Crab Orchard Museum

Web site: Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park - - Crab Orchard Museum grounds

Blacksmith shop in center of view

Pioneer Park at Crab Orchard Museum

View of farmstead

Crab Orchard Museum grounds

On the left, Maj. David Peery Cabin (1805); on the right, Daniel-Murray Homestead (1872)

Maj. David Peery Cabin

Built about 1805, this is a one-room cabin with a sleeping loft above - - and note the size of the stone chimney.

Maj. David Peery Cabin - detail of window

Maj. David Peery Cabin - door

Nice wrought-iron strap hinges

Maj. David Peery Cabin - detail of floor

Original flooring still shows marks from hand-cutting with an adze

Maj. David Peery Cabin - fireplace

The fireplace provided heat and a place to cook

Maj. David Peery Cabin - hearth

Detail view showing limestone hearth

Maj. David Peery Cabin - sleeping corner

Located across the room from the fireplace

Maj. David Peery Cabin

Herbs hung to dry

Maj. David Peery Cabin - candleholder & mold

The candleholder and mold are made of tinplate, favored on the frontier for durability

Granary

Millstone leaning against the building for decoration

Closeup of millstone

Granary (2)

Granary (3)

Encampment 2009 (1)

Rustic cooking - - a spit, a grill, and two Dutch ovens

Dr. Jack W. Witten Cabin

Originally located in North Tazewell on the family property where Dr. Witten lived in a brick house, this cabin was donated to Crab Orchard Museum to honor Dr. Witten.

Dr. Jack W. Witten Cabin (2)

Jack Walter Witten (1880-1959) graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1905, served in the U.S. Army in WWI, represented Tazewell County in the Virginia General Assembly for 24 years, and provided a home and education for more than 150 foster sons.

Barn

Timber frame with board-and-batten siding

Barn doors

View of barn showing crossbuck doors

Encampment 2009 (2)

Cooking gear includes a tripod, grate, coffee pot, Dutch ovens and more

Pioneer Park scene

View of smoke house (left) and spring house (right)

Spring house

The spring house was disassembled and moved from its original location to a limestone spring on the Pioneer Park grounds

Spring House (2)

Reverse angle showing stonework; note millstone leaning against the building for decoration

Spring creek

The spring at the spring house flows into this creek, which runs through the Pioneer Park grounds

Smoke house

Side view showing log construction

Smoke house door

Long wrought-iron strap hinges

Apple house

This stone building was moved from Thompson Valley

Apple house - detail

The stones used to build the apple house included fossil rocks, like this one; the fossils are sea creatures which lived 200 million and more years ago, when the land here was much, much lower!

Apple house - detail (2)

This also is an ancient fossil stone

Loom house

Front view of loom house. Construction details include fieldstone foundation, squared and notched logs, cedar shakes.

Loom house steps

These steps were cut from limestone

Loom house detail

This view shows how the logs were notched and fit on the corners. Also visible (upper left) are the round purlins on which roofing boards, and then shingles, were nailed.

Loom house - window

Detail of window construction; the panes are small - - glass was expensive on the frontier - - and wooden pegs were used in both the frame and the window - - nails were expensive, too.

Loom house interior

The spinning wheel is still used to spin wool at Museum events

Loom house interior (2)

This view shows the loom, with fireplace in the background.

Blacksmith's shop

side view showing log construction

Blacksmith's shop - - front

This structure was made primarily with undressed (round) logs.

Blacksmith's shop - - interior

Hearth is to the left, tools hang on the wall, anvil is in the foreground (covered with leather apron), and half-barrel holds water for quenching.

Carpenter's shop and cobbler's shop

These two buildings are joined by a "dogtrot."

Carpenter's shop and cobbler's shop (2)

The "dogtrot" is open on both sides and the shop doors face each other.

Carpenter's shop - - interior

View showing many tools

Cobbler's shop

View of entry

Cobbler's shop - - steps

Since the entry is under cover, the steps are hewn timbers.

Cobbler's shop - - interior (1)

Selection of cobbler's lasts on bench

Cobbler's shop - - interior (2)

View showing workbench and tools

Encampment 2009 (3)

Okay, a teepee is not authentic for these parts, but it's a nice teepee and fun to look over.

Daniel-Murray homestead

Front view. Built in 1872, this is a relatively young structure; at one time it was used as an inn.

Daniel-Murray homestead (2)

View of rear of the structure. The windows are much larger than those of the early settler's cabins, and the building has two back doors.

Daniel-Murray homestead, side view

This view shows the fieldstone chimney and the notched-timber construction. At one time this structure has been painted red, probably with red lead-and-iron barn paint; most of the paint has weathered away but the color is still visible in the end-grain of the logs.

Daniel-Murray homestead - - chimney detail

This view shows some of the stones used to construct the chimney.

Daniel-Murray homestead - - interior (1)

Note the square-cut rafters and massive logs. White pine and poplar often were used for framing logs; chestnut was cut into timbers and cedar was used to make roofing shingles.

Daniel-Murray homestead - - interior (2)

Fireplace features a huge limestone lintel

Daniel-Murray homestead - - interior (3)

View from entry looking at back wall and one of the back doors

Daniel-Murray homestead - - interior (4)

Detail of back door showing wrought-iron strap hinges

Daniel-Murray homestead - - interior (5)

View of window; the windows in this house have 3 times the panes of the windows in the older cabins.

Encampment 2009 (3)

Teepee to the left, somewhat more authentic tent to the right

Encampment 2009 (4)

Cooking with iron - - this collection includes a spit, a griddle, Dutch ovens, a grill, and a coffee pot, as well as wrought-iron utensils and hooks.

Farmstead

This is a group of 3 log buildings joined by dogtrots; the farm house is on the left, the kitchen is on the right, and the lard house is behind the farm house.

Farmstead

This view if from uphill. The lard house is on the left; the farm house is on the right; the roof of the kitchen is visible behind the lard house.

Farmstead building - - the lard house

End view, showing log construction. The logs go all the way up to form the eaves in this construction, with round poles called "purlins" set in to carry the roof. This building, called the Lard House, is attached by a small dogtrot to the farmhouse.

Garden area behind farmhouse

Farmhouse is to the left; note the similar construction, with dressed logs holding roof purlins all the way up.

View of farmstead

Main farmhouse is in the center; kitchen is to the left. Additions, pioneer style.

Farmstead kitchen

Farmhouse is to the right.

Farmstead kitchen - - interior (1)

The inside walls of the kitchen have been whitewashed. Herbs drying on back wall, large cooking fireplace on the left.

Farmstead kitchen - - door

Reinforced crossbuck - - there are two smaller horizontal wood strips for stability, provided on other doors by wrought-iron strap hinges. On the right side of the door, wooden dowel hinges can be seen.

Farmstead kitchen - - interior (2)

Cupboard with crockery and utensils. Some of the pottery is authentic, some is ersatz; the cobalt-blue-decorated pieces are modern products of Williamsburg Pottery. The canning crocks (upper left) and cream riser (dead center) are authentic, mid-19th to early 20th century.

Farmstead kitchen - - fireplace

This fireplace is outfitted for cooking. A fireplace crane is attached on the left side, and dangles a cast-iron pot with a trammel hook.

Farmstead - - lard house

This view shows detail of the log construction.

Farmstead - - lard house

This view shows the crossbuck door.

Farmstead exterior

This ladder goes to the loft over the kitchen.

View of farm house and kitchen

The main farm house is on the left, the kitchen attached by a dogtrot is in the center. To the right is the David Peery Cabin. The farm house is unusual in that it has a second story, not a loft; second-floor windows can be seen in this view.

Farm house interior (1)

This view shows the side door and, to its left, part of the stairs to the second story. The front door of the farm house faces the opposite direction of the front door of the kitchen; the side door opens into the dogtrot between the house and the kitchen.

Farm house interior (2)

Stairs leading to farm house second story.

Farm house interior (3)

Back door of the farm house. Like the kitchen door, it has wooden braces and wooden dowel hinges.

Farm house chimney

Farm house chimney built with field stone. Typically, Southern log cabins had chimneys constructed on the outside of the house; similar structures from Pennsylvania northward into New England had chimneys built on the inside, often in the center of the cabin, owing to the colder winter temperatures.

Farm house chimney detail

The stone in the center of the image contains fossils.

Split-rail fence

This is chestnut split-rail fence. Once there were tens of thousands of miles of such fence in southern Appalachia. The rails in this fence are at least 70 years old.

Split-rail fence detail

Split-rail fences were stacked and braced without the use of nails, wire, or other connectors.

Historical Marker

This marker stands on U.S. 460 between the Crab Orchard Museum and Witten's Fort.

Witten's Fort

Located adjacent to the museum, this is a rebuilt version of Witten's Fort - - actually a blockhouse outfitted with gun ports (second story) instead of windows.

Witten's Fort (2)

View of Witten's Fort showing construction of stone chimney

Granary - closeup view of corn bin

Granary - view of Z-buck door

Spring house entrance

The spring can be seen in the lower center of the frame

Lard house - detail

Ladder to loft in lard house

Lard house - detail (2)

Closeup showing wooden-pegged joint of ladder to loft

Lard house - detail (3)

View of window showing all-wood construction - - wooden hinges on left, wooden latch on right.