P. Denhardt Cabin
P. Denhardt Cabin
P. Denhardt Cabin
P. Denhardt Cabin
Construction Period: From 1896 to 1905
Designation Level: Municipal
in Dawson City
The P. Denhardt Cabin site consists of a one-storey log cabin, a frame outhouse and a shed, situated on a double lot on the Third Avenue extension in the North End Heritage Character Area of Dawson City.
Construction Period: From 1896 to 1905 Designation Level: Municipal
Designation Date: September 26, 2012
The Denhardt Cabin, outbuildings and lots was designated as a municipal historic site for its architectural value and association with the early development of Dawson City.
The site is representative of the many residences that dotted the landscape during the Klondike Gold Rush, an international event which was pivotal in the development of Dawson City and the creation of the Yukon as a distinct territory of Canada. The Denhardt Cabin is one of six remaining properties of a similar age and style in Dawson City. Built prior to 1899, the Denhardt site is the only property from this time period in the North End Heritage Character Area that has remained unchanged with its undeveloped landscape, one room cabin and associated outbuildings in their original location.
The site's rustic frontier style, functional design and vernacular construction are typical of the residences that once filled the North End. Set within one of Dawson's oldest neighbourhoods (1897), the buildings were part of a crowded city block of small gable-fronted cabins that lined the alley between Second and Third Avenues. Today, the area around the buildings is cleared with the remainder of the site overgrown with trees, willows and shrubs providing a natural barrier from the surrounding streets and residences. The setting is unique in that it remains undeveloped and protected from modern intrusion.
The cabin exhibits good craftsmanship with horizontal round log construction with square-notched corners and a gable roof clad with corrugated sheet metal that overhangs the entranceway. The site's shed and outhouse illustrate the practice of re-using materials that was common in this remote town. The single storey frame shed has walls of multi-dimensional lumber, irregularly clad with a patchwork of flattened fuel cans, sheet metal and corrugated metal pieces. Its corrugated metal shed roof is overlaid with flattened fuel cans. The outhouse is a frame structure with a corrugated sheet metal shed roof, and walls clad with decorative pressed metal.
Sources:
Minutes from the City of Dawson Heritage Advisory Committee meeting September 6, 2011
Town of the City of Dawson Bylaw #12-12
Yukon Historic Sites Inventory file # 116/B/03/468
