Soda Springs Cabin
Encyclopedia
The Soda Springs Cabin was built about 1889 in what would soon become Yosemite National Park
, by John Baptist Lembert, the first European settler on the Tuolumne Meadows
area of Yosemite. Lembert had filed a claim to 160 acres (64.7 ha) in Tuolumne Meadows in 1885 after spending three summers in the area with a flock of angora goats. Lembert built a log cabin directly over the largest soda spring in the area. Although the property was within the park boundaries, Lembert received a patent to the property in 1895. Lembert's cabin was along the Great Sierra Wagon Road
over the Sierra Nevada, and he became a guide for tourists in the high country, gaining a reputation as a naturalist and entomologist
. He spent the winter months in a place near Cascade Creek in the Yosemite Valley
.
The ruins of the cabin are located directly over the gaseous spring, and are thought to have functioned as a springhouse rather than as a dwelling, preventing livestock from fouling the spring. The cabin measures 9 feet (2.7 m) by 11 feet (3.4 m). Its walls extend to about 7 feet (2.1 m). There is no roof. The cabin had no windows, only a door in the north side. The logs are laid with V-notched joints.
Lembert had spent his early life in New York, and had received a classical education, reading Latin. He was murdered in his Cascade Creek cabin in the winter of 1896-1897 in a robbery. His obituary appeared in Entomological News. Lembert Dome
was named in his memory. The McCauley Cabin is located on Lembert's former winter property. The Soda Springs property was inherited by Lembert's brothers, who sold it to J.J McCauley in 1898. McCauley sold the Soda Springs property to the Sierra Club
in 1912. The site was operated as a private campground for Sierra Club members until 1972, when the club signed over the land to the National Park Service
. The Park Service operated the campground for the public until 1976, when it was closed down.
The cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on April 19, 1979.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, by John Baptist Lembert, the first European settler on the Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded sub-alpine meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is 8619 feet .-Natural History:...
area of Yosemite. Lembert had filed a claim to 160 acres (64.7 ha) in Tuolumne Meadows in 1885 after spending three summers in the area with a flock of angora goats. Lembert built a log cabin directly over the largest soda spring in the area. Although the property was within the park boundaries, Lembert received a patent to the property in 1895. Lembert's cabin was along the Great Sierra Wagon Road
Great Sierra Wagon Road
The Great Sierra Wagon Road was a route through the Sierra Nevada in California, built to bring supplies to the Great Sierra Mine on Tioga Hill in the high country of what was to become Yosemite National Park. The road was built in 1882 by the Great Sierra Silver Mining Company, extending over , in...
over the Sierra Nevada, and he became a guide for tourists in the high country, gaining a reputation as a naturalist and entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
. He spent the winter months in a place near Cascade Creek in the Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
.
The ruins of the cabin are located directly over the gaseous spring, and are thought to have functioned as a springhouse rather than as a dwelling, preventing livestock from fouling the spring. The cabin measures 9 feet (2.7 m) by 11 feet (3.4 m). Its walls extend to about 7 feet (2.1 m). There is no roof. The cabin had no windows, only a door in the north side. The logs are laid with V-notched joints.
Lembert had spent his early life in New York, and had received a classical education, reading Latin. He was murdered in his Cascade Creek cabin in the winter of 1896-1897 in a robbery. His obituary appeared in Entomological News. Lembert Dome
Lembert Dome
Lembert Dome is a granite dome rock formation in Yosemite National Park in the U.S. state of California The dome soars above Tuolumne Meadows and the Tuolumne River and can be hiked starting at the Tioga Road in the heart of Tuolumne Meadows, west of the Tioga Pass Entrance to Yosemite National...
was named in his memory. The McCauley Cabin is located on Lembert's former winter property. The Soda Springs property was inherited by Lembert's brothers, who sold it to J.J McCauley in 1898. McCauley sold the Soda Springs property to the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
in 1912. The site was operated as a private campground for Sierra Club members until 1972, when the club signed over the land to the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. The Park Service operated the campground for the public until 1976, when it was closed down.
The cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on April 19, 1979.