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Cabin Tours 2004
The Huntington Lake - Fish Hatchery Cabin
The Amazing Story of Lot 35, Lower Line Creek, 1954 - By James W. Huckaby
Wayne and Sue Peoples Cabin - #71 Lower Line Creek
Norm Campbell #26 - Upper Deer Creek
Early Forest Service records show that a permit was given in 1937 to a Mae Elizabeth Thayer of Clovis, California to build a cabin that needed to be completed by October 31, 1938. A small penciled sketch of the cabin showed it to be an L-shaped design. It was inspected and accepted by the Huntington Guard in July 1939. By this time the lady apparently had married as her last name on the permit changed to Driver. At some point of time it was sold to Charles Robinson and in 1985k, Norm Campbell purchased the cabin from Mr. Robinson.
The cabin was believed to have been built as a cow cabin and probably occupied by Shorty Cunningham in the 1930-40’s as it is near the D&F Pack Station and the Cunninghams ran the pack station for a number of years. Shorty packed fish in fish cans into the high country lakes up until the 1950’s. This small cabin is highlighted by the Johnny Vistak fireplace. The fireplace is the first thing you notice from the outside and if you look closely at the rocks you’ll see that some of the rocks have drilled out holes in them. When the rocks were blasted a hole was drilled into the rock, then blasting material inserted into these empty rods. The rock probably was tunnel much from Ward Tunnel located behind Portal Powerhouse by Rancheria Creek.
Little had been done to the interior. The downstairs of the cabin was broken into separate rooms. The front door was originally on the side of the cabin where the cement patio currently is and the inside was broken into small spaces by walls separating the kitchen and a bedroom where the stairway currently is. The deck to the current front door was added and the small shed behind the cabin was added to increase storage space and hold the water heater. The original bathroom had a tin shower and freestanding sink, but were removed when the cabin was remodeled. It included installing windows in the kitchen and bathroom.
The tongue and groove interior wood is original to the cabin. When interior structural changes were made the wood was salvaged and reused. A steel staircase was installed to access the upstairs loft. The original staircase was made from halved logs and featured various cattle brands and carved initials from visitors to the cabin. Remains of the cattle brands can still be seen on the beans that support the loft. If you look closely at the interior ceiling you can see the saw marks in the wood. As was typical for the time, wood was milled on site or nearby and beams were milled using circular saws. The balcony of the loft and the support beam in the living area are actual trees rather than milled lumber. The cabin may be small, but it is unique and retains its original character as a Huntington Lake original.
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The Huntington Lake - Fish Hatchery Cabin
The art and love of fishing by early Californians brought forth the establishment of a Fish Commission in the 1870’s. This commission introduced and imported Stripe Bass into the San Francisco Bay area in 1893. The head of the Commission was a Fish Commissioner until the early 1940’s when the California Fish and Game Department was established and included in the State of California Natural Resources Division.
Huntington Lake, the Back Country and its surrounds had become a favorite for fishermen early on with the development of the Southern California Edison Hydro project known as Big Creek. Early fish stocking had been done by cattlemen, sheepherders and sportsmen.
In 1921-22 a cabin was built by Rancheria Creek at the east end of Huntington Lake. It served as a fish transfer station with concrete ponds being built to hold the fingerlings. The first resident of the fish transfer station was a Charlie Frame. The transfer station continued until 1944/45 when it was de-commissioned. Fish stocking during that time was done by packers and mules with fish cans.
D&F Pack Station did most of the stocking to the upper lakes. There had also been tent cabins for the fish wardens and their helpers located in the upper meadow above the cabin. By the 1950’s fish stocking was done by aerial plantings which covered a larger geographic area.
In 1976 the property that the cabin sat on was deeded to the Forest Service; a lease agreement was entered into with the USFS to use the cabin as a training/patrol cabin up until the present time.
At this time we are unable to view the cabin as training programs are being held.
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The Amazing Story of Lot 35, Lower Line Creek, 1954 - By James W. Huckaby
My father loved the Sierras. His father was a miner; so much of his youth was spent in the mountains. To Dad, Huntington Lake was his Garden of Eden. Every year beginning in the 1930’s we went to Huntington Lake for two weeks of fishing and fun. On a Friday night we would leave home and arrive at Huntington Lake about 4:30 Saturday morning. With flashlight in hand, Dad would search for just the right campsite. In 1954 we set up a “family camp”, but after using it for six weeks, the Forest Service said we would no longer stay for such a lengthy time. Dad got into his truck and was gone for about five hours. When he returned (with a big smile on his face) he said “I JUST BOUGHT A CABIN!”
We were all surprised and excited about Dad’s purchase…until we got to Lot 35. What a shock! The existing main cabin was in shambles, literally collapsing in some places and there wasn’t one window intact. Southern California Edison had built it, but it was never clear if they had constructed it in that location, or if it had been moved there. I said to Dad, “Whatever you paid for this, it was way too much.” Luckily for us, Dad had a vision. We would tear down the cabin and build a new one. It would take my father and I five years to complete the cabin and garage, plus another two to put the finishing touches on them.
Everyone in the family always thought that the fireplace was the most beautiful part of the cabin. The fireplace was built by an elderly man and his middle aged son from Clovis. They came to the cabin early every Saturday morning and brought a friend of the elderly man’s wife. It surprised us all to find out the friend had been my schoolteacher for 5th through the 8th grade.
My parents retired in 1965, and from that time on for many years they spent all their summers at the cabin. One of their favorite pastimes was to go to Ward Lake and fish off the bank. In the winter of 1982-83 Dad had some problems with his eyes and couldn’t drive anymore. We went up one more time, just the two of us. He passed away in March of 1983. Shortly after Mom sold the cabin, she herself passed away…my sisters and I still take a drive to Huntington just to drive up and down the road, to look for the cabin and to reminisce.
The cabin was purchased by Jim Jewett in 1983 and then sold to the Perbix family in 1990 (they were also originally campers who came to Huntington for many years) who treasure the place that G.W. and James Huckaby built to last a lifetime.
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Wayne and Sue Peoples Cabin - #71 Lower Line Creek
Many of the Forest Service historical records of the cabins have been misplaced or lost, so we will be amateur detectives as to the beginnings of this cabin. The cabin was probably built in the late 1930’s.
Wally Barthuli purchased the cabin in 1967. The sales price was $7400. The cabin had moved off its foundation in 1969 because of the heavy winter snows, so some repair was needed by the owner. Luckily Wally was a talented carpenter and a cabinetmaker who loved beautiful wood. Wally completely redid the kitchen, everything from the pine cabinets to the towel holders. He also built the red brick backing for the Franklin stove that keeps the cabin warm on cool evenings. You will also notice that there are poured glass windows in the kitchen and the living room. It is assumed they may have come from other structures, as was the practice. Some of the other windows were replaced because of earthquakes in the mid 1980’s. The cabin was owned by Frank and Betty Smith for two short years, in 1977-78, but because of health reasons was rarely used and eventually sold. Wayne and Jane Peoples purchased it in 1979. One of the first things they noticed and were concerned about was the massive leaning Jeffrey Pine tree below the cabin. Jeffrey Pines are native to the area, but are being crowded out by shade loving pines. Not to worry, it’s OK for Jeffrey Pines to lean.
It’s a good guess that the “Oar House” was built first, since there was a small kitchen and toilet before Wayne refurbished this structure. Wayne found 1944 and 1946 pennies embedded in the cement patio of the main cabinet, so it is believed that the smaller structure came first, while the main cabin was being built. The cabin is home to a fisherman, an early riser at that. It is decorated with a number of trout trophies that were caught at Huntington Lake, among them a highly prized Brown trout caught by Al Yearington in 1985. This trophy was given to former neighbors Lloyd and Opal Weeks for safe keeping with the provisos that if their cabin was ever sold it went to the Peoples cabin so it would remain at Huntington Lake as a fishing legacy.
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