Clarkesville in Habersham County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Haywood English Home
Big Holly Cabin
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 21, 2025
1. Haywood English Home Marker
Inscription.
Haywood English Home. Big Holly Cabin. This heart pine cabin is one of the few remaining example of a single-pen (room) cabin built when this was the Georgia mountain frontier. The hand-hewn logs are joined with full-dovetail corner notching and the logs are chinked on the interior with wooden battens. This type of cabin was once plentiful but as with the existing structure, they usually evolved into double-pen cabins or larger houses with frame additions. Haywood English built a log house on unclaimed Land Lot 85, District II., bordering Sutton's Mill Creek (now Sutton Mill Creek). In 1841, James R. Wyly the fourth deed holder of Land Lot 85, belatedly laid claim to it. In a series of legal actions, which eventually ended in the Georgia Supreme Court, English lost his plea of "sitters rights," and moved to Land Lots 4 and 5, District 10. Family legend contends that this is the same log house built on Land Lot 85 in 1820 and was relocated in 1849 following the Supreme Court's decision. The cabin was restored by a descendant of the English family in 1986-87 and was later moved to this location.
This heart pine cabin is one of the few remaining example of a single-pen (room) cabin built when this was the Georgia mountain frontier. The hand-hewn logs are joined with full-dovetail corner notching and the logs are chinked on the interior with wooden battens. This type of cabin was once plentiful but as with the existing structure, they usually evolved into double-pen cabins or larger houses with frame additions. Haywood English built a log house on unclaimed Land Lot 85, District II., bordering Sutton's Mill Creek (now Sutton Mill Creek). In 1841, James R. Wyly the fourth deed holder of Land Lot 85, belatedly laid claim to it. In a series of legal actions, which eventually ended in the Georgia Supreme Court, English lost his plea of "sitters rights," and moved to Land Lots 4 and 5, District 10. Family legend contends that this is the same log house built on Land Lot 85 in 1820 and was relocated in 1849 following the Supreme Court's decision. The cabin was restored by a descendant of the English family in 1986-87 and was later moved to this location.
Erected 2022 by Georgia Historical Society and the City of Clarkesville. (Marker Number 068-10.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1841.
Location. 34° 36.915′ N, 83° 31.499′ W. Marker is in Clarkesville, Georgia, in Habersham County. It is at the intersection of Jefferson Street and East Green Street, on the left when traveling south on Jefferson Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 435 Jefferson St, Clarkesville GA 30523, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Mountains. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern
Click or scan to see this page online
Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 21, 2025
2. Haywood English Home Marker
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 21, 2025
3. The front of the Haywood English home
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 21, 2025
4. Backside of the Haywood English home
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 21, 2025
5. Left side of the Haywood English home
Credits. This page was last revised on January 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 59 times since then. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 15, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
