Friday, July 03, 2009

Rector Log Barn

The Rector Log Barn is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by the slaves owned by Joseph W. Rector sometime prior to the Civil-War and is constructed of large 6 by 12 logs. Some beams in the roof structure are even larger. The barn, complete with loft, has been covered with tin and has had a lean-to built completely around it to protect the important historical treasure from the elements. More labor of the slaves who worked this land is apparent in the terraced hillsides surrounding the barn.

Video Below!

J. W. Rector, a prominent figure in Izard County's history, moved to Izard County from Kentucky in 1852 with his wife, Anne Cooper. He joined Col. Robert Glenn Shaver's 7th Arkansas Infantry as a 3rd Lieutenant and participated in the forgotten but bloody Battle of Perryville near Perryville Kentucky in 1862. He is listed as Surveyor for Izard County during the 1862-1864 term. J.W. bought land in Palo Pinto County, Texas and moved there in 1885.

K. W. (Kansas) Rector , son of Joseph W. Rector, continued to farm the land after his father moved away. A son of K.W,. Samuel Bingham Rector, trained as a pharmacist opening a thriving business at Heber Springs in Cleburne County. Samuel (Sam) Rector was also influential in establishing the Arkansas National Bank (now Heber Springs State Bank), the largest bank in Heber Springs, Samuel Bingham's home is currently under nomination to also be included on the National Register of Historic Places.







6 comments:

Unknown said...

A piece of My Past;

Lee Rector here - JW was my Great Great grandfather and all branches lead to german immigrant Johanne Reichter (1710) who arrived from Germany and mined iron ore in Virginia. Any other Rector's out there - you can search my name on www.flickr.com for public rector geneology photos.

Al-Ozarka said...

Lee,

As I was researching online for JW, I had a look at your ancestry. I enjoyed learning a little about your family. Getting to know the families with Izard County connections has been one of the great things about having this site.

Colleen said...

Thanks Roger for the link. This is a great old barn. I wish JW would have stayed here and built us a big barn. There are two branches of my family that went to Izard County from Wayne Co, Ky, Becks and Rectors.

Gary Rector said...

I'm a descendant of J.W. Rector's older brother Jesse. Thank you for that great video of the amazing old barn. It helps us Rectors and other kin to become better aware of our connections.

Lee Rector said...

10/17/13

Another Lee Rector here, originally out of Searcy, Arkansas. JW was my GG Grandfather, too. He is buried in Gordon, TX in Palo Pinto County and I was recently at his grave.

KW, his son who took over the farm in Mebourne after the Civil War was my G Grandfather. I was also in Melbourne recently and visited the barn, as well as KW's grave. It still looks great and is in good repair.

I need to make a correction, Lee (first post above). There is an error. The German immigrant was NOT Johanne "Reichter." The immigrant, my GGGGGG Grandfather -- and presumably yours too -- was in fact Hans Jacob Richter. His family came over 1714 along with 12 other German Immigrant families. They established Germanna.

This is kind of a big deal. 1) They were the first German immigrants to the new country (Virginia Territory). 2) With the other families they built Germanna, a fort where the families lived. 3) Today there is an foundaton in their honor The Germanna Foundation (www.germanna.org) and in 2014 they are planning a "300 years of being an American" Celebration at the Germanna site in Virginia. We all should be there.

All of this is very well documented and on my website I have a book entitled "The Rectors of Wayne County Kentucky," that my mother helped research. It is available for free download at: www.rector.org/genealogy.htm

Click "Free Book Download"

Hope to see all you Rectors for the 300th Anniversary Celebration in Virginia in 2014. Log on to www.germanna.org to get updates.

Unknown said...

yes, your correction of the first posting is true; not sure why I made a mistake with his name.