Suzanne and Darren plan to build their dream home on 2 beautiful acres. Their family will be 6th generation Thomas' living at Historical Maplecrest!

The Words of Darrell Thomas ...

The two story cabin (20ft.x 18ft.) was built some time between 1830-1850 of poplar and chestnut logs. Chestnut trees, now in short supply, were prevalent in the area southeast of McCordsville, Indiana. We assume the cabin was originally built on the location in front of our new home that was built in 1991. There were no indications it had been moved from anywhere else. Each corner of the cabin sat on large fieldstone rocks. Some time after the turn of the century, a brick foundation had been placed under each outside wall.

John S. Thomas (my Great Grandfather) arrived on the farm (120 acres) in 1869 from Nicholas County, Kentucky (Blue Lick Springs) with his wife, Sarah, and 5 children. My Grandfather, John W. Thomas, was born here in 1874 (he lived his entire life, 89 years, on this farm) he died 1964. When John S. died, each child received 20 acres (the 3 girls sold their acreage to the 3 boys); my Grandfather received the 40 acres that included the home and buildings. My parents, Hervey 'Doc' and Louise, built a home on the corner of the farm in 1950. While our house was being built, Mom, Dad, my two brothers Randy and Jeff, and I lived in the farm house with Grandpa for a few months. Dad died in 1987, always telling me the front of the house was a log cabin. At that time it was covered with brick siding. The story told was when John S. got an extra $50.00 he would build a room onto the cabin, so the farmhouse was much larger than the cabin.

In 1990, Mom allowed my wife Nancy and I to obtain the 2 acres where the farm house and buildings were located. Dad maintained the yard and surroundings since Grandpa's death, but, since it did not have running water, renting was not a good idea. As the years rolled on, the buildings began t weather and deteriorate. Nancy and I began tearing them down in 1989 ' Chicken houses, tool shed, garage, and the farmhouse (the barn was buried in 1997 ' some of the barn siding and beams were donated to Abraham Lincoln Elementary school in Perry Township for their log cabin). The loft of the summer kitchen did contain the original spinning wheel which is now located in the cabin. A few other items were also found, including a letter dated 1887 from Nicholas County, Kentucky that was located in an outside wall of the living room.

In April 2001 Nancy, Mom, and I went to the Nicholas County, Kentucky courthouse and library looking for family information. We understood some of our ancestors might be buried in Needmore cemetery near Blue Lick Springs. After locating the cemetery on a map we drove to find it. In a very 'backwoods' location, we found an overgrown area with headstones. The first stone I walked up to was James and Narcissus Thomas (my Great-Great Grandparents and the parents of John S.) It was quite a moving experience. We also found stones for other relatives. John S. and Sarah are buried in the McCordsville cemetery.

Once the brick siding on the cabin was removed, I found horizontal wood siding covering the logs. The SW corner of the cabin was beginning to deteriorate from the roof damage and weather. The top two or three corner logs were in poor shape, as were the logs under the windowsills. Most of the other logs were in excellent condition. I assume some time in the late 1800's the cabin had been divided into four rooms, two down and two upstairs. The stairway was accessed from the added on living room. My aunt, Okla Thomas Whiteside was born in the downstairs bedroom, as I assume were my two uncles, Emmons and Cecil. Dad was born in 1913; I assume at home, and delivered by Dr. Hervey of Fortville, thus the origin of Dad's middle name. The viewing for my grandmother, Izia Thomas, at her death, was held in the other downstairs room in February 1931. There were two bedrooms upstairs with a low/slanted ceiling on each side. There was no evidence of a fireplace. It appears the downstairs windows had been made larger at some time.

Renovation on the cabin began in the fall of 1997 by Philip Sullivan from Sharpsville, Indiana. Phil had stopped by once a year since 1992 to encourage us to do something with the cabin. Once the plaster/lathes on the walls and the roof were removed, he marked the logs and took them down one by one to be reassembled on the present site. The original site was in the front yard of our new home to the right of the driveway.

Phil convinced Nancy and I to change the configuration of the cabin by adding a full-length porch to the front and back. I do not know if the original design of the cabin included any porches. Also, we decided to move the stairway to along the back of the cabin and make the upstairs a 3/4 loft. The downstairs was also changed to one large room. The final change is a large fieldstone fireplace in the east end of the cabin. A shake shingle roof at this time was cost prohibitive, so the tin roof was installed for now. Presently, the cabin is about 99% restored.

Phil left in June, 1999 and never returned to complete the work. Repeated attempts were made to contact him including a visit to his home only to be completely ignored. Nothing was done on the cabin until October 2000 when Craig Cropper, Franklin, TN agreed to finish all but the fireplace. Craig is a Mt. Vernon High School graduate from the late 1970's whose dad still lives two miles west of here. Craig and his crew returned in August 2001 to complete the construction. Max Griffey and family from Fortville finished the fireplace. Needless to say, Nancy and I put in many hours of toil and sweat to add the finishing touches.

To continue the connecting saga of the Thomas family and this historical building, our daughters, Shannon and Erin, were married on the back steps of this cabin. Shannon was married to Hoesli Labhart of Evansville/New York City on June 12, 1999 and Erin was married to Jason Holyfield of Athens, TX/Indiana on September 29, 2001.

Our plans for the cabin at this time are simply to save it. As you can see, there is too much family sentiment to allow it to be destroyed or passed on to someone else. We would like to fill it with Thomas memorabilia and furnish it with period furnishings. Our son, Darren, and his wife, Suzanne, have blessed us with four precious grandchildren, Dakota, Colton, Cassidy and Canyon who will carry on the Thomas name. The cabin will always be a wonderful place for us to spend quality time as a retreat from the day-to-day activities. By the way, the original name of the farm was "Maplecrest." This name is now inscribed on the sign we have placed in front of the cabin, which, also includes, 1865, the year the Thomases arrived.

I hope these comments will help to explain some of the cabin's history and why we consider this project to be a labor of love.

Darrell and Nancy Thomas, 3841 W 700 North, McCordsville, Indiana 46055-9429