Home | History | Programs | Events | Volunteer | Heritage Foundation | Cabin Galleries | Contact Us | Links | Hours
FOSTER CABIN
Foster Family History:
While many parts of Texas had long been populated by Spaniards, Mexicans, and the French, North Texas remained settled only by Native Americans until the mid nineteenth century. It was a vast and unknown land to the many pioneers who made the long, hazardous journey there. The Foster family and their slaves were among these pioneers.
Harry Foster’s adventurous spirit and desire for a better life led him to Texas, which in many letters he referred to as “the land of sunshine and flowers.”
Harry was born in 1814 in Tennessee. His family moved to Mississippi, where the Fosters were prominent plantation owners.
In 1836, he married the wealthy Martha Ann Davis. Six children were born to them.
Harry made several trips into the New Republic of Texas in search of the finest cotton land. In 1850, Harry purchased 500 acres of land in Milam County, Texas where this impressive two story log home was built.
The Foster slaves hand hewed and stacked the logs from large oaks and cedars which grew from the Brazos River bottom.
Despite facing many hardships and uncertainties in the new state of Texas, t he Fosters became prominent in their community. They administered a large cotton plantation which prospered through slave labor prior to the Civil War. After the war, many of the freed men and women remained as sharecroppers. Unfortunately, little is known about them except that two of them, who were referred to as “Uncle Jeff” and “Aunt Molly” remained with the Foster family well past the twentieth century
When Martha died in 1870, Harry continued to live in the house with his bachelor son, William Henry, until his own death in 1891.
The great log house remained in continuous use until the 1930s. In 1969, Joseph W. Foster donated it for restoration at Log Cabin Village.
Foster Exhibit:
Originally, the front doors opened into a wide entry hall, much like it does today. The downstairs housed a parlor, a kitchen, a dining room and two bedrooms. The narrow stairway led to three more bedrooms. Today, the Foster House, once considered “the finest log house in all of Texas,” serves as the visitor’s center and gift shop. However, the parlor is still furnished, and it includes the 1830s rosewood piano that belonged to the Fosters. The hallway also houses various rotating exhibits that display various aspects and artifacts of nineteenth century life in Texas.