Rickett family rebuilds Tatham Cabin, Cherokee County’s oldest building
-
Kelsey Richardson/krichardson@myandrewsjournal.com Dane and Charlene Rickett’s family spent more than a year rebuilding the Tatham Cabin, which was originally erected in 1833.
Withstanding multiple raids by Union troops and nearly 200 years of exposure to the elements, the Tatham Cabin in Andrews has been revived thanks to the efforts of the Rickett family.
For a 15 months, Dane and Charlene Rickett have worked together with their kids Hunter, Brianna and Braxton to breathe life back into a piece of Andrews history.
A glimpse into Andrews’ past
Before they rebuilt the cabin, it was the oldest standing structure in Cherokee County. If the Rickett family had not stepped in and restored it, Dane said it most likely would not have survived for much longer.
In 1959, John Parris of the Asheville Citizen published an article about the cabin. He stated that the cabin was originally built in 1833 by Thomas Tatham after he arrived in the valley with his 19-year-old bride, Polly.
The couple traveled 200 miles by horseback from Surry County to find the location for their home.
“They belie its age and hide the tell-tale marks of the man who grooved it together back when this was a virgin land,” Parris wrote in his article. “Where quail whistled from the sage grass and animals trooped down from the high rides.”
The Tatham family raised 11 children in the house, five of which fought in the Civil War. After digging into local history books for information, Dane found that a veteran from every war, ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, lived in the Tatham Cabin.
Tatham family members lived in the cabin up until the 1980s.
When asked by her friends and family why she would want to tear down and rebuild the Tatham Cabin, Charlene said she always replied with, “Why not?”
Dane said his 18-year-old son Hunter was the first to really push the idea of reviving the cabin.
After speaking with the Tatham family, the Ricketts realized that the dream family project could become a reality.
The Tatham family gave the Ricketts permission to have the cabin, if they rebuilt it completely.
The construction process
Stripping back decades worth of wallpaper and newspaper from the walls, the Ricketts had their work cut out for them.
Charlene said the whole family wore masks when they tore down the cabin, often encountering rot and mold.
After sorting out the usable pieces of wood, the Ricketts were able to save around 60 percent of the house.
All of the parts of the house were moved from its original location to the Rickett’s property near Airport Road. The family built the cabin twice. The first time was to make sure all of the wooden pieces aligned perfectly.
Early on in the construction process, the family decided they wanted to maintain the original look of the house as closely as possible. Dane said this was one of the more challenging aspects of rebuilding the cabin.
The Ricketts pressure washed, treated for bugs and sealed every piece of wood. They plan to reseal the wood every year until it becomes adequately protected.
“We wanted to find that balance between 200 years old and usable,” Dane said. “We wanted it to look old, but we wanted to be able to come out here and enjoy it.”
The front portion of the house, including the living room, was created to look exactly like the original Tatham Cabin. Since they were only able to salvage 60 percent of the old house, the Rickett family didn’t build a second level.
Some of the major modifications made to the 1833 Tatham Cabin included the installation of electricity, wire mesh insulation, new roof trusses and a prefab fireplace.
The original structure was held together with wooden pegs; no nails were used in its construction. The logs were dry-stacked, and still managed to stay up despite the decades of wear and tear.
Dane said the trickiest part of making the house was stacking the 18-foot long logs by hand. Getting creative with their process, Dane and Hunter walked up two ladders while holding the logs.
“The two of us would get up and roll it off the ladder, so it fell on top of the cabin,” Dane said. “That was scary. We were working around 11 feet off the ground with these 400 pound logs.”
Never give up
Dane said on multiple occasions his family wanted to give up, but their perseverance helped push them through. They worked during evenings and weekends to finish the cabin.
Dane remembers spending a day in the snow with his kids last December. They would pack nails into snowballs and throw them up to him while he was working.
“We had the entire town and county’s history laying in our yard potentially rotting,” Dane said.
“I felt a lot of pressure and obligation to the Tatham family to finish it. It was about saving the history of it, and I didn’t want to let them down.”
After 15 months, the cabin finally transformed into a livable space. Charlene said she was filled with relief and joy when they finally stepped back to see the finished cabin.
The Ricketts still plan on adding a full bathroom outside of the place to give off the appearance of an outhouse.
Throughout the process of tearing down and rebuilding the cabin, the Ricketts were told on many occasions that they couldn’t pull off such a feat.
“The best thing that happened through all of this is was that just enough people told us we couldn’t do it,” Dane said with a smile. “When it was laying in our yard, and it looked like a huge pile of old wood, there were a few people that would come by and say, ‘That will never be anything.’ It’s been a lot of fun to have them up for dinner.”
While the house now holds a special place in the hearts of the Rickett family, they hope to share its history with the people of Andrews.
So far only Tatham and Rickett family members have visited the cabin. Dane said he welcomes anyone wanting a tour of the place to visit.
A family effort
All hands were on deck during the Tatham Cabin project. While Dane and Hunter worked on installing the larger portions of the house, 11-year-old Braxton put together the stones around the fireplace and made the back door.
Brianna, who is 15, and her mother were in charge of numbering the logs and arranging the different pieces of the home.
Braxton said he had no experience building fireplaces and doors before the family project. Learning from his dad, he was able to accomplish tasks that other kids his age wouldn’t dream of attempting.
“At times it was fun, then later it got really hard,” Braxton said. “When we finished, I thought that it looked way cooler than I imagined.”
As Braxton was creating the stone fireplace, he came to a speed bump when he could not find a piece small enough to fill the last crack. Transforming a hiccup into a special addition, Braxton took five stones and placed them in the crack. He said each stone represented a member of his family.
“I think even as the years go on, it will become a cooler experience for them and us,” Dane said. “I don’t think they’ve processed yet that their kids will get to play in it and sleep in it. They also now have skills that a lot of kids don’t have.”
For those interested in visiting the Tatham Cabin, contact Dane Rickett at dane.rickett@cherokee.k12.nc.us.