Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Long Time Valley Resident Won't Leave Historic Cabin

One of the oldest cabins in the Santa Barbara back country could be coming down soon, but the last resident to live there says it's too historic to lose. The Forest Service lease on Paradise Road ended last November. Tom Merkel who lives on the property, has a collections of odds and ends, covered with dust and cobwebs in a structures that is irregular in every way. Merkel says the structure which was built in 1918, should be given historical considerations before it's leveled. The Forest Service says it's studied the site, and does not believe it has the historical significance that Merkel claims. They want to use the site to increase public access in the area. Merkel says that 26 other cabins nearby, have already been vacated...KEYT3

More background is in The Last Man in Paradise.

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