Historic NM cabin restored for future use

The Monument Park Cabin, a historic National Forest Service cabin located east of Beaverhead and south of N.M. 59, off Forest Road 226, received much needed restoration projects over the past few months, and, if the National Forest Service approves, could be open to the public in the near future. Dennis Fahl, District Fire Management Officer and Acting Recreation/Trails District Staff, who is overseeing the refurbishment, said the restoration of Monument Park Cabin was funded through the Southern New Mexico Resourse Advisory Committee under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. "Without this funding, it would have been a challenge to conduct the needed restoration work that offers significant historic value to the local area's history of mining and the early Forest Service days," he said. The funding allowed for the cabin, which lies amid a historic fire lookout tower and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, to be painted and sealed, while its windows were re-glazed, painted and installed. A standard steel fire ring was also installed in a masonry native limestone fire pit a short distance from the cabin, which used the same stone used in the original construction of the cabin chimney. The front porch stone wall was refinished with native stone across the top of the wall, with cracks in the wall repaired, and other small details were fixed...more