KENLY — In a county where new homes and developments seem to pop up overnight, one small wooden cabin has defied time. Nestled on a quiet plot of land in Johnston County, the Boyette Slave and School House stands as a rare historical treasure, preserved by generations of the same family since at least the early 1800s.
For Vann Stancil, the cabin is more than just a structure — it’s a deeply personal piece of history. A Special Project Coordinator at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Stancil has long been fascinated by the cabin, both for the stories it tells about his family and the centuries old wood used in its construction. His family has owned the land since his three-times great-grandfather, George Boyette, first settled it in the late 1700s.
In conjunction with the Kenly Area Historical Society, Stancil recently gave a presentation using his extensive research on the Boyette Slave and School House.
His passion for preserving this piece of history started young. As an eighth grader at Glendale Chapel School in 1987, Stancil built an authentic replica of the cabin, earning a blue ribbon in a countywide Heritage Week competition. Today, his replica is still on display at the Kenly Tobacco Farm Life Museum.
A Unique Piece of Johnston County History
The 12-by-16-foot cabin is a striking example of early American craftsmanship. Built with hand-hewn, pit-sawn longleaf pine boards and dovetail joints, it has withstood nearly two centuries of history. The land it sits on once supported a diverse farm that was a prime example of Antebellum life. It was home to horses, cows, pigs, sheep, poultry and crops like corn, oats, rice, flax and cotton.
What makes the cabin remarkable is its historical significance. It is the only known intact slave quarters in Johnston County and one of just 36 sites in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, added in 1979. Its mud-and-stick chimney, a rare feature, is one of only three still standing in North Carolina. This type of construction was once common in early Southern settlements, where settlers of modest means used a wooden framework packed with mud or clay to build chimneys. Over time, most of these structures deteriorated, making this one a rare surviving example.
“It’s not rare that it was built,” Stancil explained, “but it’s rare that it has survived.”
In 2012, Stancil and other volunteers rebuilt the chimney to fortify and strengthen it so it would last for even more years to come.
The Lives Within Its Walls
Family history and historical records indicate that the cabin was originally a slave dwelling. While no records show George Boyette purchasing an enslaved person, 1826 tax records confirm he paid taxes on enslaved individuals, and a woman is listed in his will.
By 1840, census records show that five free white people, one enslaved woman, and two enslaved children lived on the property. The woman is believed to have been Silvy, who was born into slavery around 1813 in Johnston County. She likely lived in the cabin until her death in around 1854. Stancil’s research also uncovered that she had eight children between 1836 and 1852 with an enslaved man named Hardy, who was owned by a neighboring landowner.
“We’ve used stories passed down through families, combined with historical documents, to piece together the full picture,” Stancil said. “It’s terrible to think they placed a monetary value on a human life. Those documents are how we have this information.”
A Cabin That Evolved With the Times
While the cabin’s early history is tied to slavery, its use evolved over the years. After emancipation, it became a home for tenant farmers. From 1890 to 1910, it served as a neighborhood schoolhouse for local farm children before merging with the Woodard School at the site of what would become Glendale Chapel School.
Though thought to have been built around 1830, the cabin may have an even older history. Stancil suspects it could have been Boyette’s original home when he first acquired the land from the state in the 1790s. He may have lived there while building the larger farmhouse that still stands across the road today.
Preserving the Past for the Future
Despite being built as a rudimentary structure, the cabin’s longevity is a testament to the care it has received. The stick and mud chimney was designed to be easily removed in case of fire — yet it still stands. Stancil’s family has long recognized its historical value and worked to maintain and restore it over generations.
Today, he continues to research the cabin’s history, hoping to answer lingering questions and ensure its preservation for future generations.
The cabin offers knowledge about social history, early architecture, genealogy and even the age of the trees that were used to build it. “It’s important for different reasons to different people,” Stancil said.
As Johnston County rapidly modernizes, this humble wooden cabin remains a living connection to the past, a rare and powerful reminder of the stories, both painful and profound, that shaped the region.
