Cypress logs donated for cabin

Twenty-two cypress logs from some acreage along the Trinity River bottom were recently donated to the Polk County Heritage Society in conjunction with the restoration of the Jonas Davis log cabin at Heritage Park.

David Parker, a longtime resident of Dayton, generously made the donation from his property on the edge Dayton.
“He has been tremendous. He’s just an amazing man. He does so much for Dayton for the betterment of the community. He loves log cabins,” Patrick Swilley, a member of the Polk County Heritage Society, said of Parker.

Swilley and Gary Davis, a member of the Polk County Historical Commission, made several trips to Parker’s property along the Trinity River bottom to retrieve the cypress logs and haul them to Livingston.

Tree-trimming and limb removal earlier this summer kicked off the multi-step project at Heritage Park. Located in the 500 block of West Church Street, Heritage Park is home to the W.T. Carter and Bro. Locomotive No. 5, the Jonas Davis log cabin and the Heritage House.

Resurrection fern had taken over the roof of the cabin, deteriorating it, and the heritage society had been raising funds for its replacement and repair. A recent gift of $35,000 from The Smith Family Foundation enabled the project to commence. Heritage Park is maintained by the Polk County Heritage Society.