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Resurrection in the Hart land
There are no signs pointing out the way to Hart’s Square, a seemingly abandoned village in Catawba County where speckled fawns and does freely lounge in knee-high grasses — only a mammoth iron gate, bearing the symbol of a heart, set inside a square.
Deep in a century-old stand of chestnut oak, the largest known collection of log cabins waits, steeped in quiet. Like a still photo from simpler times, it’s as if an entire community was whisked away. Porch rockers are empty and gristmill gears rarely turn, still, the essence of life in the Catawba Valley remains.
Beneath the shade of a tented canopy, the collection’s proprietor, Bob Hart, uses a power saw to cut planks of wood that are nearly 200 years old. Along with his helper, Boris Perjar, he is reconstructing the sub-floor for a summer kitchen. Even in the shade, the temperature is nearly 100-degrees.
“Tomorrow, I’ll be working in an air-conditioned office,” Hart said, wiping sweat and sawdust from his forehead.
Given the choice, he prefers to be here in Hart’s Square, working to rebuild the newest addition to his collection of log structures — the Teague House. Hart tried to retire years ago, but found that affording his hobby meant he still had to put in few days at the office.
That hobby started in 1967, with the purchase of land. At the time, the practicing physician had plans to create a wildlife refuge — some place to get away. So, he constructed ponds for ducks, geese and swan, while fencing in more than 200 acres for his deer herd.
In the midst of all that tranquility, wouldn’t a log cabin be nice?
“That’s just what a good friend of mine told me one day,” Hart said.
And so, an old log cabin soon made the journey from an overgrown field to what would become Hart’s Square. From then, there was news of a barn, a church and an old corncrib.
These days, Hart’s Square showcases more than 80 original log structures, resurrected from ruin throughout the Catawba Valley. One-by-one, the structures were dismantled, moved and ultimately given new purpose in a lifelong project that continues nearly a half-century later.
Once a year, on the fourth Saturday in October, Hart swings open that big iron gate, inviting a limited number of visitors in for the day. It is the one time of year that Hart’s Square comes to life. Hart works as a caretaker year round, but it takes months to ready the village for visitors.
The Teague House, a two-story log house, was only recently moved to Hart’s Square. Originally located in the Dudley Shoals community on Burns Road in Catawba County, the home was built by William F. Teague in 1874.
While it takes Hart and his crew a mere two days to dismantle a log structure, it can take as long as six months to rebuild. “We take the floor, the rocks, the windows and the doors,” he said. “We take everything until there’s nothing left but rotting wood.”
It took Hart six weeks to build the Teague House chimney. “This chimney is unique because it’s made of hand-carved sandstone,” Hart said. Constructed of rose-colored sandstone, the chimney is one of the home’s most striking features. Inside the ceilings, walls and floors are original heart pine. There is something else that makes the Teague House special.
“This is the last one,” Hart said. “I promised my wife I wouldn’t move anymore.” That decision doesn’t signal the end for his collection. Five years ago, the Hart Square Foundation was established.
“We set up this nonprofit foundation to continue the existence of Hart’s Square long after I’m gone,” he said, still nailing down boards beneath the canopy. With only three months until the festival, every minute is precious.
Once the summer kitchen is complete, Hart will finish making the rounds, checking in on the Whitener Cabin, Chapel of Peace, the general store and an old print shop
Each of these structures is accented with period furnishings that preserve the simplicity of life in the 1800s.
The print shop, a small one-room log cabin, contains a miniature 1873 printing press, as well as printing accessories — book press, chase, coins, wooden blocks and links.
The country store, which was built in 1790 and recovered from Conover, represents an economic and social center where settlers once gathered to tell stories, play checkers and chew tobacco. The counter houses a tobacco cutter, a coffee grinder and an old ledger book. There is even a scale, once used to weigh gold panned from nearby creeks.
“For each board I nail down on these structures, I think about how much work went into that one board alone,” Hart said. “I think about how much harder folks had to work, even in simpler times.”
“As a doctor, I worked to preserve human life,” he continued “By reconstructing log cabins, I am able to preserve a way of life, saving a slice of history for future generations to savor.”
Tickets for the 20th annual Village Festival at Harts Square are $25. This includes a tour of the village, which will be bustling with re-enactors, demonstrating everything from candy making and bee hive oven baking, to cotton ginning and wood carving. Tickets go on sale Monday, Oct. 3 and can be purchased from the Catawba County Historical Association.
For ticket information, or to make a donation to the Hart’s Square Foundation, contact the Catawba County Historical Association at (828) 465-0383.
