Yellowstone Genealogy Forum

 

Paul McCormick Cabin Construction

 

Friday, June 10, 2005

The large Paul McCormick log cabin, used to create the main housing section for the Peter Yegen Yellowstone County Museum in Billings, construction date has been an elusive effort. There is one cabin that is “somewhat” linked to its origin, along with his business building he had in Junction City. This group of notes collects and summarizes some of the activities associated with the time frame of construction, and evaluates potential construction possibilities, that lead to the conclusion that it was originally constructed in Junction City, then transported to Billings, and placed on Paul’s land.

Charles Zimmerman[1] reported that “ He also built a large log cabin on the lot next to the house he lived in and this was so the young people would have a place to meet and dance. Later he built a kitchen onto the dance room so they could prepare lunches.”

ID O’Donnell[2] reported that Paul came to Billings in October 1892.

“Committee is named by Lower House of State Assembly” to Draft Resolution[3] concerning notice of Paul’s death. It was noted “on Thirty-first Street there is a splendidly equipped log cabin built some 30 years ago (c1891) by the trail blazer. In this dwelling he lived a good deal, and the place for many years was a social center for the wide circle of friends of the McCormick family. The big living room is decorated with mounted heads of buffalo, elk and other animals from the McCormick herds. In one end is a fireplace constructed of Montana granite, and over this fireplace a rough granite panel bears the hewn inscription, “To Uncle Paul McCormick, That Intrepid Pioneer.” This memorial fireplace was constructed by W. H. McCormick, nephew and business associate of the elder man, and presented to him during a period some three years ago (1918) when the pioneer was blind. ….. An operation later restored his sight.”

Paul McCormick Jr[4], wrote that their home was well out in the country, when he came with his father to Billings in 1891. He reported that they never walked to town, “the trip called for horsepower.”  The town in this location had a high water table, and the area hadn’t been drained, so storage cellars had to be above ground. To assist in construction of the home, Paul hired R. R. Crowe, stair builder and cabinetmaker, who came from Boston in 1892, for that purpose and to layout the parquet floors and wainscoting.  “About 1893 ‘papa’ built the log cabin north of the barn, for family parties and dances.”

According to the letters Paul wrote to Senator Powers during the time period when he was constructing his home, it is evident that he actually moved into the home after 1891; and that his permanent residence was still in Junction City, until that time. Paul didn’t take title to the property where he built his home until October 1893, although he might have rented the facility, or resided in his hotel. It seems highly unlikely that he started to build and reconstruct the existing cabin owned by Alfred Meyers. Some of the above memoir notes indicate that his arrival in Billings, and the start of construction was considerably in advance of the actual purchase date for the property. The Quit Claim deed clearly shows ownership date.

 

 

 

Cabin Location in Billings

The cabin sat on lots 7 & 8, Block 6 in Billings Montana. The physical location was first recorded on the Sanborn Fire map for the year 1903. It was listed as a Log Cabin, and used as “bed rooms.” Prior to 1903, the residence sat outside of the City limits jurisdiction covered by the insurance maps, and as such its location was not noted. It sat directly parallel with the alley. Its front joined onto a shed and then onto a large wooden barn that crossed over and blocked the alley. It is 23’ x 34’ in size. This land was purchased from Yellowstone County under a Quit Claim Deed on 4 October 1893[5]. Paul was a meticulous man, and he would not have placed or built the cabin on that site without first having obtained legal ownership. This land acquisition date agrees with his departure date from Junction City. However, his son Paul Jr., stated that he recalls the family moved to Billings in 1891, two years before the cabin was constructed. In the January 27, 1921 Billings Gazette edition that summarized Paul McCormick’s life, it was stated “In the McCormick block on North Thirty-first street there is a splendidly equipped log cabin built some thirty years ago by the trail blazer.” That establishes the date of 1891 that is often referred to by many persons. This is a full two years before he acquired the land from Yellowstone County. This seems very strange that he would build on land not belonging to him, and without a clear title! His departure from Junction City places the move date in 1893, and the subsequent sale of his business property there in 1894. The “Junction News” reported to the Billings Gazette on 26 March 1891 that Paul McCormick, his wife and son “Paully” returned home to Junction from Billings and elsewhere.

“In this cabin he lived a good deal, and the place for many years was a social center for the wide circle of friends of the McCormick family. The big living room is decorated with mounted heads of buffalo, elk and other animals from the McCormick herds. In one end is a fireplace constructed of Montana granite, and over this fireplace a rough granite panel bears the hewn inscription, “To Uncle Paul McCormick, That Intrepid Pioneer.” This memorial fireplace was constructed by W. H. McCormick, nephew and business associate of the elder man, and presented to him during a period some three years ago [1918] when the pioneer was blind. He acquainted himself with the gift by tracing the raised letters of the inscription with his fingers. An operation later restored his sight.”

This picture[6] was taken from 31^st street, looking westward. On the right portions of a Burlington Train on the 5^th Avenue tracks is visible. This side view shows an entrance door, located in the middle of the cabin, between the trees, and two windows of equal size on each side of the door. The door and window visible to the left of the cabin, and appearing to belong to the cabin are actually part of the shed that connects with the barn, also visible on the left. The shed and the cabin were of the same width, 23 feet.  At the time, Paul referred to it as his “Daniel Boone Cabin.” There are four rows of trees spread across the landscape leading to the cabin. The land on the right was vacant, but there appears to have been a garden on part of Lot 8. According to Paul McCormick Jr., in an interview with the Gazette [Commerce Dooms McCormick Home, City Landmark], stated that his father built the cabin in 1893, but made no mention of where the logs originated[7]. He went on to state that the water table in that part of town was very near the surface, and basements were impractical until the city arranged to drain the area. W. H. McCormick, Paul’s nephew bought an old Pullman car at an auction in 1916, and placed it near the cabin on the land he bought from Mrs. McCormick. For several years he used it as his residence at 424 North 31^st Street. Later the YWCA used it for a number of years prior to the sale of the land to the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company.

Shortly after the cabin was moved to the airport location its rustic appearance was clearly evident. Please note that there are two windows on each side of the fireplace, which was constructed externally to the cabin end wall. These didn’t exist in 1923. There were numerous changes made to the cabin between 1893 and 1923. The sequence is not clearly defined, but approximates the following order.

After the connecting shed was removed, Paul Jr. or his nephew must have removed the center wall entrance door and installed the granite fireplace in its place, plus the two windows shown on the left end of the building[8]. The front side entrance door and two windows he left as is. This means that the above happened or else the cabin location was reversed, when placed on the museum site, or the fireplace and windows added at that time. This is irrelevant, but would help explain why the door on the west end of the museum structure existed.  During the time that the cabin was used as a facility for youth gatherings, the family (YWCA?) added a kitchen on the north end so that sandwiches could be made. That is when the access door was apparently cut through. Note that when the cabin was first installed on the airport site, there were extra logs placed alongside the unit. [These probably were left over from past conversion to a fireplace and windows.]

In 1912, the cabin, shown near the center of the lot [which no longer has an alley, and has been reassigned lot number 1302] is still connected to the shed and barn, but the barn has been significantly downsized from that shown in 1903[9].

 

 

 

 

 

In 1923, the Sanborn Map shows some minor changes in the building arrangements, but the cabin is still in its same location, but with an entrance porch attached. The Pullman car used by W. H. McCormick can be seen at the top right of Block 1302.

The enlarged view shows the location of three interior doors that were cut into the cabin ends: one in the center of the south end leading to the shed, and one on the west side of the north end, at the left side of the fireplace leading to the attached kitchen, and one in the center of the west side, leading into another storage shed. The left boundary of the alley right-of-way has been restored, but the right side has not. [D denotes frame dwelling, A denotes garage, 1 or 2 denotes stories in the structure, and the 106 denotes exit access in inches established for fire protection purposes, the 404 denotes nearest street address, the small “x” denotes shingle roof.] In 1923, the shingle roof material noted in 1903 has been eliminated in the illustration. The construction dates for these changes were not noted, but had to be prior to 1923.

The fireplace, constructed in 1918, had a brick façade, and as such its location at the north end of the cabin didn’t have to be shown[10].

 

 

 

This interior picture of the cabin was taken shortly after its original construction, and shows all the trappings, probably hung to commemorate the event. The original fireplace constructed of brick [according to the Sanborn Map code notes], built before the memorial one of granite was given to Paul by his nephew in 1918, is shown to be in the center of the north end, made evident by the sunlight. Barely evident, is the entrance door shown on the right (east) side of the cabin.

Prior to or shortly after conversion to a social center, with the attached kitchen, the cabin contained four doors (or openings), plus the windows. At some point in this timeframe the south end door leading to the barn-shed area was eliminated, and windows were added to each side of the fireplace. After it was relocated to the museum site, the access opening to the former kitchen still existed [converted to a blocked window], and another access door on the right of the west end was created to access the museum staff headquarters. This is where the stairwell leading to the first floor museum collection area was located.  From the photos, there were two windows in front at that time. Pictures of the other three sides haven’t been located. The photo on the left shows light glare from three or more windows on the left. The fireplace was dismantled to protect it from damage when the cabin was moved to the museum site in 1953 and re-installed after placement onto the site. This would indicate that some extensive reconstruction of log arrangements had to have been made. These records haven’t been located.

 

 

 

Where did the Cabin Logs Originate?

The mystery of the logs is still conjecture, although there appears to be some significant clues. But these are only clues, and written records about the events haven’t surfaced, although extensive reviewing of local newspaper stories and events hasn’t brought forth any additional clues. As stated in the beginning of this note collection, there are two cabin sites in existence about the time that this cabin was created, and is it possible that one of these structures formed this cabin?

Junction City Residence

After Paul settled in Junction City in 1879, he acquired some land in town, and constructed a log cabin home for he and his wife in the spring of 1880. This cabin had the same external dimensions as the museum cabin, but with different window arrangements and interior layout. The museum cabin carries evidence that it might have been constructed from those logs, although no record of its transport to Billings was found. The details of this are contained in the Paul Cabin article.

Junction City Business Building

When Paul arrived in Junction, on his honeymoon in 1879, he and his wife stayed in their trading store established in 1878, which had two rooms: a main supply room and a large storage room, with a dirt floor. To make them comfortable some small trees were brought in and made into a sort of bed, to which was added several Indian Blankets for comfort. The room had a fireplace in one corner. They stayed in that store for a short time while Paul took inventory of his goods. After that they moved to Miles City, and back again to Junction after Paul made other arrangements for their residence as noted above. The business operated under the name of: “Paul McCormick & Co.,” had several businesses under his control: J. Ellis & Co, from Deadwood and Miles City whose assets included several stores, stables and warehouses and lots in Miles City, a ferry across the Yellowstone River at the Tongue River confluence where the Cantonment was located, a bull train consisting of 36 yoke of cattle, 12 wagons and several horses, a herd of cattle and a quantity of hay[11]. He also owned the Big Horn Stock & house, the Van Ullman Ranch, plus many army vouchers for his extensive transportation services.

This is Paul’s store in Junction. In front are William Donovan’s crew, and a team going to Custer – c1885. [Photo from Mrs. McCormick.] This building is constructed from slab lumber, and is typical of most of the business buildings in Junction. It was a basic necessity to utilize the most from a log, thus the logs were cut into slabs for most of the buildings. Some homes and a few businesses in Junction were constructed from a full log, but according to the pictures supplied by Mrs. McCormick, none appeared to be longer than about ten feet in length. This building could not have been used for construction of the cabin.

 

 

 

 

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