Cygnet Lake cabin nominated for Historic Register

SWAN VALLEY - John Stark's handcrafted, larch, 26 X 40 foot log house built in 1939 is located on a little more than two acres near Cygnet Lake in the Swan Valley. The use of locally available materials allowed the Stark house to complement its forested and rural setting and it still retains a high degree of integrity and stands as a sterling example of a simple, yet exceptionally well-constructed, log building reads the application for a place on the National Register of Historic Places Its current owner Joanne Guyer can boast that the structure is now on the way to taking its place on that Register.

Stark perfected his craft of log home building starting with helping to construct his father-in-law Cap Laird's buildings on Lindbergh Lake and then built the furniture for it. It became known as Laird's Lodge where many people from all over the country came to experience the West. From there Stark's furniture became known and was purchased by many who visited the Lodge.

Stark's wife Marie, daughter of the owner of the nearby Laird's Lodge which today is on the National Register, kept a diary of the process that led to the Starks moving into the log home in December 1939. Marie wrote the work for the cabin began June 19, 1939. They cleared the land with a team of horses and a truck which used one- and one-half gallons of gas and a quart of oil.

On July 3, Stark obtained a timber permit from the US Forest Service to cut four million board feed (MBF) of western larch logs for the house. The permit cost Stark $6 compared to the current cost of approximately $1,600 for four MBF of larch house logs.

On July 5, the basement walls were poured using 39 sacks of cement. A crew of seven men worked all day and evening with Marie noting the day and a half pay they owed the men. The walk-up basement was to become Stark's workshop where he created his well-known furniture, custom cabinets and hand-crafted wood carvings.

According to the application, Stark cut saddle notches that formed the corners of the house. He used concrete daubing on the notches and the length of the logs "skillfully applying it over precisely cut split pole chinking between the logs" sealing in the heat during the winter and keeping out the heat of summer.

The work progressed throughout the summer and fall. The diary noted the crew worked every day except Sunday. Stark used only hand tools to construct the home.

In December, with the winter weather closing in on them, the Starks moved into the unfinished home. Marie ended the entry with an exclamation point, either from relief or exhaustion is the reader's guess. The Starks continued to put the finishing touches on the house into early 1940.

All of the furniture in the Stark home except the piano was made by Stark including a 150-pound coffee table made from a single larch burl, a wart like growth on a tree, with a smaller one turned over for a base. Stark also built a grandfather clock. He fashioned a circular staircase from a larch log and made the railing from two saplings he seasoned and polished. He made all with hand tools. He used juniper, ponderosa, fir, larch, lodgepole and aspen. Sometimes he would season his wood for eight years before fashioning it into one of his creations.

Stark taught his furniture-making skills and worked with some Swan residents who continued on with the trade including Vern Guyer. Guyer and his wife Joanne inherited the Stark home in the 1980s.

Guyer continued the craft of lodgepole pine furniture building during the 1980s and 1990s working in the original workshop in the house he inherited from the Starks. The original furniture, built-ins, artwork and photos all were left as-is which remain today except for Stark's wildlife carvings which he donated to the Swan Valley Community Library.

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According to "The National Register Bulletin", the purpose of the National Historic Registry is "to preserve and recognize historic properties as important reflections of American heritage."

In September 2018, Guyer enlisted the help of local historian, author and Upper Swan Valley Historical Society President Steve Lamar with the application process. Lamar said they both were amazed at how much information and detail was required in the application.

The application grew into a 61 page document filled with references from Lamar's books and many other sources the USVHS had published including the Swan Valley's settlement and photos of the process from start to the finished home. The photos were taken in 1939 by Stark's wife Marie and more recently of the 80 year old structure by Lamar. Guyer said that she was impressed with the details that Lamar added to the application.

The Stark house meets the criterion for a historic place which is associated with the lives of persons significant in the past. Lamar said in the application that "John was a cut above many others - especially in the wood furniture and sculpting skills. His pieces are collector items. And he was noted as a perfectionist in all his endeavors - whether building log houses, making furniture or carving."

The second criterion for a historic place calls for expressing the spirit of a given time period. The property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction or represents the work of a master.

In the application Lamar wrote, "Both the craftsmanship of an individual (John Stark) and the great example of log house construction architecture, that definitely defines our history here in the Swan Valley. It is a point of pride for preserving historic properties as important reflections of our Swan Valley heritage."

On May 15, the Montana State Historic Preservation review board approved the Stark house to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. The final determination is with the National Park Service In Washington, D.C. Lamar said they should get the final okay in about two months.

The designation would assure that the house would be preserved by whomever owns it in the future. There are strict guidelines which allow for repair but not to rebuild or replace parts of the home. The home remains a private residence and is not open to the public at this time.

The Stark house, if listed, will represent the recognition of the "ways of living or cultural heritage that is developed by a community and is passed from generation to generation.