Robert and Janice Dotson purchased the property adjoining their Wilson Mountain farm on Nat Key Road in 2015 and began a journey through Hartselle’s past. Now they are inviting the community to be a part of their home’s history, too.  

The unveiling of a historical marker will take place at 2 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Crabb-Stewart-Key-Dotson Home, located at 1084 Nat Key Road in Hartselle. The Cattlemen’s Association will be present serving hot dogs, chips and drinks under a tent. 

The historical “discovery” began when the Dotsons noticed petroglyphs on the chimney and other relics in the homestead on the property and decided they had to learn more about the home’s history.  

After researching, and enlisting the Hartselle Historical Society’s help, the Dotsons discovered the writings on the chimney stone were Cherokee, which matches with the area’s history. It is thought he house might have even been built by Cherokee Indians before the state of Alabama was founded in 1819. 

Thomas Crabb, an Alabama legislator and signer of the Alabama constitution, was one of the first owners of the home. The house has had many lives, including serving as a treaty house and stagecoach stop on what was first known as Stouts Road, later renamed Nat Key Road.  

Members of the Stewart and Key families are buried on the property in the family cemetery. The last occupying family member, Eula Kay, lived in the home until she left in 2015 to live in a nursing home.  

Everyone is invited to celebrate the unveiling of the historical marker for the Crabb-Stewart-Key-Dotson House, rain or shine.