Contributed photo Richard Lewis stands outside the Lewis log house on Stoney Creek, which has been donated to the David Crockett Birthplace State Park near Limestone.

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A log cabin which has been in Richard Lewis’ family for more than 180 years has found a new home. Located on Stoney Creek on property owned by Lewis, the cabin has been in his family since Lewis D. Lewis Sr. moved to Grindstaff Hollow in the Stoney Creek area in the early 1800s.

Richard Lewis is now retired and is the only remaining member of his family to care for the cabin. Hearing about the damage at the historic David Crockett Birthplace from Hurricane Helene, and the damage done to their log cabin, Lewis decided to make a gift of the Lewis log house to the state park. However, the state agreed to purchase the log house from Lewis, who has maintained it for several years.

The Lewis log house has had many individuals live in it since 1828. Lewis said it has had at least three families, with more than 20 family members in each family, live in the house during the period of 1828 to 1878. Four of the six generations of the Lewis family lived in the cabin. According to one account, the cabin around 1890 was converted to a shoe shop and country store.

“We could find no paperwork on any of these families due to the fact they could not read nor write, and they are dead now. We also found that many of them died from disease, lack of food and lack of shelter. They died during the period from 1828 to the beginning of the Civil War in 1860,” said Lewis.

He noted that even the government has little to no information on many of the individuals who lived in the log house. “The fathers of these individuals were Lewis D. Lewis Jr. and Lewis D. Lewis Sr., as well as Murray Lewis, who is said to have had 10 children.

One of Lewis D. Lewis Jr.’s children was Murray Lewis, who had several children, one of whom was Landon Lewis.

The log cabin will soon be in the hands of the state. “It has an interesting history, and I am happy to know that it will be preserved. It has been an important piece of our family heritage,” said Richard Lewis, who still lives on Stoney Creek.