INVITATION TO THE SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION FOR THE AUTREY HOUSE The Autrey House Museum Board of Directors invites you to the Autrey Family and Friends Reunion to celebrate the 150th birthday of the Autrey House, on Saturday, June 5, 1999. We hope you can share this important milestone, please bring lawn chairs and memories to the Autrey House, one mile west of Dubach. REUNION ARRANGEMENTS: The reunion will begin with registration at 10 a.m., followed by a program about the family and house history at 11:00. lunch will be served at 12:30. A catered lunch with barbecue chicken, baked beans, salad, and drink will be available with a $7.00 advance reservation per lunch by May 22, 1999. Or, feel free to bring your own picnic lunch. After lunch, we'll gather for family storytelling and visiting. A block of rooms will be reserved at Holiday Inn, and RV hookups ($10.00 water/electric) are available near Dubach. A list of alternative motels will be provided upon request. To reserve a room at Holiday Inn in Ruston, call 318-255-5901 FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS NEEDED: We are developing a family exhibit for the reunion and are seeking photographs of Absalom Autrey's children and grandchildren. If you have these family photos, please contact Dr. Glynn Ingram, History Dept., La. Tech., Ruston, La. 71272; phone: 318-257-3344; e-mail: gingram@gans.latech.edu ABSALOM AUTREY HOUSE BACKGROUND: IN 1985, the J.C. Drewett Estate donated the log dog trot house built by Absalom Autrey in 1849, and 1.6 acres including the family cemetery, to the Lincoln Parish Museum, with the stipulation that the place be preserved as a monument to the pioneer heritage of north Louisiana. The Absalom Autrey house is an example of the log dog trot, the most common traditional house type of the early north Louisiana hill country. Believed to be the oldest surviving structure in Lincoln Parish, the hand-hewn log house has an open central hall, with two rooms on each side and a sleeping loft above. Absalom Autrey, a typical pioneer of the area, was drawn by the abundance of cheap land for growing cotton. With his wife, Elizabeth Norris, and their fourteen children, he moved to present day Lincoln Parish from the Selma, Alabama area in 1848. on the 160 acers plot of land he purchased on Bird Creek, they grew cotton and corn for cash and raised vegetables and livestock and hunted game for food. The house was occupied by his descendants through the first quarter of this century and later was rented until the early 1970's. MUSEUM STATUS: Now the Autrey House is a satellite museum of the Lincoln Parish Museum, showcasing our north Louisiana heritage. In 1991, restoration of the house was carried out under the auspices of a grant from the Division of Historic Preservation, Office of Cultural Development, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism and the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The house received the special grant for selected properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its historical and architectural significance. Today it is open third Saturdays and Sundays, March-October, 2-4 p.m. and by special appointment. To schedule appointments or tours, call Liz Trammell, 318-777-3495. AUTREY HOUSE SUPPORT: The Autrey House needs your continued support to operate and maintain the house, grounds, and security system. You can give your support through a tax-deductible donation or by ordering an Autrey House 100% cotton T-shirt ($15.00). In addition, brass ornaments, featuring the pen and ink drawing by Kathy Roach Linder and Autrey House prints by James White are still available ($10.00 each). You may reserve your T-shirt for the reunion: large, ex-large, or childrens sizes will be available with other sizes printed by request. If you can't make the reunion, these items can be shipped to you. Thanks for your help.