DECEMBER 2009 UPDATE BELOW! Scroll down to view some of the dismantling process.

2010 Move to the FARM! CLICK HERE

Dave & Shirley Short Donate The Everett-Short Family Log Home to the Widner-Magers Farm

Many Dell residents do not realize that the first homes in the area were of logs. Vast forests covered the area, so it was only natural that the houses were constructed of materials at hand. When Earl and Alice Magers came to Dell, they moved into an existing dogtrot style log house north of Dell, close to the Mooney Cemetery. Mamie Magers Griffin remembered the house well. One side of the dogtrot was the hub of their family life. It was heated with a large fireplace. The kitchen was " set up" in this room, and most family activities took place there. When it came time for bed, the entire family slept in the second side. A fire in the fireplace of the sleeping room helped keep them warm and cozy at the beginning of their slumber. But, by morning, the fire was gone. As long as she and her sister, Naoma, remained in bed, all was fine. But, once those little feet touched the cold floor, neither of them wasted time running to the kitchen, where their mother was cooking breakfast. During the hot, humid summers, all the windows and doors were left open. Much of the housekeeping work was done on the central open porch between the two rooms. Churning butter, cleaning vegetables, canning and many other tasks were carried on outside of the hot rooms. "If there was any breeze at all, the porch was the coolest place to be."

The Everett-Short log home is also of the two pen dogtrot style. The walls are constucted of hand-hewn logs. The structure was used as the Everett Family home for many years. When Shirley's father took over the farm, he turned the home into a barn for his livestock. Over the years, the barn was abandoned. It sat silently deteriorating as time went by. The Shorts then faced the hard decision of a high cost restoration or a demolition of a part of their family history. The Rural Arkansas Magazine article presented them with a third choice--the one that brought Dave and Shirley to the Widner-Magers Farm one hot August day with the offer of a donation of their historic structure.

For more history of the Everett-Payton-Short Family CLICK HERE

To view photos of the moved to the Widner-Magers Farm CLICK HERE

While the deterioration is too extensive to move and reconstruct the home as it was built, plenty of the logs will be salvaged for a single pen structure. To be located at the Widner-Magers Farm Historic District, the Everett-Short Family Log Home will serve as a lasting legacy from the descendents of Fransus M. Everett and as a tribute to the pioneer settlers of early Arkansas history.

December 2009

In December 2009 John Holt and Malcolm Griffin spent a week at the Everette-Short Family Log Home. Fighting cold and rain, the two documented the original structure with photos and sketches. Then came the removal of the roof, side sheds, and "lean-to" additions in order to expose the original structure. A numbered white tag was nailed to the end dovetails of each log so that reconstruction would be possible. The logs are now ready to be loaded onto Dave's semi for the move to the Widner-Magers Farm.

The entire process was observed by the Short family and other interested persons from the local area. A school group was also scheduled to visit the site.

Lean-to sheds had been added to the barn. These had to be removed.

Above: Rt to Lt: 1-Lean-to and fireplace stones. 2-Covered shed. 3-The dog trot area. Below: Rt to Lt: Another view of the dog trot area. The original log structure without the roof, sheds and lean-to. Note the white numbered tags on the dove tails.