The story of Half Mile Farm Cabins began in the early 1800’s when the first of the cabins was built. These cabins, originally constructed in various locations throughout the Southeast, were relocated to the Highlands, North Carolina two hundred years later. The Justice Cabin came from Alamance County in central North Carolina and was built in 1819 by Clayborn Justice. It remained in the Justice fa
mily for well over a century and a half until it was moved to Highlands. The Justice family name is of Scottish origin and the v-notch corners of the structure are consistent with Scot-Irish building traditions. The Earnest House (with the “Elizabeth’s Room“ suite on the second floor) was primarily constructed using a log house from central Kentucky, built by William Earnest in the mid 1840’s. The v-notching at the corners is characteristic of the construction technique attributed to the Scottish and Irish that settled that area, however the Earnest name has a distinctly German origin. The structure is built in the architectural style of the early houses of the Valley of Virginia which often combined log, half timber, which you see in the middle section of the building, and stone. There were few, if any, architects, so as each generation added what was needed to meet the needs of the family, a rambling mix of styles and construction technologies actually became the wonderful architecture of that region that we see today and unlike any in the country.
