William Thompson House is an early 19th-century log cabin in Cypress Valley, near

Camden, Tennessee Camden is a city in Benton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,674 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Benton County. History Native Americans were living in the Camden area as early as the Archaic period (8000-1000 B ...

, United States, that was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976. The William Thompson House is one of the few structures remaining from the early settlement period in Benton County. It was built by William Thompson in 1816 or 1819 and typifies the double-pen

dogtrot The dogtrot, also known as a breezeway house, dog-run, or possum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some theories place its origins in the southern Appalac ...

cabin style. It is built from timbers that were squared by hand using an

adze An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...

and dovetailed together at the corners of the building. There are two main rooms on either side of an open passageway (the "dogtrot"), each served by a free-standing chimney at the end of the building. A loft extends across the entire length of the building, under the gable roof.

References

1816 establishments in Tennessee Houses completed in 1816 Houses in Benton County, Tennessee Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Log cabins in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Benton County, Tennessee Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee {{BentonCountyTN-NRHP-stub