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Log Cabin Motel

 
 

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The Log Cabin Motel, also known as Camp O' The Pines, is significant for its role in the early development of Pinedale's auto tourism. It is also an excellent representation of the property type ''cabin camps'' in Wyoming's statewide historic context, ''Automobile Tourism of the Depression Period (1920-1939)''. The Camp of the Pines was built in 1929 to serve the growing auto tourism business, and was the first and only cabin camp built in Pinedale. It is one of the few surviving cabin camps in the state.

Pinedale's population in 1929 was only 215. However, the construction of a scenic highway through town, which linked the Lincoln Highway at Rock Springs with the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park, and the increasing use of the automobile for leisure travel, provided the perfect opportunity for the locals to develop their tourism facilities. Walter Scott owned the Pinedale Cash Store and Scott Stage Company, a Chevrolet dealership. In the spring of 1929 Scott decided to build the Camp O' the Pines. He enlisted the help of various people in town, some craftsmen and others who were paying off debts. Local people would come into the Pinedale Cash Store and buy on credit; Scott then allowed them to pay off their debts by building his cabins.

Although the Camp was built for tourism purposes, it also fulfilled the needs of the community by providing temporary housing for local people. It was open all year-round and often rented by the month. Scott built 8 cabins in a U-shaped configuration: one for the residence--a three room cabin in the center of the U, and seven 2 unit cabins that surrounded the residence. A bathhouse was built behind the residence. The cabins were rustic, and the cars pulled up beside the cabin to park. This typified the early development of cabin camps.

The cabins were remodeled in the early 1930s and 1940s to update the facilities with indoor plumbing and modern stoves. Camp O' the Pines has continued to upgrade the facility to meet the demands of the public since the Depression Period. However, the various owners have retained its original cabin camp configuration.

 
Log-Cabin-Motel

 

Date Added to Register:
Thursday, March 25, 1993
 
Location:
Pinedale
 
County:
Sublette County
 
Smithsonian Number: 
48SU1286