Wilder Cabin in the Woods

In the late 1800’s James Elias Wilder and family would heard their angora goats up into the mountains in what is now known as the Mendocino National forest in Northern California. He grazed his goats there during the spring and summer months, and wintered them in the area just outside of Paskenta, California. To support his family and their way of life, James built two cabins in the forest. The remains of one is just off the roadside that takes you over the mountains. The other was well placed in between two ridges in an area supported by a year round stream.

James and his eldest son Orenzo built the cabin, felling trees for the base logs, hand splitting shingles. The cabin had a bunk area for the children, a raised platform for the adults and a hanging box for the baby. Each spring James, his wife and children would head up the mountain to their cabin, with the children walking most of the way herding the goats as they went along . They would load up their wagon with sacks of flour, rice and beans, an iron stove, pots and pans, and bedding; all things that would make their little cabin in the woods a home. One of their daughters, Bessie Wilder, shared that for the most part the children would sleep outside of the cabin on quilts their mother Sally had made. Mother would cook on the iron stove just outside of the cabin and the family would get water from the spring. Each year Mother would sew the girls a dress with fabric from the used flour and bean sacks. The boys would heard the goats about a mile northeast of the cabin in a glade called Haypatch. The family used it for many summers only leaving it for life closer to town around 1907.

After the family left the cabin, the ranger found and began to use the cabin as a line camp. The forest service referred to the cabin as the Wilder’s "West Goat Camp". About one mile northeast of this cabin was a glade called Haypatch, where they grazed their livestock. Later when the U.S. Forest Service stated using the cabin and glade area as a line camp, they called it the Hay Patch Ranger Station.

As time went on the family lost track of the cabin until the late 1950’s when Orenzo’s family started to talk about the cabin wondering if he remembered where it was and how to get there. He had mentioned a second cabin closer to the road, which the family was able to find. Orenzo also told the family that he and his father had chopped blazes in the trees that would serve as signposts pointing he way to the rugged trail that ran from the road to the second cabin. I wouldn’t be until the 1970’s that Orenzo’s daugther, Faye and her husband would gather a few other family members together to search for the cabin. They traveled up the mountain to the location of the first cabin, now a burned out foundation, and began their search for the blazes. With a few gallons of water and determined minds, they were successful, locating the blazes that so many years had been laid out and following them down the hillside and over the ridge to the location of the cabin, and what was still standing.

Around the time the family was looking to find the cabin, a retired forest service ranger was busy documenting historic ranger stations and line camps. These two activities came together when the family located the cabin. The U.S. Forest service brought in archeologists to document the cabin and place it on the historical significant places list, and gave the family the right to restore portions of the cabin that had succumbed to bug and weather. Cousin Faye’s family led this effort with the support of several other family members.

Family working on restoration of the Wilder Cabin also known as the Haypatch Ranger Station .(1970’s)

Once restoration was completed, the family began holding family reunions at the Dead Mule Springs campground. The highlight would be a trip down to visit the cabin on horseback, jeep or truck. Bessie Wilder, the last surviving child of James and Salley who lived at the cabin made the trip and shared with the family stories of her life in the Wilder cabin in the woods. Many of the family, children and grandchildren, cousins and friends of the Wilders who built and lived in the cabin attended our Wilder reunions in the woods. Due to the rugged nature of the trip and to make it easier on our aging cousins, the reunion were moved back to Corning at Woodson bridge where there are still held to this day.

Celia Wilder, daughter of Lester and grand daughter of James Elias and Sally Wilder, standing with 3 of her 4 children in front of the Wilder Cabin. Her father was but a bitty baby when the family stopped using the cabin in 1907. (1970’s.)