Newly restored Jesse Ross structure open to the public

Widely recognized as one of Madera County’s oldest standing structures, the Jesse Ross Cabin, nestled near North Fork in the Sierra National Forest, is now open to visitors again after a second restoration project was completed last month.

Jesse Blakely Ross built the hand-hewn ponderosa pine log cabin in 1960 after spending a decade supplying miners and ranchers in the region. He later married Mary Waspi, a local Mono Indian woman.

The Ross Cabin was donated to the U.S. Forest Service in 1990 and was moved from its original location to a new home across from the Clearwater Fire Station.

The cabin features traditional chinking, hand-hewn logs with visible tool marks and interior walls lined with historic newspapers dating back to the early 1900s.

Each part of the cabin was numbered, labeled and transported to the new historical site. Volunteers originally worked with the Forest Service to dismantle and rebuild the fireplace and replace the structure’s deteriorated logs.

More recently, national nonprofit HistoriCorps and the Sierra National Forest, working in a public-private partnership, called on volunteers to participate in the two-fold mission: preserve the buildings and the skills.

“Part of our mission as an organization is to train more people with the skills to maintain these buildings and give people an opportunity to learn these skills that have gone by the wayside and are not any longer used in construction,” said project manager Aaron Smith of HistoriCorps.

“We want to keep those traditional techniques alive.”

The Forest Service provided ponderosa pine logs for splicing into the cabin and a large hazard sugar pine tree for shake bolts. Smith said that, while the intention was to cut those by hand using the original technique from the time period, the time-crunch reality required a different approach and most were acquired.

Overall, Smith said, the project was a success. They were able to address structural issues related to log movement, stabilize the building, restore windows, address rot and replace log crowns where needed and replace the structure’s roof to enhance the building’s overhead security.

HistoriCorps has other projects in California and across the country. Projects are free for participation and meals are covered by a fulltime camp cook. For more information, visit www.historicorps.org

The Jesse Ross Cabin is a feature along the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway. For more information including directions visit www.sierravistascenicbyway.com.