{"nrhp_refnum":"75001958","name":"McCroskey, John, Cabin","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2 mi. NE of Cedar Lake on Stringfellow Ranch","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cedar Lake","county":"Brazoria County","state":"TX","lat":28.939634655000077,"lon":-95.61520983799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-08-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story double log house with a central dog trot hall, built about 1824 on the Stringfellow Ranch about two miles northeast of Cedar Lake in Brazoria County, Texas. The two-acre site also holds the foundations of a cotton gin and the brick ruins of a sugar mill.","why_significant":"The cabin is presented as representing the development of an early Texas farmstead from a wilderness foothold into a prosperous cotton and sugar cane plantation. Its first owner, John McCroskey, was one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists. Later owners included several figures tied to Texas history, among them Oliver Jones, designer of the Lone Star flag.","narrative":"Built around 1824 in the coastal lowlands of Brazoria County, this double log house follows a plan common in early Texas settlement: a room on each side of an open central hall, called a dog trot, under one split cedar roof with a loft above. Its first owner, John McCroskey, a tanner, received a league of land in 1824 as one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists. Over the following decades a succession of owners added lean-to rooms, a porch, a brick cistern, factory-made doors and siding, and later two-over-two windows, as the farm grew into a cotton and sugar cane plantation. A cotton gin and brick sugar mill were added nearby. Owners included Oliver Jones, designer of the Lone Star flag, and R. J. Townes, the county's first district judge. The house has been lived in continuously since it was built, and the original rabbeted cedar log walls remain beneath later siding.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John McCroskey (first owner, likely original builder)","architectural_style":"Double log house with central dog trot, typical of early Texas settlement","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good. The form says the house has been occupied continuously since it was built and has always been a dwelling. The owner planned to restore it as his residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.001756-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/9713/40971358/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/75001958.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971358","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001696"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/brazoria-county/mccroskey-john-cabin-75001958/"}