Orr Cabin Homeplace - early 1800s

ORR CABIN HOMEPLACE, early 1800s - 2003

The former Orr Cabin Homeplace on Etowah School Road & Misty Meadow Lane was built by John and Jane Clayton Orr sometime in the early 1800s (year unknown). The family moved here from another part of what was then southern Henderson County . . . now Transylvania County, established 1861.

In 2003, after careful consideration by the property owner, it was determined that the old cabin, the original John Orr home, was unable to be rehabilitated for historic preservation. The cabin was sold to a salvage company from West Virginia. They disassembled the structure for cleaning and refurbishing of the logs in order to build another structure at a private island off the coast of South Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Glen Davis

The following account is courtesy of Henderson County historian and writer Tom Orr.

Cabin wood dismantled and salvaged for reuse. Photo courtesy of Opal Dalton Parkinson

John and Jane Clayton Orr married in January 1800 and built this cabin In Etowah as their home. They raised 15 children here. The Orr Family Tree begins in Scotland with John Orr (1700's) and his wife Rachel who came to America in 1749.

"I stood at the site of the Orr cabin on School House Road, Etowah. The cabin is no longer there. The property is owned by Glen Davis.
'You're standing where the great room was...about right here there was a double fireplace that opened to two different rooms.' Glenn Davis respects family and place. 'The cabin construction was a 'saddle bag' type -- essentially two cabins sharing a large fireplace between them.'

Davis has owned the property since 1999. The Orr cabin was dismantled and sold. Davis shared this history: ' In 2002, realizing we were unable to repair the old cabin ourselves and failing to engender interest . . . to save it, we sold the cabin to a company in Asheville who stated that they were going to use the cabin's logs to expand a hunting lodge . . .' "

John and Jane Clayton Orr are buried in the Orr Cemetery, Hart Road, Transylvania County.

Highlights of Deed History of Property
compiled by Glen Davis

7 January 1800
John Orr (1775 - 1849)
marries Jane Clayton (1783 - 1873)
They live in the Little River / Davidson River area for an unknown period, then move and build a homeplace.
They raise 15 children there, adding a second cabin in a back-to-back configuration with the first one.

1852 Sold to Jason, Joshua & Gideon Orr, added to larger tract

1862 Owned solely by Jason Orr.

1908 Division of Jason Orr estate, conveyed to Jason Stepp & Cora Guice

1908 Sold to George W. Weese one month later.

1950 Sold to Carl & Nannie Cantrell

. . . . additional owners, 2nd cabin built from old cabins of Cascade Lake, a foreclosure, a public sale on courthouse steps , more owners . . .

1999 Sold to Glen & Jeanine Davis

2003 After unsuccessful efforts to pursue historic preservation, the 1800s John Orr Cabin was sold and disassembled by a salvage company for re-use in a hunting cabin on a private island off the coast of South Carolina.

" Orr Cabin Homeplace "
Orr, Weese, Cantrell

by Patricia Bell Cantrell

George Washington Weese (b. 1873, d. 1957) & Sarah (Sally) Jane Orr Weese (b. 1873 , d. 1937) with two of their six children: daughter Addie (m. Morgan) & son Gerald. Geoge & Sally were married December 1897 & raised their family in the Orr Cabin Homeplace. Photo courtesty of Janice Greer Sumner.

" Sara (aka Sally) Orr Weese, the daughter of Jason and Miriam Orr, married George Weese and lived at the Orr homeplace. Sara and George had six children - Felix, Guy, Gerald, Addie, Miriam and Nannie.

Sara broke her hip and was disabled for sometime. Sara passed away January 8, 1937. She is buried at Oak Forest Cemetery near her parents.

Daughter Nannie Weese Cantrell and her family came to live at the homeplace to be with her father George Weese. Nannie and Carl moved from Big Willow with their three boys - Douglas (called D C), Jimmie and Bobbie.

The Orr house had a large two-sided fireplace that opened into two rooms. The boys' room was upstairs. Allen Cantrell can remember sleeping upstairs with the boys on a rope bed.

This was a working farm with fields of hay and corn to feed the animals. A large garden to can and store potatoes and apples for the winter. The potatoes was stored under the house at the back where a root cellar was made to keep them from freezing.

Close to the back door was a spring house with water running through. The children would be sent to get butter and milk where it was kept cool with the running water.

There was a long porch on each side of the house with large flat rock up to [the] porch for steps. On the long front porch was steps going up to one side of the cabin. That was used for storage. The other side in the living room there was stairs going up to the boys' bedroom. The stairs was very narrow, only one person at a time. No heat, only what would rise up the steps.

Rear view. Photo courtesy of Barbara Weese Willis

The cold winter days, the large fireplace and a wood stove was the heat of the time. Lot of work getting the wood in for the winter. Large long logs would be put in the fireplace to keep the home warm until morning. Later they got a oil heater.

Nannie was in the kitchen early mornings while the boys and Carl was out doing the chores. She had a long wooden bowl. I am sure it was past down by her mother Sara. She would have it full of flour. In the center of the flour she would work lard and milk from her gallon jar. With her hands the dough the dough would be worked into a ball. Then she would make large cat head biscuits with her hands. They were so good with gravy. Nannie was a wonderful cook. So good to be in the kitchen with her.

The boys had cows to milk and farm chores to do before school. Jimmie had milk to deliver to families as he was on his way to school.

Nannie had beautiful [potted] flowers under a cedar tree next to the spring house. Allen can remember long rows of cannas out to the road.

In the fall there was hay to get to the barn loft, corn to put in the crib. And they always had a field of cane to make molasses. Theu used a horse going around and around to squeeze the juice out. Lot of work but they all gathered in to help with a big meal from Nannie's kitchen.

Being the homeplace there was always large gatherings with lots of food, homemade ice cream, watermelon. "The place to go." You were always welcome and had a fun time.

In the early 1950s, the back proch was enclosed [for] a large kitchen with lots of windows. With seating around an oil heater. A bathroom was added at that time, the first for the Orr Cabin.

George Weese died October 6, 1957. He is buried beside Sara at Oak Forest Cemetery. Carl and Nannie stayed on at the homeplace until the boys married and moved to their homes. The Orr homeplace was sold and they [Carl and Nannie] moved to Brickyard Road. Carl died in 1978 and Nannie died in 1988. They are buried at Oak Forest Cemetery near her mother and father, George and Sara Orr Weese. "

About the Cabin
by Glen Davis, the last owner

The old log house was one of the charms of the place for us. It was a big place, the main section made up of the two cabins was a little over 20 feet wide and 45 feet long and had two stories. The logs were hand-hewn and squared and about 5 inches thick. The corners of the logs were joined with chamfer-and-notched joints. The cabin was oriented North-South, with the main entrance and the front porch facing East.

  The first floor of the bigger cabin - probably the older of the two was about 7 feet high and consisted of a single room about 20 feet by 25 feet. The north end of this room had a massive double-sided stone fireplace about 10 feet wide and 7 feet thick, with an opening of about 8 feet wide and 5 feet high.. There were doors through both the eastern and western walls and windows in the eastern and western walls. There was a stairs along the western wall to the second floor.

The second floor had a very steep peak that rose about 15 feet from the floor in the center and the side walls continued above the floor to about 6 feet. It was very roomy and unusual for that time. There was a double window in the southern wall of the peak.

  The entire eastern side of the structure had a porch about 8 feet wide along its’ length. The western door accessed a room that may have been a porch at one time, but was now walled in, that now ran down the entire western side and had a brick chimney for a cook stove. It made up a kitchen, dining room and a bath. There were windows in the western wall of this additional and also a door to the outside. There was a door on the second floor through the wall that allowed access to the area above this part that was used for storage.

The second cabin, about 25 feet wide and 13-14 feet long was attached to the north side of the first cabin. It also had a massive fireplace on the first floor that shared flues with the other and was part of the same huge pile of stone and mortar. You accessed this cabin by a door from the kitchen (west) side or a door from the porch on the eastern side. There was a storeroom snuggled in-between the walls of these two cabins on the west side of the fireplace and had a door into the kitchen.

  There was a third door on the eastern side, and this lead to a stairway built over the shoulder of the fireplace up to the second floor of the second cabin. This stairway was the only access to the upstairs room. This room was floored with 14-18 inch wide heart-pine boards no less than 1 ½ inches thick. There was a window in the north wall of the roof peak.

  Strangely, the upstairs rooms above both cabins were walled off from one another and there was no evidence that they ever were connected, although that would have been easily done on the west side, where a floor could have been placed over the little storeroom along the side of the fireplace.

Photos courtesy of Glen Davis, unless otherwise noted