This is the Bray-Paschal house in southern Matthews Township. It was the home of Richard Bray Paschal, who was sheriff of Chatham during the Civil War. His diary of those years provides valuable and interesting information about the county and the Chatham men who were fighting elsewhere.

The house began as a simple log cabin in the 1790s, and was added to in the early 1800s and again about 1860. It "beautifully illustrates the development of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture in Chatham County," according to The Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, NC. The log portion of the Bray-Paschal House is the oldest, intact documented log dwelling in Chatham County, according to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the property.

Paschal's diary can be viewed here: https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/235725

The family cemetery is across the road from the house. You can see photos and info here: http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem218.htm

Photo taken in 2012.

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