Joyce Estate, Farmhouse, Chippewa National Forest Road 2144, 3 miles north of County Road 335, Grand Rapids, Itasca County, MN

Significance: As reported by the "Grand Rapids Herald Review" of 14 March 1917, initial plans for the Joyce Estate called for the construction of a "barn" and "farmhouse" before the end of the year. An early photograph documents that both these structures were built of logs. Although the original barn was later replaced by a wood-frame structure, the log Farmhouse still survives. Because it served as a residence for the estate's year-round caretaker, it became known as the "Caretaker's Cabin." It continued to be occupied by a caretaker after the Joyce Estate was acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 1973, and then by U.S. Forest Service in 1974. It was finally vacated in 1986. Subsequently, the front (east) foundation failed, making examination of the interior hazardous. ... The building's rectangular plan consists of three sections: a central gable-roofed log building; a shed-roofed, wood-frame front porch, which extends across the entire front (east) side; and a shed-roofed, wood-frame, shingled section to the rear. Most walls are painted brown; trim is painted white. It is the only cabin on the estate to have a basement.
Survey number: HABS MN-146-AE