National Register Listing

Brady Cabin

38 mi. NW of Ardmore, Ardmore, OK

James J. Eaves, born on February 10, 1861 in Montague County, Texas, first entered Indian Territory as a cattle driver on the Chisholm Trail. Impressed with the possibilities of Indian Territory, Eaves and his family decided to leave Texas for the new land traveling in three covered wagons pulled by six oxen each. While fording the Red River one wagon bed floated away, but the family made it safely to Indian Territory. On December 23, 1892 the family settled 38 miles northwest of Ardmore at Elk, Indian Territory. The family lived in the dovered wagons until Eaves felled, pelled and notched enough trees to build a one room cabin (16'x16') with a stone fireplace on the east side. Later 3 rooms constructed of board and batten were added to the cabin. Eaves and his family lived in the cabin until 1905 when the family moved to Ardmore. Eaves eventually became a prosperous rancher and leading citizen of the Ardmore area. The cabin was used through the 1930s as a foreman's home. The present owner, the granddaughter of James Eaves, has restored the cabin to its appearance in 1905. The cabin with many of the original furnishings and farm equipment will be open to the public as a museum. The Brady Cabin is one of the few examples of pioneer architecture depicting the way of life in Indian Territory at the turn of the century.

Local significance of the building:
Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.