Today I’m exploring the Torian Log Cabin in historic downtown Grapevine, Texas. The house, constructed of hand-hewn logs, was built along a creek in the Cross Timbers region near the pioneer community of Lonesome Dove, a few miles northwest of present-day Grapevine.

The house originally stood on an 1845 land grant settled by Francis Throop, a Peters colonist from Missouri. In 1868, Throop sold to J.C. Wiley who later sold to John R. Torian, a farmer from Kentucky. The Torian family lived in the house from 1886 until the 1940s.

In 1976, the home was threatened with demolition until the Grapevine Historical Society intervened. Working with Grapevine city leaders, the logs of the cabin were numbered, disassembled, moved to its current site in downtown Grapevine, where the house was rebuilt. In 1978, the structure was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark.

The Torian Cabin has since been preserved and maintained by the Grapevine Historical Society and the City of Grapevine. It is located on Main Street across from Grapevine City Hall. Two rooms of the cabin are open for viewing at all hours year-round.