Log cabin to reopen as showcase of local history
Once a few restorations are made, a small cabin in Nipawin Regional Park will soon become a place for visitors to see the history of the area.
Lyle Swaney, a board member for the Nipawin Regional Park, said the cabin was built sometime in the 1930s and operated as a Department of Natural Resources beaver house. It was used in conjunction with the fire tower, acting mainly as housing for the people working in the tower at the time.
Originally located in the Fort à La Corne forest, it was moved to Nipawin Regional Park in 1974. Swaney said the cabin was kept up for a few years after being moved to the park, but is now in a state of disrepair. When restorations are complete, it will contain as many historical artifacts as possible, and Swaney said there are plans to restore it to the way it would have been.
Some of the artifacts on display will include an old woodstove and other basic living items, trapping paraphernalia and other artifacts from the time period such as maps, and older equipment like a grinding wheel used for sharpening axes.
“What we wanted to do was try and fix it up a little bit so it could house some memorabilia from the past regarding firefighting, and different things that took place in the forest, like trapping and hunting, for the public to be able to go in and see some of the history there,” added Lyle Munro of the Saskatchewan Trappers Association.
The restorations, which include a new roof and replacing rotten logs in a few of the walls, began in mid-july, and are expected to be complete by late fall.