This small cache has a patriotic theme. There is a flag pole in
front of the farmhouse that has the American and MIA-POW flags
flying from it. For the last few years, Boy Scout Troop 434 has been
responsible for the retiring and replacing of the American flag on
Veterans Day, November 11. In memorium, please leave patriotic,
red, white, or blue items in the cache. This cache is hidden in
plain sight, so there is no need to use any force to locate it. In
other words, respect the fact that this site is on the National
Register of Historic Places.
History of the Box
House
James T. Spruill (1816-1896) settled and began to farm a
significant portion of the land which is present-day Dunwoody in
the early 1840s. The first structure built on the property was a
log house, typical of its day and common among pioneer families in
this part of the country. Family members recall that the house was
two stories tall and that the original walls were constructed of
large, round logs. The log house survives today only in the
memories of older family members and their stories, because it was
torn down in 1905 after becoming infested with termites.
The oldest extant part of the current structure was built in
1867 as an addition to the log house. It consists of two rooms,
located in the back of the house. One room currently houses the
history exhibit and the other has been converted to a rest room and
hallway. These rooms were once a kitchen/living area (the family
refers to it as the "keeping room") and an extra bedroom,
respectively. The addition was made in order to accommodate the
large family of Thomas Franklin Spruill (1846-1920), James' son.
Open hearth cooking was done in the large stone fireplace. The
corner cabinet has five let-in shelves and an enclosed cabinet. The
"keeping room" has original wooden wall paneling, which the family
switched from horizontal to vertical in the 1880s to give the room
a more modern look.
In 1905, Stephen Spruill (1870-1967), Thomas' son tore down the
log house built by his grandfather, and using the 1867 addition as
an anchor, he then built the "box house". The "box house" consists
of the four rooms and a central hallway which runs the length of
the house. The hallway and high ceilings (14 ft.) facilitated air
circulation during hot Southern summers before air conditioning.
With its simple architecture, the Spruill House is a fine example
of Southern farmhouses from this period.
The house rests on a brick pier foundation and uses a typical
floor joint and wall stud system. The walls are constructed of sawn
wood studs, and the roof exhibits a combination of both hip and
roof gable roofing. The exterior is composed of mill cut lap-board
siding, which may very well have been supplied by the Spruill's
Mill in North Fulton County.
The front facade has six columns and two pilasters. It features
Victorian detailing, such as spindle work and flat jig-saw cut
trim, which give the house its special charm. (This trim was added
a few years after the house was built, perhaps because woodworking
machinery and the growth of the railroad system made precut
Victorian detailing more accessible in those years.) The shutters
on the front facade can swing open or remain shut. The side and the
back porches are informal and less ornate. Similar to the railing
currently found on the back porch, the original facade railing was
comprised of horizontal strips of lumber.
In 1937, Stephen and his second wife, Ethel Warren Spruill,
remodeled and updated the house. During the remodeling, the wall
which separated the living room and hallway was removed to make the
living room more spacious, and a modern kitchen and bath were
installed.
There are two outbuildings still standing along with the house.
The smokehouse was built in the 1840s, at the same time as the
original log house. Iron hooks, upon which meat was hung to be
dried and cured, can still be seen along the smokehouse's walls.
The smokehouse is constructed of large round logs similar to those
in the original house.
The second outbuilding is a seed house. Here, staple farm
supplies, such as corn, wheat, and cotton seed were stored. The
seed house was built in the early twentieth century and is made up
entirely of mill cut lap-board siding, with no rounded logs.
