Horace and Jane Baker arrived in the 1846 Barlow Trail wagon train, but little is known about their first decade there or about the cabin’s earliest development. Like many pioneers, they may have lived in a wagon or tents at first and then in temporary dwellings while improving their land and business. In 1856, after a California company backed out of a special order for hand-hewn timbers during the early 1850s gold rush, Horace Baker bought the 12-inch square logs and built the 20' x 30' Baker Cabin. The house was unusual in several ways: its walls were stacked nine logs high; only the top and bottom logs were mortised at the corners, while the others were lapped together without pegs or nails; it had a cantilever porch design said to be unique west of the Mississippi; and it included expanded attic space reached by an outdoor staircase that may have helped move materials upstairs and may have served as storage, sleeping space, guest quarters, hired hands’ space, or even a small workshop for Horace, who was a pump maker. Downstairs, the living area was divided into two bedrooms and a living-kitchen area, and traces of the partitions and remnants of newspaper beneath wallpaper, dating from 1850 to 1860, remain on the logs. The cabin was occupied for about 50 years before being abandoned in 1901. In October 1937, descendants and neighbors formed The Old Timers' Association of Carver, Oregon, bought 1-1/2 acres with the cabin from John and Mary Hattan for $200, and restored the building after finding dry rot in several logs and a partially collapsed chimney. The cabin was completely dismantled, each wall’s logs were laid out in removal order and marked with Roman numerals, damaged logs were replaced with newly hewn ones, and the rest were reassembled in order. After this restoration, the building was officially named the Baker Cabin. Additional repairs were completed in 1986 using authentic tools and techniques. The cabin had also been extended twice to add kitchen and living space, but both additions reportedly burned and were not rebuilt. Stone for the fireplace, hearth, and outside chimney came from the property.