The Lon Chaney Cabin is a historic building in

Inyo County, California Inyo County () is a County (United States), county in the Eastern California, eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the po ...

. Constructed in 1930 as a retreat for the early 20th-century actor

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

by Paul R. Williams, it was used as a retreat by Chaney. As of 2024, the rustic-style cabin is closed to the public and is currently being used as a ranger station. It is in Cienega Mirth near the

Big Pine Creek Big Pine Creek may refer to: * Big Pine Creek (California), Inyo County, California * Big Pine Creek (Indiana), west-central Indiana * Big Pine Creek (Texas) Big Pine Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolutio ...

, known for its trout.

History

The cabin was built from 1929 to 1930, costing $12,000 (). It was designed by Paul R. Williams, who designed other buildings for celebrities such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. It was the only alpine structure he ever worked on. Chaney rarely used the cabin, as he died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1930. It was sold in 1932 and 1955. In 1964, the

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () is a federal land management statute meant to protect U.S. Wilderness Area, federal wilderness and to create a formal mechanism for designating wilderness. It was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Socie ...

was passed, slating the cabin for destruction until it was realized that the dynamite that was to be used to destroy the building would also damage the surrounding forest.

Features

The building is made from

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

. It is rectangular and has a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...

and thick rock walls. It has a

tongue and groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. A strong joint, it allows two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to mak ...

floor with a rock fireplace. Light was provided by a hanging

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

lamp. No money is provided to maintain the cabin's interior, but volunteer groups routinely maintain the exterior.

Notes

References

{{reflist 1929 establishments in California Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Sierra Nevada (United States) Inyo National Forest