A CABIN SPANNING A CENTURY

In 2022, Southern Utah University celebrated its 125th birthday in honor of the school’s 1897 founding. During those 125 years, the school has been known by five different names and has constructed over 30 new buildings. But when students think about the century-old buildings that give the campus its iconic charm, they rarely think of one of the oldest buildings SUU owns: the Mountain Center.

The mountain property was first acquired from a Cedar City local named Kumen Jones in 1943, back when the school was known as the Branch Agricultural College. Located on a 2,800-acre ranch, the property situated about 10 miles into Cedar Canyon included a small cabin that had fallen into severe disrepair. One BAC professor wrote that, despite the small size, questionable stability and lack of heating, the cabin became the center for many faculty parties and served as the headquarters for skiing.

In 1952, however, BAC’s then-President Daryl Chase felt the need for improved and enlarged facilities and set to work appointing a faculty committee to make it happen. These faculty were asked to investigate if spending money on remodeling the cabin would be worth it.

“A ‘cabin committee’ was assembled to make recommendations about how the college could best use the property and what ought to be done with the existing cabin,” explained Mountain Center Coordinator Maklayne Wilks. “Because of the condition of the cabin, the committee recommended that the cabin be torn down, but the lumber should be salvaged for a new building.”

In 1953, the new construction project began. However, this wasn’t the type of project that was completed by an independent construction company; in fact, many contributors were staff or faculty members from the recently renamed College of Southern Utah.

“After considerable deliberation and study, CSU faculty members decided that, since there was no money available to construct the new cabin, they themselves would do the work,” reads an old newspaper article about the project. “Logs were secured from the Dixie National Forest and hauled by college truck to Cedar City where they were squared and hauled back to the building site.”

These CSU employees donated time, labor and even furniture to the new “College Cabin.” With the promise of these donations, Chase was able to secure $2,700 from the State Building Board to purchase additional materials. The SUU library archives show that James E. Wade, who was, at that time, superintendent of the board, personally donated enough brick to build a “beautiful fireplace.”

By the fall of 1953, the male members of CSU faculty were documented pouring concrete foundations and floors for the new cabin. Others stacked and squared logs to prepare for spring building efforts. Later, female staff members were asked to bring cleaning supplies to remove dust and grime from the new cabin. By the summer of 1954, faculty members were making the trek up the canyon almost daily, and many would bring picnic lunches and play baseball during breaks.

“The 1950s culture of the college often asked that staff and faculty members take on a huge range of additional tasks and responsibilities that were not necessarily related to their academic positions,” Wilks said. “The building of the College Cabin was one of those tasks.”

The project was completed in 1955. The Cabin Committee submitted official forms estimating the total cost of the cabin, which was documented as $8,000.

Despite this, the cabin’s story wasn’t over yet. By 1988, the cabin was again in need of repairs, and the faculty of now Southern Utah State College answered the call. These volunteers began the ambitious project of restoring and modifying the cabin to maximize its educational usage. They planned an additional room called the “Canyon View” that could be used for large gatherings, in addition to a west room, kitchen, patio and deck.

“The fate of the cabin lies in private donations and volunteer help,” said Vaughn McDonald, who was the assistant to the president for development, in 1987. “The rebuilding of the cabin will require students, faculty, alumni and community members to participate in a huge fundraising event.”

And fundraise they did. Organizers put together a “Fall Festival” that offered donors dutch oven dinners featuring locally-grown vegetables and local beef. A country dance and craft displays emphasized the cabin’s value to recreation and campus culture. Newspaper articles from the time also documented an extended Shakespeare Festival to aid in the efforts, and in the same year, Cedar City began pushing its new tagline: “Festival City USA.”

Finally, the money was raised and the renovations put into place, and the Mountain Center as we now know it was born. The new and improved patio enlarged the space, and a 150-seat amphitheater attracted more event gatherings. Students and faculty held retreats and celebrations in the building, marveling at the new kitchen and additional sleeping area.

In the present day, the students of faculty of SUU make the drive up the canyon to host events at the Mountain Center year-round. While the cabin had begun as a structure in need of repair, today it stands as a monument to community and faculty dedication, offering a gathering place for students now and in the future.

-Written by Aspen English