|
Cabin Tours 2002
The Phyllis Dake Cabin
The Rollie Dodge Cabin
The Aileen and Byron Davis Cabin
The Sara and Jim Donovan Cabin
The Phyllis Dake Cabin
There were a number of rustic cabins left on the shore of Huntington Lake in the vacant worker's camp when the lake was raised a second time by 35 feet in 1917. A few cabins had been started by Valley folks to escape the heat at the West end of the Lake as the Forest Service sold lots in the forest. Some enterprising fellows floated remnants of logs and wood from the saw mills across the lake to build their cabins. The presently-owned Dake cabin was probably one of those cabins left by Southern California Edison as it finished it's second phase of construction work. It was purchased from an unknown soul in 1923 by Adolph Beck. It is believed to have been moved on skids from the Lake's edge, possibly by one of the Sierra Summer School instructors. Mr. Beck owned a planing mill. The original structure had bark wood siding which Mr. Beck and his two sons removed and replaced with today's look. His skill lent itself to built-in bookcases and woodboxes for the Johnny Vistak fireplace. He also made the map cabinet, the card table and the Lazy-susan table, unique in its own way. The exterior of the cabin has remained the same until today. The cabin was sold to Priscilla Rogers in 1969. It wasn't used a lot, but the wood peg towel bar in the bathroom still bears the name of the family, including the children. Phyllis Dake purchased the cabin in 1987. The Forest Service required her to move the unfinished out building and attach it to the main structure. The Rogers had it filled with numerous things, among them what now is in vogue, Murphy beds. They were great beds because they folded into the walls of the room, making the room more spacious. Mrs. Dake finished out the special bedroom and has maintained the interior of both structures as closely to the 1930's era as possible.
Return to Top
The Rollie Dodge Cabin
Rollie M. Dodge built the cabin in 1922. He cut the lodgepole logs to build the cabin in the meadow across the road from his cabin site. He brought a friend up with him, and the two of them completed the cabin that summer. He used an adze to smooth the logs on three sides and then hand-split shakes from a red fir tree to line the walls and ceiling. He dug a well near the front door of the cabin for his water supply. The fireplace was made by constructing a form and pouring concrete. Originally the back of the cabin had a porch similar to the front. Later, a part of this area was made into a bathroom. The front part of the cabin was used as a store and living room. He raised the front window to sell hand-tied flies, soda pop, tobacco products, and later, large grubs to fishermen and other customers. He kept his cash in a hand-carved drawer and the soda pop in metal boxes chilled with water from the well. Mr. Dodge and Mr. Dresser became acquinted while prospecting in 1915 and renewed their friendship in 1922 when Dresser was also building a cabin in Huckleberry Tract. When Mr. Dodge died in 1938 he left the cabin to Mr. Dresser. The cabin is still owned by descendants of Mr. Dresser. In 1950 the cabin was passed on to Aileen Dresser Davis, his daughter and her husband, Byron Davis.
Return to Top
The Aileen and Byron Davis Cabin
According to Lettie Dresser, "the summer before we married, my husband and a friend of Scotch ancestry had spent two months prospecting for gold in the back country around Huntington Lake. That was how he discovered the place, at that time little-known, and chose it for our honeymoon in 1916 as being most primitive. We honeymooned for two months in and around Huntington Lake during the summer of 1916". Lettie and Percy Dresser had a son, born the next summer, and a daughter born in 1919. Their love for the mountains increased as the years went by. The first cabin, which consisted of just the living room, kitchen and pantry, was built in 1922. In 1933, Percy added a second cabin which included a bathroom, dressing room and bedroom. The porch was used for sleeping before the addition was built. The connecting area between the two cabins is referred to as the "dog trot", a common style in early day log cabins. The cabin was built in the traditional style with notched logs and chinking between the logs. Mr. Dresser hired a mule team and dragged the lodgepole logs from the meadow to the top of the hill, then built a shoot to get them down the hill to the cabin site. Much of the furniture was built by Percy: the trestle table, bookcase, and parsons bench in the living room and the table in the kitchen. He also built the four poster bed in the dogtrot, the chest of drawers in the dressing room, and the day bed and dresser in the bedroom. Originally the road stopped at the top of the hill and Dresser built steps down the hill. He made the 70 steps from split lodgepole logs.
The cabin is still in the Dresser family.
Return to Top
The Sara and Jim Donovan Cabin
The original cabin was one of several structures comprising the Big Creek School. It was disassembled and hauled up Big Creek Road to Huntington Lake sometime in the early 1930's. It is believed that Mr. Buck, a captain with the California Highway Patrol, paid $450 for the structure. There had been a Highway Patrol cabin located below Dam 3 which it is assumed he stayed in originally. In 1952, the cabin was crushed by a near-record snowfall and all that was left was a pile of scrap wood and twisted tin. In 1953, Don and Irene Huston acquired the lot and obtained a permit from the Forest Service to rebuild a new cabin. Irene drew her own plans and patterned the exterior and interior of this new cabin after a picture she had seen in Sunset magazine. The only part of the original cabin that could be salvaged was a portion of the foundation. Having operated the Huntington Lake Lumber Yard with his father, and experiencing many winters at Huntington Lake, Don knew what he wanted structurally for his new cabin. Oversized floor joists, including one timber measuring 10" x 16" and extending the full 37 foot length of the easterly exterior wall, were used throughout the sub floor. These materials were taken from the Huntington Lake Lumber Yard when it was closed and demolished. Lodgepole pine trees 12 inches in diameter and 23.5 feet in length were used to create an open beam ceiling, 22 feet at its peak. Knotty pine covers the interior walls of the entire cabin, while round pine logs were used to cover the exterior. Knotty pine was also used in all kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. The curved wooden bar was brought from Fresno. It framed the kitchen area and serves as a gathering place for family, friends and guests. Of particular interest is the granite rock fireplace and hearth, built by Johnny Vistak. Other than the fireplaces built by Johnny at Lakeshore Resort and Camp LaSalle, this is the largest granite fireplace in the Huntington Lake Basin. Because Johnny was not only a master stonemason but also an artist, the materials that were used to build this fireplace were hand selected by Johnny from the fractured granite pile from Ward Tunnel and along Stump Springs Road. Johnny also built the indoor brick and rock barbeque located in the kitchen. Johnny used several sedimentary rocks which were gathered from the bottom of Millerton Lake while it was being excavated. If you look closely, one of these rocks contains the imprint of fossilized leaves. The brown bear skin head mounted over the fireplace was purchased from Johnny Vistak, who had killed the bear on Red Mountain. Johnny's only condition of sale was that the skin not be walked on, and Irene acceded to this request by mounting the entire bear over the fireplace. On July 4, 1954, Don and Irene imprinted their monikers, Trout and Buck, at the top of the steps to the entrance of their cabin signaling its completion. The winter of 1966 brought another near-record snowfall, and many cabins went down that season, including the cabin next door, but the Huston cabin with its massive timbers remained standing. In 1974 Mildred and Burton Bourzac purchased a half interest in the cabin. Burton, being a cement contractor, used his skills to further enhance the structural foundation of the cabin. In the summer of 1997 the cabin was purchased by it's present owners.
Return to Top
|
