BRUCE – At 149 years old, the earliest structure in Brookings County and one of the earliest structures in eastern South Dakota has been in need of some TLC and is now getting it.
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BRUCE – Back in 1869, Samuel Mortimer selected one of the best spots he could have in eastern South Dakota to call home.
He found for himself and his family a quiet spot with plenty of shade and plenty of water right beside where he’d build the cabin.
Timber, a valuable commodity in the prairie, was also plentiful. In fact, the former shoemaker from New York made a good business for himself selling timber to other settlers, and the little cabin remained at the same site to this day.
Even so, at 149 years old, the earliest structure in Brookings County and one of the earliest structures in eastern South Dakota has been in need of some TLC and is now getting it.
Since the cabin is in Oakwood Lakes State Park, the park has taken the lead in preserving the cabin with the help of Scott Peterson Construction, a Minnesota company.
Preserving the cabin is important, explained District Park Manager Becky Graff, “so we can keep history alive. The fact that this is the oldest structure in Brookings County is pretty exciting. To have something like that here in a state park, where we can preserve it for hopefully forever is wonderful if we can keep that piece of history here with us and alive.”
Its historic status was furthered after it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
“It’s definitely a treasure to keep around,” Graff added.
However, there is a lot of work to be done to keep it around. Chunks of rock comprising the foundation are coming loose and falling out, a lot of the logs were starting to rot, and chinking needed to be redone in many places.
With the foundation’s rocks coming out, that put the rest of the cabin’s structural integrity in jeopardy. It’d cause the log walls to settle and the windows to sag and fall apart.
Work on restoring and preserving the cabin began in May. The last time extensive work had been done on the cabin was around 1972, by the park system to restore it to its historical state by removing siding and interior rooms that had been added by later owners of the cabin.
One of the first parts of the cabin to be worked on was the back wall on the west side, which had started to bow in. Now that it’s straightened again, they can address other issues on that section, including redoing chinking where needed.
“I think the most amount of work was actually done over here, on the north side here. Apparently someone in the past in order to, I don’t know, keep it stable, had poured concrete down the inside of the logs,” Graff explained. “That actually caused the logs to rot worse, so they had to remove sections of the log itself and replace those pieces. They actually had to fit them perfectly so that they could get them in there.”
The foundation and the stonework are the last parts to be addressed, along with chinking and some touchups to the roof.
Although most of the work has focused on the exterior and the structural integrity of the cabin, the interior is seeing some work as well, namely, the floor. Some sections of the floor inside have been badly damaged from years of rain getting in and will be replaced.
“I don’t foresee us doing any major changes on the inside, unless we just find some more time period items to add in here to keep it looking like an old-fashioned home,” Graff said.
If it’s on schedule, work should be completed in a few weeks. The project costs about $26,000. Grants have helped cover the expenses, however, with the park receiving a $13,000 grant from Deadwood and $2,500 from the Oakwood Lakes Development Association. The rest will come out of the park’s budget.
When the work is done, Graff said they’ll probably celebrate with a ribbon-cutting event that will be announced on the park’s Facebook page and through announcements in newspapers.
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
Courtesy photo: Preservation work has been ongoing at Mortimer’s Cabin in Oakwood Lakes State Park this summer. From the foundation to the walls to parts of the roof, there’s a lot that needed attention at what is the oldest structure in Brookings County. It’s hoped that in several weeks’ time, the preservation work will be complete.
