Mary Dowen Cabin Rehab, CA

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:

When Mary Downen, a homesteader and widow, first visited Mount Konocti in 1902 she found herself with a deep admiration of the old oak forest that fell before her eyes. It was then that she decided to stay and build a small home for herself at 3,500 feet in elevation and to live there completely on her own. Historically speaking, this cabin would also become the first to be built on this mountain. Over the years this little sliver of history has fallen into shambles, hardly able to fathom that a lone woman lived in it for almost three decades until her death in 1942. HistoriCorps is excited to bring life back into this humble home!

Learning and working alongside expert HistoriCorps field staff, volunteers and applying the traditional skills necessary to restore the Mary Downen Cabin:

• Tear out deteriorated floor, salvaging good material if possible
• Replace or repair floor framing and deteriorated foundation members
• Replace deteriorated wall framing members
• Replace siding as necessary
• Repair corrugated roofing on cabin and cistern
• If time allows – Reconstruct porch roof based on historic photographs and replace flooring.

SESSION DATES: October 15-20, October 22-27, and October 29-November 3

Click here for more information and registration:

Mary Downen Cabin, CA 2023 | HistoriCorps