Historic Hood River
Laughlin Cabin?
Notes
We recently ran across this photo postcard in the museum files. A note claims it’s the 1854 Laughlin Cabin, but I am skeptical.
First a history refresher. William and Mary Laughlin, as well as the Farnsworths, were the first known European settlers in Hood River. The Laughlins built a simple cabin in 1852 near what is now the 1100 block of State Street, while the Farnsworths built a significantly nicer cabin on the other side of what is now 13th Street. We learned all about their difficult winter in this post. The Farnsworths abandoned their cabin shortly after Christmas. The Laughlins returned to the Dalles as soon as the snows cleared, leaving the log cabin which the Coes used as temporary housing when they arrived in 1854. The Farnsworth place became the Jenkins place soon afterwards.
This cabin is the same basic structure as the Laughlin cabin in the other post, but it doesn’t have the same number of logs or roof joists. I am inclined to accept the other image as authentic because it appeared in a book by someone who lived in the cabin, though that is not a guarantee. In this image the logs looks freshly cut, but no one was taking photographs in this area for several decades after the Laughlins built their cabin. This RPPC (real photo postcard) can be dated to 1904-1918 based on research into the history of RPPCs.
It’s possible this was a reproduction of the Laughlin cabin built in the early twentieth century, or maybe someone just looked at the postcard and thought it looked like the Laughlin cabin so they inscribed the label. In any case, it’s a nice image of a fine log cabin.
Stever
Hum … Any tree experts around ? Is the snow covered tree branch on the left a western hemlock ? If so I’ve seen very few left in the lower HR proper .. but yes some in the lower White Salmon drainage. The forest sure looks dense for an area also know for white oak habitat.
What a great porch roof line for a log cabin in a wet and snowy area ! Thanks for a great Monday mystery …
nels
Is that roof metal or a tarp?
I'm sure whomever the lady of the house, she was the motivator in the
decision to move elsewhere as winter set in. Impossible to create any warmth
in that abode.
L.E.
A confusing photo. I would say definitely not the log craftsmanship of a Scandinavian.
ArthurB
I think the roof is wood shake with snow on it. It has not yet been extended over Stever's porch, which is a feature this cabin shares with the Laughlin cabin.
It is a little odd the building is such a mix of different size logs, but that makes it easier to see the pattern doesn't match the other photograph of the Laughlin cabin.
Tom Kloster
Definitely a Mountain Hemlock forest, which puts this somewhere above 3,000 feet elevation, likely higher, since it is predominately Mountain Hemlock. This is what the forest around Tilly Jane or High Prairie looks like.