Individual Details

Appears on Tax List for Logan County Ky 1797 - 200 a on Gasper River. By 1817 he declared five tracts: 400 acres on the Gasper, entered by A. Felts; 400 acres on the Gasper, entered by Bowles, surveyed by A. Felts, 200 acres on the Gasper, entered by Isaac Meeks, 195 acres on the Gasper, entered by S. Lowry, and 200 acres in Butler Co on Motes Creek, entered by Jesse Shelton. [There is some indication that Motes Creek was also on Muddy Creek but no Motes Creek now appears on maps.] 1817 was also the first year that William and Samuel Felts appeared on the tax list, each with 1 white male over 21 and 1 horse. They were likely the eldest sons of Archibald.

Logan Co Court Order Book
25 Oct 1796. County levy and payments set. Paid "Arcibald Fells" for 1 wolf Scalp.


6 Oct 1799 Archibald Felts and Martha Barnett, the widow, were designated the Executors of the will of Hugh Barnett. The only child named was Thomas Barnett, to be bound to an easy trade because of his infirmity - there were other children. Probate was later that same year. Logan Co WB A, p.11

17 Jul 1802 Archibald Felts was one of the Appraisers of the Inventory of the estate of James Lowry. WB A, p.51-52

Logan Co KY Order Book 5, p.7, Jun 1809. Polly Bowler, born 11 Jan 1801 and Sally W. Bowler, born 17 Oct 1809, were bound out to Archibald Felts to learn the spinner's trade until age 21.

1810 Logan Co KY Census.
Archibald Felts: 4m under 10, 1m 10-16, 3m 16-26, 1m over 45
2f under 10, 1f 10-16, 2f 16-26, 1f 26-45

22 Aug 1812 Archibald Felts was one of the appraisers of the estate of William Crabtree. And on 26 Sep 1812, he also helped appraise the inventory of William Crewdson. WB A, p.238-239

1820 Census. Logan Co KY
Archibald Felts: 1m -10, 2m 10-16, 1m 16-18, 4m 16-26, 1m over 45. 1f 10-16, 1f 16-26, 1f over 45.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1821-1822
MONDAY, December 17, 1821.
Mr. Francis Johnson presented a petition of Archibald Felts, of the state of Kentucky: respectively praying to be placed on the pension list of the United States, in consideration of services rendered in the Revolutionary war.
I have found no pension.

15 Sep 1824 Archibald Felts and William Sublett were witnesses to the will of Anne B. West. WB C, p.147-148. Probate was 7 Feb 1825.

WB C
p.207 LW&T of Archibald Felts of Logan Co
Land in Butler Co on Big Muddy, entered, surveyd & patented in name of John Shelton to son William Felts.
To dau Polly Drake to have the upper end on which John G. Drake now lives and son William to have the lower end of the land to be divided equal.
Wife Mary Felts, land on which I live, stock, furniture, plantation, for life or until she remarries. If she marries, my personal property to be sold & equally divided between wife and children: Elizabeth Felts, Samuel Felts, Charles Felts, Sally W. Rice, John Felts, Nathaniel Felts, James Felts, Archd. Felts. My wife to have 1/3 part of land during her life and at her death the whole of the estate to be sold for not less than $2 per acre the money to be divided:
Executors: sons Saml and William.
Written 16 Feb 1817: Probate 6 Jun 1825

WB C, p.234
Inventory of A. Felts. 29 Nov 1825. Appraisers: Benjamin Roberts, James Hampton, Phineas Cox.



http://www.loganjournal.com/guestarticle48.php
Logan County Felts Log House a fixture of Kentucky Museum

By: Christy SpurlockChristy Spurlock, a former language arts teacher at Logan County High School, is Assistant Professor/Education Curator Kentucky Museum. She is the granddaughter of the late Logan County Circuit Clerk Ernest Williams and his wife Bess.
Today
The Felts Log House sits next to the Kentucky Library & Museum on Western’s campus
and provides visitors with an opportunity to step back into the past.
Gingerbread sampling and costumed docents make the house a favorite stop during
Christmas in Kentucky, an annual free event held following the Bowling Green Christmas
Parade. The house is even used occasionally for small luncheons and dinners for guests
of the university.
Guests are welcome to tour the house daily, as part of the regular museum admission.
Educators and children alike often list the log house as their favorite part of a museum
tour. A variety of hands-on activities are used with group tours including dressing in
period clothing, period toys, quilting, wool carding, slates, open hearth cooking and
much more.
The house was originally built in between the Richelieu and Cave Spring Communities,
near Gasper River in Logan County sometime between 1809-1815.
How then did it end up on the campus of WKU?
History
Archibald Felts was born in Sussex County, Va. on Feb. 23, 1758 and came to Kentucky
around 1790. The first recorded appearance of Archibald in Logan County was in 1796
for delivering wolf scalps to the Russellville courthouse, so he was among the first
generation of settlers to the region. Felts received various land grants from 1796-1807,
eventually totaling 800 acres of land on the Gasper River.
Felts built an earlier home for his family, and returned east to retrieve them. Once back
in Logan County with his family, he found that dwelling burned to the ground. The family
lived in one or more smaller structures before this final home was built. It is believed
the house was built sometime between 1809-1815; accounts as to the actual year of
construction vary.
From documentation at the museum, it’s known that Archibald married Mary Weldon
(sometime before 1785) and had 10 children, Sally, Nathaniel, Elizabeth “Betsy”,
William, Samuel, Mary “Polly”, Charlie, Archibald Jr., John, and James “Augustine”. The
1810 census records a total of 15 individual in the Felts household.
Tax records from 1819 show that Archibald was in the upper third of Logan County
taxpayers. The family’s income came from hogs, sheep and tobacco. His will was written in 1817 and he divided his land and goods among his wife and children. Archibald died in 1825 owning livestock, grindstones and law books; however, a full inventory of his property was not taken.
Members of the Felts family resided in the home until 1960. The last family members to reside in the house were Miss Ollie and her brother, Carl Felts. In 1968 it was purchased by Sam Watkins, an adjoining neighbor to the Felts farm. A graveyard for the family still remains at the original home site.
Later in life, Miss Ollie explained how she came to own the house/property. She explained that she had received it from her father, Charles Monroe Felts; he had gotten it from his father, Nathaniel Felts; and he had gotten it from his father, Archibald Felts. When asked, “Who had it before that?” Miss Ollie is to have replied, “Well, there was a Shawnee Indian chief who claimed it, but his title wasn’t any good.”
Donation
Sam Watkins was the adjacent land owner to the Felts house and property and purchased the house from Ollie Felts in 1968. She asked Watkins to preserve the home as part of the family’s history. Watkins contacted the Kentucky Museum in 1978 to discuss donating the structure in an effort to preserve the home.
In the summer of 1980, the house was moved to the campus of WKU on a flat bed trunk.
Moving
The 30-mile move from Logan County to WKU’s campus was much anticipated. The roof, top half story and chimneys were removed. The doors and windows were boarded up and the house was lifted and placed on a large truck. The move was a major logistical undertaking - some lower power lines had to be moved. Faculty and staff remember a particularly frightening moment just as the house was nearing its resting place. The trailer and house tilted so much it looked as if the house might roll down the yard and into Kentucky Street.
Once in its new home next to the Kentucky Library & Museum, the house was placed on stone piers, where it was covered in plastic for several years due to lack of funds for renovation. The museum received several centennial grants in 1992 to work on the house. A new roof was added and the chimneys were rebuilt using the original stone.
Architecture
The house has two floors, two chimneys and a “dogtrot “or breezeway. It is constructed of hewn oak, poplar, and walnut logs. The logs are notched at the corners of the building to hold the structure together - V notches. The roof is made with handmade red oak shingles, or shakes. Each is about 5 by 24 inches and there are over 1000. The roof has a comb ridge, or turkey tail at the top, which is an interesting feature.
The house has often been described as a log “mansion” for the period. The size and construction of the house were much nicer than the typical home of the day. The outstanding workmanship has allowed the structure to survive two hundred years and a “move” to a neighboring county. The house had been modified over the years with clapboard siding, a tin roof and an L- addition. When the museum acquired the structure, an effort was made to restore the home to its earliest appearance.
Interior
Grants from both the Warren County and Kentucky Bicentennial commissions were used to furnish the interior. Museum staff researched Logan County probate inventories for a general picture of the furnishings for a typical dwelling of the period. Old issues of the Russellville Messenger were reviewed for descriptions of clothing and textiles.
An exhibits technician built several items for the house, including multiple beds, a cradle, cupboard and chest of drawers. Other items such as dishware, utensils, etc were purchased from companies specializing in reproductions. The hands-on nature of the exhibit, and the extreme fluctuations in temperature throughout the year led to reproduction items being used instead of actual artifacts.
Postscript
In the 30 years since it has been on campus, countless WKU students, tourists and school children have toured the home. Many descendants of the both the Felts and Watkins families continue to visit as well.
During a tour recently, I found myself standing in the 200-year-old doorway looking out to a beautiful early spring afternoon. I wondered, as I often do, of the home’s original inhabitants. How often had they too stood in the doorway breathing in the first signs of an elusive Kentucky spring?
“I really, really like this house!” an enthused 7-year-old visitor declared, before he turned his attention back to the activities.
The KYLM would like to express heartfelt gratitude to both the Felts and Watkins families for this rare gem. This wonderful home enables visitors of all ages to imagine, laugh, explore, and learn about life in south-central Kentucky two centuries ago.
Directions to former site of Felts log home and the Felts Cemetery
Travel 68/80 West from Bowling Green toward Auburn. Turn North (or right) onto H/W 73 at the South Union crossroads. Travel H/W 73 six & one/half miles to a sharp cure in the road. Turn right onto River Road. Travel this road four-tenths of a mile to Felts Cemetery Road. Turn left onto this road. The cemetery will be on the right side of the road; the Felts log home originally sat on the left side of the road among the beautiful mature trees, which are still standing.

Birth	25 Feb 1758
Death	Bef Jun 1825	Logan County, Kentucky
Marriage		Mary Weldon Baugh

Spouse	Mary Weldon Baugh ( - )
Child	Sarah W. "Sally" Felts (1785 - )
Child	Mary "Polly" Felts ( - )
Child	Martha A. Elizabeth "Betsy" Felts ( - )
Child	William Felts (1792 - 1834)
Child	Samuel Felts (1796 - )
Child	Charles Felts ( - )
Child	John Felts (1802 - )
Child	Nathaniel W. Felts (1804 - )
Child	James A. Felts (1808 - 1840)
Child	Archibald Felts (1810 - 1840)

Father	Nathaniel Felts ( - )
Mother	Anne [Felts] ( - )
Sibling	Isham Felts (1750 - )
Sibling	Augustine Felts (1762 - 1831)
Sibling	Frederick Felts (1763 - )
Sibling	Nathaniel Felts (1765 - )
Sibling	Nancy Felts (1767 - )
Sibling	Betsy Felts (1769 - )
Sibling	Thomas Felts (1774 - )