Virginia City in Madison County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Kohl's/Little Joe's Cabin
This Property Contributes to the Virginia City Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 5, 2022
1. Kohl's/Little Joe's Cabin Marker
Inscription.
Kohl's/Little Joe's Cabin. This Property Contributes to the Virginia City Historic District. Carpenter Julius Kohls purchased this property in 1882, where he built a one-room log cabin and a combination wood shed and outhouse. In contrast to most of the town’s 1860s-era gold-rush log buildings, Kohls’ cabin does not have hand-notched logs interlaced at the corners. Instead, he nailed the logs to vertical two-by-four-inch pieces of milled lumber. Hand notching and joining the corners together (like Lincoln Logs) creates a tighter, more stable structure, whereas nailing the logs takes less time and labor. The porch and rear addition were likely added in the early 1900s, when dredge mining renewed the economy, bringing jobs and men to the area. Kohls made wagons, wheels, and cabinets, and was a lumber dealer who lived within sight of this cabin in a then-modern wood-frame house on the north side of Wallace Street. This cabin was one of Kohls’ many rental properties; he likely leased it to unmarried men or women. Preservationist Charles Bovey purchased the cabin in the early 1950s and rented it to sheepherder “Little Joe” Shanizie until the early 1970s.
Carpenter Julius Kohls purchased this property in 1882, where he built a one-room log cabin and a combination wood shed and outhouse. In contrast to most of the town’s 1860s-era gold-rush log buildings, Kohls’ cabin does not have hand-notched logs interlaced at the corners. Instead, he nailed the logs to vertical two-by-four-inch pieces of milled lumber. Hand notching and joining the corners together (like Lincoln Logs) creates a tighter, more stable structure, whereas nailing the logs takes less time and labor. The porch and rear addition were likely added in the early 1900s, when dredge mining renewed the economy, bringing jobs and men to the area. Kohls made wagons, wheels, and cabinets, and was a lumber dealer who lived within sight of this cabin in a then-modern wood-frame house on the north side of Wallace Street. This cabin was one of Kohls’ many rental properties; he likely leased it to unmarried men or women. Preservationist Charles Bovey purchased the cabin in the early 1950s and rented it to sheepherder “Little Joe” Shanizie until the early 1970s.
45° 17.544′ N, 111° 56.953′ W. Marker is in Virginia City, Montana, in Madison County. Marker is on West Idaho Street near Nevada Street. Little Joe's Cabin is located south of the railroad depot, next to the railroad tracks. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Virginia City MT 59755, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 18, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 56 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 18, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
