Continuity and Change:
A Photographic History of the Drakesbad Guest Ranch

Barns, Cabins, and Other Buildings

"Start of a Hot Dog Ride" — Photograph from the 1940s showing barns and corrals

Drake's Barn

1905—Pearl Sifford at age 14 with Drake's original barn in background.

   Among the buildings constructed by Edward Drake prior to 1900 was a "good" barn. Roy Sifford notes that this structure was "felled by snow" in 1912 (Sifford Manuscript: 8).

The Log Barn and Shed

1952—Log barn and small "shed"

   Roy Sifford says that the log barn shown above was started in 1912 and finished in 1914, and that the "shed" on the south end "was built by Drake in 1896 and was attached to the old Office Building which went down in the heavy snows of 1937. We used it for Store Room- Milk House and extra dining room from 1900 to 1938 and then moved it to the present location as a saddle room" (Roy Sifford letter to Bob Murphy 9/13/73 LAVO Files).

   The photograph below of the lodge and attached building taken in 1902 would seem to confirm Sifford's statement that the "shed" at the south end of the log barn in 1952 was the structure built by Edward Drake. This would make the "shed" the oldest structure still standing at Drakesbad in 1973. Sifford says that the "shed" was moved to its position behind the log barn in 1938. However, this date must be in error as photographs of the lodge as early as 1937 clearly show the building missing. It is probable that the "shed" was moved sometime between 1927 and 1931 when the covered porch was added to the rear of the lodge and the south porch expanded.

1902—"Shed" attached to lodge

   Sifford's date of 1896 for construction of the "shed" is also troubling. If Sifford's date is correct, in 1902 the structure would have been only eight years old, but the photograph above taken that year shows a weathered building shored up with logs.

   If Sifford's date is in error and the "shed" was constructed earlier, this suggests the tantalizing possibility that the structure may be Drake's smaller cabin that Roy Sifford refers to when he states, "Drake had been there since '87 had a log cabin, built a bath house and built a good, new log cabin of some size ....." (Roy Sifford interviewed by Les Bodine n.d.).

   Sifford places Drake's first cabin in 1887 "near the location of the present lodge" (Sifford Manuscript: 1) Nothing more is known about this early structure other than a single faded photograph with most of the cabin obscured by an outbuilding. However, the structure in the photograph (below) appears to be horizontal log construction and with a stone fireplace—markedly different from the "shed" in the 1902 photograph. Thus the mystery of whereabouts and fate of Drake's first cabin remains.

1887—Drake's first cabin

1973—Log barn and "shed"

1975—Log barn with old shed replaced by a modern structure

   Photographs of the log barn taken in 1975 show that the "shed" is missing and replaced by a modern structure.

Roy Sifford and riders with log barn in background

1975 Log Barn                                                                            1976 Interior of log barn

   The log barn was removed by the Park Service in 1980.

The Cook's Cabin

   In 1919 the Siffords built another log structure which was as Roy Sifford states "a house for my mother" and later know as the cooks cabin (Roy Sifford letter to Bob Murphy 9/13/73 LAVO Files).

1975—Cook's Cabin

1976—Cook's cabin

1976—Interior of the cook's cabin

   The cook's cabin was removed by the Park Service in 1979.