Curtis Grant did n’t think he was buy history when he acquired an ordinary - looking suburban mansion in Flower Mound , Texas . He intended to raze it and construct a 12 - habitation exploitation over its grounds . But while demolishing the residence several months ago , hediscovered wooden logslurking beneath layers of plaster and wallboard .
The logarithm rick out to be the walls of a one - room cabin constructed in the 1860s , making the dwelling almost as old as the country of Texas itself . Over time , owners had built around the pugnacious - hewn wall , bury the flesh beneath a large , more New exterior .
Grant confer with with local historian , who confirmed that the housewas most likely builtby a man named William Gibson . Gibson , like many ofthe region ’s other early settlers , was lured to the groundless frontier of Texas with the hope of free Din Land ; his distant relatives still go in the region . The social organization is recall to be one of the only stay 19th - century building in Flower Mound , if not all of North Texas .
The cabin does n’t have any historic markers , so Grant can technically do whatever he need with the property , which localshave started callingthe Long Prairie Homestead . However , he enounce heno longer intendsto bulldoze it ; instead , he wants to work up a nine - theatre community and set aside the cabin and its surrounding grounds as a historic web site .
The catch ? The property is expensive — about $ 750,000 to $ 800,000 , by one estimate — and Grant ca n’t afford to simply donate it to the town .
The townis hosting a seriesof opened houses , hoping to raise enough community support — and money — to keep the farseeing Prairie Homestead in its original position . Check out a television of one of their most late outcome above , or visit theLong Prairie Homestead Facebook Thomas Nelson Page for more information .
