Refuge History
Nurses Cabin
 HISTORY:
The Nurses Cabin was built in the 1940's by two young women, Vera Liebel and "Doug"
Barnsley, who were employed as nurses at the Libby and Libby cannery, at the mouth
of Kasilof River.
While working at the cannery they envisioned living in the
Tustumena Lake region and with the help of a local trapper, "Windy" Wagner, they
built this cabin on the shores of Tustumena Lake.
If you have information,
photographs or stories regarding this cabin, (or any other cabins) please contact
the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION: The Nurses
cabin is a one-story log cabin consisting of a single rectangular room and an
arctic entry. The cabin is located within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
on the shores of Tustumena Lake. The Nurses cabin condition is classified as
standing "fair" with some alteration since construction.
 The
Nurses cabin is built of spruce logs cut in the area by ax and crosscut saw.
The cabin is approximately 72 feet from the shore of Tustumena Lake. The foundation
of the cabin consists of sill logs placed directly on the ground without a prepared
foundation. The outside dimensions of the single room cabin are 12 feet wide
by 14 feet long. An arctic entry is located on the facade (west) elevation and
the outside diameter is 7 feet 9 ½ inches wide by 7 feet 3 inches long. The arctic
entry has a door opening on the south elevation and does not have any window openings.
The round spruce logs have been peeled of all bark. The logs diameter average
6 ½ inches at the butt end and 5 ½ inches at the tip. The cabin is chinked with
native moss. The logs are joined at the corners with a false corner notching
called a round corner post. The facade and east elevations have approximately
19 courses of logs and the north and south elevation have approximately 15 courses
of logs, all set horizontally. The arctic entry is built out of a combination
of vertical split logs, horizontal logs, and sawed boards.
Last updated: September 11, 2008
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