The structure known as the Beaver Meadow Cabin appears early in Long Trail history, though its purpose and condition were already ambiguous by the time the first guidebooks were published. On Herbert Wheaton Congdon’s 1918 Long Trail map, the building is labeled simply as a “roofless cabin” situated between Molly Stark Mountain and Baby Stark Mountain in the Sterling Range. Its depiction without a roof suggests that even at that early date it was not a functional shelter, but rather the remains of an older logging or hunting camp.
The 1st Edition of the Long Trail Guide (1917) and the 2nd Edition (1920) both reference the cabin’s location but provide no indication that it was ever maintained by the Green Mountain Club or intended for overnight use. Instead, the nearby spring—noted in both early guidebooks—suggests that the site may have served primarily as a rest stop or landmark for hikers traveling through what was then a remote and lightly developed section of trail.
Early 20th‑century logging activity in the Sterling Range was extensive, and many temporary camps, shanties, and tool sheds dotted the region. The Beaver Meadow Cabin was likely one of these structures—already deteriorating by the time the Long Trail was routed past it. No evidence appears in GMC records that the building was ever repaired, reroofed, or incorporated into the club’s shelter system.
By the mid‑20th century, the structure had disappeared entirely from guidebooks and map. Today, the original Beaver Meadow Cabin survives only as a brief note in early Long Trail literature and as a reminder of the region’s logging-era landscape.
Sources
- Long Trail Guide Book. 1st Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1917.
- Long Trail Guide Book. 2nd Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1920.
- Congdon, Herbert Wheaton.. Map of the Long Trail of the Green Mountain Club.. Burlington Vermont: Green Mountain Club, 1918.
