Working on a Building
This piece was originally published in the December 2019 - March 2020 issue of our journal, Vol. 5, Issue 3: Pioneers.
At the fringes of Natchez Trace State Park, passersby wouldn’t have an inkling of thought to wonder what is being built just down the dirt drive leading into the woods. It’s completely unassuming, and for at least three bumps in the road, I’m not not sure if I’ve arrived in the right place—until a bouncy Rhodesian Ridgeback pup comes galloping up the road, barking to signal my approach. Ranger gives a couple sniffs to the air and a cautionary bark to make sure I’m not an intruder, then happily licks me head to toe. And there, at the end of the driveway to the left, is the skeleton frame of a cabin and its builder, Kelsey Meadows, perched on a ladder with a bucket of wood stain.
The two-acre lot is perfectly situated in the forest, surrounded by beautiful, mature trees and even a little pond right off the edge. Ranger runs around the site, hopping up onto the foundation floor and weaving in and out of the exposed beams. It’s a truly magical spot, with the light trickling in through the rafters and the breeze washing over the branches above. Aside from the occasional whirring of a car passing by on the main road, you’re encompassed by woodland and far removed from any sense of neighboring civilization.
Texas native Kelsey Meadows has been an inspiring and skillful figure in the Jackson community since she moved here in 2009, so none of us were surprised when she ventured off into building her own cabin in the woods. After buying her first home three years ago, Kelsey’s skills have grown from small renovation projects to major woodworking projects, which became a creative outlet and stress reducer for her. It wasn’t until after a solitary retreat at Natchez Trace, though, that she was inspired to create this new space, and upon observing the simple design of the rented cabin, she challenged herself to create one with her own two hands.
Located in Parsons, Tennessee, about an hour’s drive from Jackson, Kelsey describes her land as “nearby enough to be convenient yet out of town enough to feel disconnected.” Inspired by Danish architecture, she has incorporated clean lines, natural wood finishes, dark contrasting stains and paint, and lots of window light into her final design. As I walk through the site and climb up into the structure, I am astounded by how large the space is from the inside and taken aback at the magnitude of this project.
Plenty of examples exist of pioneers traversing the wilderness and building a place of their own. I visited Walden Pond with my husband’s family last year and reread some of Thoreau’s thoughts on naturalism and doing valuable work with your hands. However, what some of those stories and authors lack is a reckoning of our dependence on a greater community as humans. Even from our first spoken words as toddlers, it’s clear that we want to do things on our own. What I admire about this cabin project and the pioneering nature of who Kelsey is as a person is that she acknowledges her own limits and invites others into the process. While having spent many days at the lot alone with Ranger, she has welcomed the help of many friends and family who have come to lend a hammering hand and is quick to share about all of the folks who have been there for her on long construction days.
“My life in Jackson is so rich with community,” Kelsey says. “My job working at a church, living in community with roommates, and having so much intersection each and every day with the people that I love in this place brings so much joy and meaning to my life.”
The adventure began in February, and as she builds each section bit by bit, she’s giving into the season of construction without trapping herself into a hard deadline. At the time of my visit, she hopes to have the structure completely walled in by autumn so that she can continue working in the structure throughout the winter. In her hopes of building a place of solace and refuge for herself, her tight-knit community will receive the work of her hands through hospitality and adventure.
“It is about discovering an ancient path, long forgotten and overgrown, and pioneering ways for our generation to lean into the cadence of creation.”
Kelsey attributes much of her inspiration for a solitary place to the 20th century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who once wrote, “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.…Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.…Each by itself has profound perils and pitfalls. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and the one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes into the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.” It was these words that empowered Kelsey to move forward on her vision and create this sacred space.
I ask Kelsey what it’s like to take on such an immense project as a young woman, and while she has never considered gender a barrier to her goals, she recognizes the unique challenges of confronting the status quo.
“Given many circumstances in my life, I’ve had to learn to blaze new paths, to believe in new possibilities, to courageously walk out into spaces where there have been no examples to guide me,” she says. “If I’m honest, the most challenging part has been recognizing my own limits. . . . Before, I felt that I understood what Bonhoeffer was getting at about the work of community being impossible without solitude, but I believe this cabin project has helped me understand more and more how the work of solitude is impossible without community.”
Follow along with Kelsey’s progress on Instagram.
Cari Griffith is a photographer by trade who loves storytelling of all kinds. After a couple of years away in Nashville, she and her husband Rob decided Jackson was calling them home, and they moved back to their beloved Lambuth area neighborhood. Cari's other loves include gardening, cooking, sharing meals with her friends, and trying to talk Rob into getting a dog.
Photography by Cari Griffith.
