May-Hickey House
Why it's listed
Near Yoakum in DeWitt County, Texas, a hewn-log dogtrot house sits on three acres of former ranch land beside FM 682. Built about 1848 for John Joseph and Catherine May, it has two 16-foot-square log pens separated by an open center passage, with porches and shed rooms front and rear. Roman numerals on the logs show it was taken apart and reassembled at its present site, probably after 1863, when the Hickey family owned it. They are thought to have added weatherboard siding and enclosed the rear porch. Tree-ring testing showed most logs were cut in 1847 and 1848. The house later served tenants and then storage, lost its porch and chimneys, and was restored between 1981 and 1983 using archeology and documentary research. A barn from about 1900 and a 1930s windmill and cistern complete the complex. It is described as the oldest recorded log structure in the county and a rare example of early settler building traditions.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the oldest recorded log structure in the DeWitt County area and a rare surviving link to early Anglo-American settlement in South Central Texas. It is a finely crafted, largely intact example of the dogrun log dwelling with Louisiana house form characteristics. Together with its rural complex, it documents vernacular building traditions and changing rural society.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 88002129, listed October 27, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | FM 682 1.7 mi. S of jct. with TX 111, Yoakum |
|---|---|
| County | DeWitt County |
| Listed | October 27, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002129 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1848 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular log dogtrot (dogrun) plan with Louisiana house form characteristics |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored in 1983; the form lists the property as unoccupied and vacant, with about 85% of the original material preserved. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 29.26113, -97.14466 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 88002129.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110000049
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.