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Knight Cabin
Courtesy
of the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council
{photo2}
End of the Knight Cabin with its mud chimney
Courtesy
of the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council |
The Washington Parish fairgrounds
in Franklinton, Louisiana, has become the relocation site of several log
cabins built during the late 1800s in Washington Parish that were once
threatened by the possibility of demolition by a highway project. The
Knight Cabin, originally located northwest of Enon, Louisiana ,was removed
to it's new location at the fairgrounds in a wooded area to recreate the
feel of its initial setting. The house itself consists of one large room
with a sleeping loft in part of the attic. The cabin is constructed of
split half-round logs, which are square-notched at the corners. The Knight
Cabin, constructed by George and Martha Knight in 1857, is significant
as a surviving example of the smaller German log house, a vernacular house
type which is rare in Washington Parish. The Knight's were a family of
farmers who raised livestock and built their cabin of materials that they
found themselves-namely logs which were split into half-round segments
and were square-notched in the house's corners. Their one-room cabin with
its loft and mud chimney is representative of the pioneer era of the then
wild, untamed Washington Parish.
The 1860 Census listed George Knight, a native of Louisiana, as a
28-year-old farmer with real estate valued at $800 and personal estate
at $483. His 19-year-old wife Martha Anne, a Mississippi native, and
their one-year-old daughter Margery lived with him. In 1870, there were
six children, four daughters and two sons. Knight owned about 175 acres
of land at this time, which increased to 250 acres by 1880. By then
he had considerable livestock, including two horses, 36 cows, and 75
pigs. In addition, ten acres of corn yielded 150 bushels, one-half acre
of sugar yielded 120 gallons of molasses, and one-and-a-half acres of
sweet potatoes yielded 125 bushels.
The Knight Cabin is located at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds
in Franklinton. It is open for events and by appointment only for groups.
Contact the Washington Parish Tourism Commission at 985-735-5731 for
further information. Visit the website for information on the Washington
Parish Free Fair, held every fall at the Fairgrounds.
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