Site of Founder's Cabin — August, 1874

Site of Founder's Cabin — August, 1874. . , The northwest corner of Gunnison Avenue and Second Street in the Lake City Historic District exemplifies the financial ebb and flow which was typical of boom towns in the western United States in the late 19th Century. , Situated at a relatively high and dry location in the midst of beaver ponds and willows, the corner location was selected as the site of the first log cabin built in Lake City which was constructed by the town's founder, Enos T. Hotchkiss. The date was August 16, 1874, and Hotchkiss was passing up the Lake Fork Valley as the leader of a construction crew building the Saguache and San Juan Toll Road from Saguache to Baker's Park. , In addition to his title as 'Father of Lake City,' Enos Hotchkiss and members of his road-building gang had the distinction of discovering rich gold ore at the outlet of Lake San Cristobal which was to become the Hotchkiss Lode, later known as the Golden Fleece Mine. , Ore from the Hotchkiss Mine resulted in Lake City’s initial economic boom in 1876-77, and continued as an important economic force in the community through the early 20th Century when the richest ore was finally exhausted. , In addition to the Hotchkiss cabin, other structures built further north on this site were two two-story frame commercial structures erected in 1876 by Joseph M. Farnsworth and Thomas E. Barnhouse. The larger of the two buildings, the Farnsworth Block, had upstairs rooms which were the location of a public school conducted by Col. Charles W. Adams and Miss Winnie Harris in September, 1877. , Barnhouse utilized his building as a ground-floor commercial space and upstairs photographic studio. , As mining declined and tourism increased, the Hotchkiss cabin and Farnsworth and Barnhouse buildings were succeeded by tourist rentals known as Ramsey Cabins, later renamed Iron Kettle Cabins, which were built by Vernie and Edna (Watson) Ramsey starting in the 1930s. , The original Ramsey Cabins were remodeled to their present gambrel-roof appearance in the early 1980s. , [photo captions] , [left] Lake City Founder Enos Throop Hotchkiss (1832-1900) was a Pennsylvania native who arrived at Denver via covered wagon in the early 1860s. After building Lake City's first cabin in 1874, Hotchkiss Managed his namesake mine at Lake San Cristobal, and in 1881 moved to former Ute Indian lands in the North Fork Valley where he established the town of Hotchkiss, Colorado. , The original Hotchkiss cabin, pictured above in a T.E. Barnhouse photo, survived only a few years: built in August, 1874, the abandoned relic was demolished by school children in 1879. , [right] The Farnsworth and Barnhouse commercial false-front buildings, shown left and right above, were built in 1876 at a high point in Lake City's prosperity. , Following use as one of the town's earliest schools in 1877 and a jewelry and photographic studio operated by pioneer Lake City photographer Thomas E. Barnhouse, the buildings saw intermittent commercial use in the late 19th Century. The Barnhouse building appears as an abandoned and vacant ruin in the 1931 photo, above right, which was taken a few months before its demolition. , The site of the Farnsworth and Barnhouse buildings was redeveloped by Vernie and Edna Ramsey for a group of tourist rentals known as Ramsey Cabins starting in 1935. , Hinsdale County Historical Society gratefully acknowledges Team Murphy, L.L.C, for funds to produce this plaque.