Preservationists are fighting time and the elements to save the historic Power-Jackson Cabin, which at nearly 200 years old could be Cobb County’s oldest structure. Experts say unless the cabin can be moved and restored in the next year, decades of neglect and extensive deterioration will render it unsalvageable.
“We have already had a significant collapse at the front of the cabin, so the clock is definitely ticking,” said Trevor Beemon, executive director of Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society.
A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise $65,000 to move the cabin to nearby Hyde Farm Park, where two additional Power family cabins are located. Longtime Cobb residents and preservationists Steve and Terri Cole have offered to match funds raised for the project through the end of the year.
“The Power family name is an integral part of our past,” said Steve Cole. “Terri and I are committed to the efforts to preserve this cabin, and we hope other citizens of Cobb County will join us as we work to save this treasure.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Hyde Farm, now a public park, was settled by James Cooper Power during the 1830s. His cabin still stands inside the Hyde farmhouse, which was constructed around the cabin during the 1920s.
Adjacent to Hyde Farm is property that includes a cabin believed to have been built by George Abner Power about 1843. Power family descendants owned the property until 1996, when it was conveyed to the Trust for Public Land. The cabin and 2.5 acres of land were donated to Cobb Landmarks in 1999.
The historic structures on Hyde Farm, now owned by Cobb County, were restored using Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax funds.
“Having the Power-Jackson Cabin join the sibling cabins at Hyde Farm creates a unique opportunity for the public to view three pioneer log cabins that, at one time, all belonged to members of the same family,” Beemon said.
If the fundraising drive to move the cabin is successful, Cobb Landmarks is hopeful SPLOST funds could pay for restoration. Discussions among the county, its parks department and Cobb Landmarks group are ongoing, Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt said.
”The Hyde Farm complex already contains the second and third oldest structure in the county, and the Power-Jackson cabin is said to be the oldest, so a move would make sense,” he said. “However, it would take a vote of the Board of Commissioners to accomplish, which has not yet been scheduled.”
According to Cobb Landmarks research, Power family members settled in the 1830s in what is now East Cobb and Sandy Springs. The Power-Jackson Cabin is located on 13 acres of private property on Post Oak Tritt Road in East Cobb. The small cabin, flanked by towering magnolia trees on each end and nearly hidden in surrounding underbrush, is one of the last remaining one-room log houses in the county.
It was owned by William Power and given to his daughter, Martha Jane, and her husband, Jeptha C. Jackson, between 1840 and 1850. Evidence suggests the cabin pre-dates the Cherokee Land Lottery, which could make it the oldest existing structure in Cobb County. Volunteer researchers are reviewing 1834 property claims to try to identify the original owner and to determine if it could have been built by members of the Cherokee Nation.
Studies are also ongoing into accounts that Power family graves could be located on the property. The book “The First Hundred Years: A Short History of Cobb County, in Georgia,” referred to a “burying ground” near the back of the cabin.
“Some initial testing of the site found no graves, but this remains an issue that will require more studies and testing,” Beemon said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
The Power-Jackson Cabin is a rare example of a rived log house. Rived logs are not hewn but split, leaving the rounded surface on the exterior and a smooth flat surface on the interior. This type of construction was used with large trees so that each tree produced two logs.
“You can see the saw marks on some of the logs,” Beemon said, pointing to faint marks on logs in the back porch ceiling during a recent visit to the property.
The current owner, Ken Clary, 94, lives with his daughter, Jan Clary Gross, in Sandy Springs.
“It’s very expensive to maintain property, especially old property, and my father just can’t do it,” Gross said. “My uncle, Eugene Clary, bought the property in 1952, and my father inherited it in 2006 after my uncle’s death. My uncle built two houses on the property. None of our family members ever lived in the Power-Jackson Cabin, but my uncle rented it out and he let a friend live there for a while.”
The Coles, who are leading the fundraising campaign, have lived in Cobb County for more than 50 years.
“We have the opportunity to save the cabin,” Steve Cole. “Now is the time.”
For more information on the Power-Jackson Cabin and the relocation fund, see cobblandmarks.com.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
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