Refuge History

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
Doroshin Bay Cabin

HISTORY:   Andy Anderson built the Doroshin Bay cabin sometime after World War II.  Andy was a homesteader who had established a home west of Doroshin Bay on Caribou Island. 

The cabin was built for a miner by the name of H. H. "Hardrock" Leonard.   Leonard was a miner and had plans to develop an antimony prospect located in the area. 

Antimony is a silvery-white metal that is found in the earth's crust.  Antimony ores are mined and then mixed with other metals to form antimony alloys or combined with oxygen to form antimony oxide. Antimony isn't used alone because it breaks easily, but when mixed into alloys, it is used in lead storage batteries, solder, sheet and pipe metal, bearings, castings, and pewter.  Antimony oxide is added to textiles and plastics to prevent them from catching fire.  It is also used in paints, ceramics, and fireworks.  Little anitimony is currently mined in the United States

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION: The Doroshin Bay cabin is a one-story log cabin consisting of a single rectangular room.  The cabin is located within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the shores of Skilak Lake.  The cabin is situated in a stand of mature spruce trees.  The Doroshin Bay cabin condition is classified as standing "good" with very little alteration since its construction.

The Doroshin Bay cabin is built of spruce logs cut in the area by ax and crosscut saw.  The cabin is approximately 50 feet from the shore of Skilak.  The foundation of the cabin consists of sill logs placed directly on the ground without a prepared foundation.  The outside dimensions of the single room cabin are 14 feet wide by 16 feet long.  The round spruce logs have not been peeled of all bark.  The log diameter average 7 ½ inches at the butt end and 6 inches at the tip.  The cabin is chinked with native moss.  The logs are interlocked with a square notch.  The facade and north elevations have 14 courses of logs and the east and west elevations have 9 courses of logs, all set horizontally. 

Last updated: September 11, 2008