Skagit River Journal

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Noel V. Bourasaw, editor 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug
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Gilbert's Cabin 2005

This is what Gilbert Landre's cabin looked like in 1950 when the last stabilization was completed. A decade of snowstorms later, the cabin crumbled considerably.

By Dr. Jesse Kennedy, National Park Service Located on the Cascade River East of Marblemount, within the North Cascades National Park, this hand-hewn log cabin was built in 1894 by a French Canadian miner named Gilbert Landre. His cabin became a hostelry for other miners working the Cascade Mining District in the North Cascades. The cabin was one large room with a loft that was reached by stairs in the SW corner. After Landre's death in Marblemount in 1905, the cabin continued to serve as a shelter for travelers well into the 1930s. About 1940 John Dayo (a U.S. Forest Service employee) built a roof on the cabin, but it was blown off by an avalanche. The original foundation-logs and floor-joists were replaced in the 1950s. Of critical interest is the graffiti on the walls from visitors to the cabin from its construction up until the 1930s. The graffiti presents a virtual historic registry of the population of this remote backcountry area. All that remains today are four walls (12 feet high) with door and window openings.
On Oct. 26, 2005 a site evaluation by North Cascades National Park staff — Dana Barton, Historic Preservationist and Jesse Kennedy, Chief, Cultural Resources Branch — was conducted to identify the work necessary to stabilize the structure. The structure was found to be remarkably sound considering it was constructed over 100 years ago and has not had a roof since the 1940s. The primary work involves structural stabilization and includes replacing the sill logs (lowest course of logs), straightening the walls, and removing encroaching vegetation. This stabilization work will be completed in the Summer of 2006 by students enrolled in the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts' Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School. [See link below.]

Photos of Landre's Cabin in October 2005

This is the southeast corner of the cabin. Note that the dovetail joints are amazingly tight and note the width of the logs. (All photos and captions by Dr. Jesse Kennedy.)

This is Harriet Barry's graffiti (or by an admirer) from 1911.

This is C. Ward's graffiti from 1910.

This is what the front of cabin looks like today, obscured by slide alder and vegetation that will be removed. Compare to the difference in the photos of the 2006-07 file.

Journal ed. note: We hope that readers who have memories, documents or photos of the area around Cascade River, Cascade Pass, Landre's Cabin or Mineral Park will share copies with us. We are also looking for any records of the visits to the area in the early years of the century by Gifford Pinchot, Mary Roberts Rinehart of the Saturday Evening Post, or a Mrs. Billington, a "Bohemian" painter.

More to read about this mining district

Gilbert Landre, the French Canadian who made one of the first ore discoveries on the Cascade river in the 1880s, and then built the cabin he is best known for — a roadhouse and a place for his fellow miners to hang out on rainy days. With links to all Landre links in the Journal and on the Web.
Our Upriver Portal Section with more than 100 links to stories about the area from Utopia/Minkler/Lyman through the North Cascades, plus Illabot Creek and the Sauk river and features about Lake Chelan.
See Issue 58 of the Subscribers-paid Journal magazine online for the newest feature on Gilbert Landre, with two dozen photos of the cabin and its renovation and repair, from 2006 and 2007.
Pioneer Frank E. Davis wrote about his memories of mining and homesteading in the North Cascades, and about Gilbert Landre.

Links, background reading and sources

Gilbert Landre, the French Canadian who made one of the first ore discoveries on the Cascade river in the 1880s, and then built the cabin he is best known for — a roadhouse and a place for his fellow miners to hang out on rainy days. With links to all Landre links in the Journal and on the Web.
Our Upriver Portal Section with more than 100 links to stories about the area from Utopia/Minkler/Lyman through the North Cascades, plus Illabot Creek and the Sauk river and features about Lake Chelan.
See Issue 58 of the Subscribers-paid Journal magazine online for the newest feature on Gilbert Landre.

Story posted on Aug. 6, 2006, moved to this domain Oct. 10, 2011
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This article originally appeared in Issue 35 of our Subscribers-paid Journal online magazine

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