Oregon City: Baker Cabin

The Baker Cabin is one of the sites on Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory Heritage Trail.

It shares the site with the Pioneer Church, but that will be treated next week, along with the Rose Farm.

I feel like it must be treated separately, because there is simply so much history there, and such good presentation of it. For example, that grape arbor in the foreground, is very old, dating back to the 1800s.

This lilac tree may not seem vigorous, but once you consider that it was planted from a cutting brought from Maine in 1842, its endurance becomes pretty impressive.

This well is a testament to the available water, and as it appears to have been found by dowsing, many dowsing demonstrations have been done for school children.

The cabin, unique for its cantilever design and exterior staircase, is joined by a shed containing a wagon formerly used as a stage between Sandy and Portland, and other historic equipment.

In addition, it is the site of this rock used by local tribes for grinding nuts and grains. (The local supplies of basalt drove some of the local commerce.)

Even though it appears to have been a while since the last field trip, and we had no guide, I was able to pick up all of this information because of the excellent signage, including sheets of text pasted up in the cabin windows.

We had no idea the site would be so interesting, and were glad we went.

Accessibility: Pretty terrible. I got there by walking over uneven ground. The gravel pathways might not be ideal for many users in normal times, but even the driveway that would get you to them is currently closed off.

COVID: However, the lack of accessibility does make it easy to keep distance, and it is outside. We felt no risks there.

https://bakercabin.org/