TAHOE CITY, Calif. – Further revitalization is coming to the Watson Cabin, which has remained a constant in Tahoe City for over a century.

“A whole lot has happened around town, and that cabin has basically looked the same,” Susan Winter says, Museum Director at the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society, the non-profit that oversees the historical building.

The log cabin has occupied Tahoe City’s lakefront on Commons Beach since 1908, despite the odds. “So many of the buildings were torn down or burnt down,” Winter says, “and this one stayed.”

---

---

The cabin has stood the test of time, earning the title as the oldest log structure in Tahoe City and its place on the California State Historic Building Registry.

“And so it’s a big piece of our Tahoe City history,” Winter expresses. “It’s important to maintain that.”

---

---

Fresh off the heels of its first phase of updates, the Watson Cabin is about to receive further work to maintain it for another 100 plus years.

A grant from the North Tahoe Community Alliance made refurbishing the interior possible last year, which breathed life into the historical building in more than one way. Not only did repair work revitalize the interior, it allowed the cabin to open regularly to the public for the first time in about a decade with summer hours six days a week.

“It ended up being a huge success,” Winter reports. The cabin, its museum and gift shop, hosted close to 10,000 people in the span of four months from June 1 – Oct. 1, 2024. The opportunity to rewind the clock, learn the history of the cabin and view artifacts was a hit.

“People love having that cabin open,” Winter says, “They love seeing it. They love taking pictures with it.”

But the work wasn’t over if they wanted to preserve the community staple for the next century with the chimney needing a full repair, and logs rotting from the outside in. The work was clearly cut out for the next phase of restoration work, but for the historical society, the funding for it wasn’t.

“I needed to prove the worth of the building in order to do further repairs,” Winter says. Thanks to the popularity of the cabin’s visiting hours and the success of the prior restoration work, the proof was there.

The NTCA came through for another grant from Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) funds, providing $265,606 for the exterior restorations. These TBID funds are collected through purchases at activity providers, restaurants, and retailers, in which both day visitors and overnight visitors contribute to North Lake Tahoe’s vitality.

The repairs these funds afford will keep the cabin true to its original look with a chimney restoration, rotted log replacement and a wash and stain of the intact logs.

“It definitely brings the history back to life and it provides a more authentic experience to a visitor, makes it more nostalgic for people that maybe have lived here quite a long time and they know the cabin,” Winter says. “But also, it’s one less empty building in Tahoe if you look at it like that. It’s a building that’s going to be revitalized.”

Repairs will begin as soon as weather allows and will take around two to three months.

The historical society hopes to have the repairs completed in time for their summer hours starting June 1, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

You can learn more about the Watson Cabin on the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society’s website, northtahoemuseums.org/watson-cabin.