Butterfly Lodge

About this property

Butterfly Lodge is a five and half room log cabin, originally constructed as a hunting lodge in 1913 for the author, James Willard Schultz. Originally a rectangular building measuring 18 feet by 24 feet, it has been expanded over the years and now covers 40 feet, 10 inches by 32 feet, 6 inches, the shorter side being the front of the cabin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1992. The cabin exists in a rural area off of Forest Road (FR) 245, just to the west of its intersection with Arizona State Route 373. In 1911, the U.S. Forest Service declared the area which includes the property where Butterfly Lodge sits as a protected area. As part of a program which encouraged U.S. citizens to develop public lands, a long-term lease was issued to Schultz by the local forest ranger. Schultz financial success as a writer and explorer enabled him to build the first cabin by a non-resident in the remote White Mountains. Two men from nearby Greer, Arizona, John T. Butler and Cleve Wiltbank, built the cabin in 1913, intending to be used by James Willard Schultz as a hunting lodge and retreat. The men used ponderosa pine and Douglas fir to build the cabin. Schultz son, Hart Merriam Schultz (also known as Lone Wolf), later put additions on the structure, including an artist's studio. The site was a clearing near a spring, purported to be the headwaters of the Little Colorado River. The plethora of butterflies in the area was the impetus for the name of the cabin. Between 1916 and 1929 three additions were made to the structure, including a bedroom and storage area, an artist's studio, and a kitchen. The exterior of the cabin has also undergone changes over the years. Initially, there was no front porch, the main entry was reached by two wooden steps. There was very minimal trim as well after its construction, and very early on there was an Indian geometric design painted on the front door, as well as the phrase "Apuni Oyis 1914" painted on the front fascia. Apuni Oyis is Blackfoot for "Butterfly Lodge". Above the apex of the front door there was an antlered deer skull mounted. The two wooden steps were replaced by a wooden porch, followed by a stone porch, with a wooden railing supported by concrete and rock tapered pylons. The modest trim was replaced very early on, with wider, more ornate trim, which exists to this day. By the end of the 1930s the deer skull was removed, and the skull of steer was placed above the windows. The natural logs lost their bark, and eventually the structure was painted brown, with the trim originally painted green, which was changed to brown later on. Currently, the railing on the porch is in a state of disrepair, as is the concrete surface of the porch.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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