Historic Log Cabin Damaged By Fire

COOPERTOWN, Tenn. -- Authorities said a smoke alarm probably saved the lives of a couple whose log cabin home burned down on Friday morning.

Images: Log Cabin Destroyed By Fire

Their home was located on Martin's Chapel Road near Coopertown and Pleasant View.

Authorities said the woman who lives at the residence, Billie Jean Owens, said she heard the smoke alarm early, which forced her to act quickly. Owens and her husband, Tom, have lived in the house for the last 21 years.

"She had just got up to go down to make coffee, and she could smell a hint of smoke. (She) couldn't see anything in the house, but she could smell a little bit of smoke. She said once she got downstairs, she could see a little bit of smoke in the living room, and that's when the smoke alarms went off. She went up and got her husband and that's when they both got out of the house," said Assistant Chief P.J. Duncan of the Pleasant View Fire Department.

Firefighters said the flames looked like they originated from the heating unit.

The home was one of the oldest in Tennessee and dates back to the early days of its statehood.

Tom Owens said he thought the home was built in 1791. He said he spent 10 years searching for his piece of paradise and another 11 years restoring it.

“We made it exactly like what we wanted,” he said.

The two-story house is so old that the original deed is a mystery. The house has served as a safe house from Indian attacks and a bootleggers’ hideout and boasts many ghost stories.

The Robertson County Historical Society said the house was built by the relatives of French nobility.

“To lose one to fire, we really hate to see that,” said county historian Yolanda Reid.

Moses Fontaine recorded many family births in the front page of his family Bible, but there is no record of a deed.

“There is no doubt the Fontaines were here at the time statehood began –1796. But, the bottom line is it’s a very old house that we’ve lost, a treasure,” Reid said.

“Only thing I can say is we love it -- loved it,” Tom Owens said.

Tennessee became a state in 1796, so any house older than that would be deeded to the state of North Carolina.