Restoration Begins on the Shaw Cabin
The Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain (LTMCP) has begun restoration on a log house located in Pearl River County. Dubbed the Shaw Homestead the circa 1885 dog run log house is important for its architectural character as well as its historical association with the early development of rural Mississippi.
The dog-run, dog-trot, or double log cabin is defined as a building consisting of two cabins separated by a ten or fifteen foot passageway, with a continuous gabled roof covering both cabins and the passageway between them. Often a porch was built to extend across the entire front of the house, and lean-to shed rooms were constructed at the rear of each cabin for additional space. Each cabin had a door opening onto the dog-run. The purpose of the dog-run was to cool the house by providing shade and catching the breeze. The name “dog-run” comes from the comfort that family dogs found in the shade and the summers breezes the passageways afforded.
In 1880, Bernard Shaw applied for the original patent for the property pursuant to the Federal Homestead Act of 1862. Under the conditions of the patent, he was to erect a house on the property by 1885. Mr. Shaw erected a two room cabin on the property and lived there until the property was transferred to his brother-in-law Jule Ladner. Mr. Ladner expanded the cabin to a full dog run house with a detached kitchen. Around 1902, the house was sold to Melvina and Gilbert Shaw, who further expanded the house by adding lean-to bedrooms.
According to records and family histories, the property was used as a sheep station between 1906 and 1958. The sheep were sheared, marked, and dipped before being turned loose in the woods. The wool was then taken to market by wagon. Timber was also cut on the property, then hauled by ox and mule to the Wolf River to wait on high water. After good rains, the logs were rafted and floated down to Pass Christian to be sold.
LTMCP’s mission is to conserve, promote, and protect the open spaces and green places of ecological, cultural, or scenic significance in the counties of the Mississippi coastal plain. Protection of our valuable resources begins with understanding the lives of those who came before us, the challenges they faced, the mistakes they made, and the lessons they learned. “Historically significant structures, such as the Shaw Homestead, allow us a glimpse into their lives and provides a valuable link to experiencing and understanding the mistakes of our past and the progress we have made in Mississippi,” said Judy Steckler, Executive Director. When Restoration is complete the house will be utilized as an interpretive center and museum depicting early twentieth century life in rural Mississippi.
Funding for the project was provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ Office of Coastal Management and Planning. To learn more about the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain visit www.ltmcp.org.