to the Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association. After being disassembled and moved to this location it was reassembled using as much of the original material as possible. The back porch was added in 1997.

Photo captions:
The Parker cabin on its original site, shortly before it was disassembled and moved to this location in 1994.
The east room of the Parker cabin.
Corner with full-dovetail notched logs.
The east room of the Parker cabin.
The west room of the Parker cabin.

Erected by Tennessee Wars Commission.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 36° 23.839′ N,

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 11, 2021

2. A Typical Settler's Cabin Marker

86° 19.183′ W. Marker is in Castalian Springs, Tennessee, in Sumner County. It can be reached from Hartsville Pike (Tennessee Route 25). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2901 Hartsville Pike, Castalian Springs TN 37031, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Unsettled and Dangerous Years (here, next to this marker); Nathaniel Parker, Hunter and Explorer (here, next to this marker); The Nathaniel Parker Log Cabin (here, next to this marker); Capt. Horace Lawson Hunley (a few steps from this marker); Bledsoe's Lick (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Pioneer Cemetery (about

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500 feet away); A Traditional Irish Farmhouse (about 500 feet away); Rogana (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Castalian Springs.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 537 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 29, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.