Joe Melot had married Katy Borjon in Kansas, and had settled on her new Pottawatomi allotment in Indian Territory.  She was a half-blood Pottawatomi and French, and a "Citizen Pottawatomi."  Originally the Melot's homestead was a two story edifice, but many years later it was reduced to a one and a story home as it remains today.  At present, it is used as a barn to store hay, and a herd of cattle graze complacently around the log buildings among a cluster of native trees.

This log cabin home is more than ten years older than the Antoine Bouronnais log house south of Shawnee and the Steve Negahuquet cabin west of Pearson, and 22 years older than the H. G. Beard cabin built in 1891 (NOT 1895) that now exists in Woodland Park in Shawnee.

When Melot arrived in the county 101 years ago there existed many other log cabins which were built before the Civil War.  One was three miles west of his home which had been built and used by missionaries when that area was a part of the old Seminole Nation in the late 1850's.  The old Seminole Agency log building, about 7 miles northeast of his home, was still in existence as was the large Council House located about 13 miles northwest, and the Jesse ChishoIm log cabin home that was two miles east of present Asher.  Today, these all have succumbed and disintegrated with time, nonexistent except in the nostalgic memory of a few.

Joe Melot was among the first few families who came from Kansas in 1868.  However because of the raids and imminent danger by the yet uncivilized Plains Indians, all retreated back to Kansas except the determined and fearless Melot.  He made friends with the hostile Indians and remained.

Three years later he again returned to Kansas and led six other families back the spring of 1871, traveling in a wagon train consisting of 14 covered wagons to the Pottawatomi reservation.  The original seven families were the Melot, Pettifer, John Anderson, Burjon, Tupan, Pete Anderson, and the Baldin families.  The Burbonnais, Nedeau, Clardy, George Young and the Martelle families and many others followed soon thereatter.

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