The Cabin is built in the bungalow style and is the only home on the ranch which is original to its location. It is located next to the Lodge at the Ranch Headquarters. Behind the house was the location of the blacksmith shop used on the Armstrong Plantation and several artifacts dating back to the mid-1800’s have been found in that area. The cottage gardens are located behind the Cabin.
 The home was built in 1949 by Mr. Pawlak, a ranch hand and sharecropper for the ranch owner, Mr. Dippel. Mr. Pawlak used materials salvaged from old barns and buildings on the ranch to build the house. A local preacher helped the family electrify the house. The house was occupied by the family until the 1970’s and never had exterior paint nor running water until it was restored in 2000. Mrs. Pawlak would wash her clothes in a tub out front, and well water was readily available from the well out back. The family supplemented their income by raising turkeys. Their son would ride the bus home from school each afternoon and immediately get on horseback in order to gather up the turkeys from the Caney Creek bottom and bring them to the safety of the yard prior to dark when they became easy pickin’s for coyotes, bobcats and other predators.
 The home features all wood construction with a tin roof and small front and back porch. There is a living/dining area, fully-stocked kitchen and bedroom. The bath was added in 2000 and features a painted and stenciled floor with a small clawfoot tub and pedestal sink. The original interior paint has been cleaned and restored and enhanced with wallpaper style stenciling in the dining area and decorated wood paneled doors. The bedroom features a handmade and painted canopied “Portuguese Wedding Bed” and the leather loveseat in the living area also makes in to a single bed. The completely stocked kitchen contains an antique working Fridgedare refrigerator and an antique cast iron sink and drainboard. The dining room features a mid 1800’s pierced tin pie safe in the original turquoise paint used by the Germans. The original handmade radio shelf on the wall in the dining area still holds an antique radio similar to the one used by the family to listen to Sunday afternoon Houston Bucks baseball games.
  As our culture changes and our homes get larger and larger, the Cabin guests often leave with the feeling that less is better and have an appreciation of the simple comforts and close family ties that are often bonded in small spaces.