The Barton Cabin/West Wall of the Bluff Fort
THe Bluff Fort consisted of an arrangement of single-room log cabins with all door and window openings facing the center of the fort. Log
fences closed the space between each log cabin. The Barton cabin originally consisted of one room with a dirt floor. The room you are facing
is likely the original Barton cabin and a portion of the west wall of the fort. When the San Juan pioneers moved from the fort to their alloted
town lots, the Bartons, whose town lot included their original fort cabin property, expanded their home to two rooms by moving and adjoining
another single-room log cabin. Eventually their home was expanded to five rooms including a framed kitchen in the northeast corner. The
kitchen no longer exists.
The Fireplace
The stone remnants around the opening in the westernmost wall were
part of the original fireplace. Fireplaces were the primary means for
heating and cooking. Some cabins used a potbellied stove in lieu of a
fireplace, but during their first years, this was generally an exception
for the San Juan pioneers. Today the restored room has no visible
means of heat. However, during the restoration, a chimney pipe for a
potbellied stove was found in the roof of the northwest corner of the
breezeway. Photo is of a Bluff cabin that no longer exists, USHS
Archives.
Hand-Hewn Pegs
Cottonwood was the only readily available timber in the
immediate vicinity of Bluff. Pegs were used throughout the
cabin to secure adjoining cottonwood logs which were prone
to shrink and twist for many hears.
Stone Foundation
To prevent ground moisture from rotting the base logs, the Bluff
cabins were built on foundations of large sandstone rocks. Part
of the foundation is visible on the south side of the cabin.
