THE PICKARD CABIN

Built: ca. 1855
Location: Spring Creek Area, Parker County, Texas
Residents: Patillo Family; William and Malissa D. Pickard
Builder: Possibly the Patillo Family

This charming little log house is one and a half stories tall. The second (half) story exhibits a loft furnished as children’s sleeping quarters. There are many fascinating artifacts in the cabin, some dating back to the 1700s. The art and skill of making textiles is shown with a clock reel, spinning wheel, looms and more!

Malissa Ellen and William Sidney Pickard bought this log home and ninety acres from the Patillo family ,who had built it between 1850 and 1856. In subsequent years, the Pickards purchased additional acreage, enlarging the original tract to 400 acres on which they raised horses and various grain crops.

THE PICKARD FAMILY

Malissa Pickard	William Pickard

Malissa Ellen Dickerson, a native of Tennessee, was born August 6, 1835. When she was 21 years old, she married William Sidney Pickard from Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.

On October of 1856, the young couple loaded their wagon with a few necessary household possessions and started the long trip to Texas with William’s father's family and slaves. Arriving in Parker County, William’s father purchased a 320 acre farm in the Spring Creek community from the Reverend R. A. Eddleman. The family immediately started improving the place and raising horses using proceeds from the fine stock they had brought from Tennessee. In 1863, when William Sidney returned from the Civil War, he purchased this cabin to rear his own growing family.

In this home with its frame additions, the Pickards reared their family of eight children:

William was a prominent and highly respected member of Parker County and at one time served as County Commissioner and as President of the Parker County Pioneer Association in 1895. He died at his home, January 15, 1898, and was buried near his father in Spring Creek Cemetery. Malissa Ellen survived him, dying April 2, 1902 at the age of 77.