The historic Kelly Camp cabins at Glacier National Park/NPS

A collection of historic cabins lining the shores of Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park that have come into National Park Service ownership over the years are set to be managed for their most practical use, although that could mean demolition for some, under a plan adopted by the Park Service.

Some of the cabins date to the early 1900s. Not surprisingly, many are in need of repairs. That could happen under a management plan that has been approved for the properties.

Under the plan, Glacier staff will use an adaptive decision framework to manage cabins and outbuildings around Lake McDonald that have come into NPS possession over the last decade. Most of the structures are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A strategy is needed to guide the management of the properties and acquire funds for their preservation before the buildings deteriorate to the point where demolition and removal are the only available options, a park release said.

Locator map of historic cabins along Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park/NPS

Among the cabins are some located in what's known as the Kelly Camp Historic District. This setting was homesteaded by Frank Kelly in 1894, and in 1905 he began operating a summer tourist cabin business. 

The 6.5 acre historic district includes 12 rustic log buildings: the Big House served as the lodge, ten smaller summer cabins hosted individual families, and a small cabin was used as a wash house. The Camp Shop was used for cutting and stacking firewood. ... Unique rustic architectural features can be seen in the historic cabins. Log buildings rest on a banked foundation of doubled log piers. Outer piers support the log walls and inner piers support the floor system. 

The cabins were constructed of unpeeled larch and fir logs with mud daubing from the lakeshore. They retain the Kelly signature of a decorative row of narrow-caliper unpeeled logs set in the gable end of the lakeside porch.

Greve's Tourist Cabins date to 1910, though most were built in the 1930s. They operated until 1978. "In 1984, NPS removed all of the frame cabins south of the main cabin and moved two cabins to Swiftcurrent in the Many Glacier Valley," a Park Service document said.

Other cabins covered by the management plan include the Wheeler Cabins at the head of Lake McDonald, Glacier Villias and McDonnell Cabin, Grist Road Cabins, and Grisley Cabin.

The adaptive decision framework includes five different management options: historic leasing, assigning to an interested concessioner, NPS administrative use (such as park housing or offices), stabilization, or removal. The park will use one of these five options to manage each property based on historic preservation and administrative needs and objectives, the condition of the structures, and feasibility.

If the preferred management option for a given property is not underway or cannot be implemented by timeframes specified in the planning document (generally ranging from one to two years), then other management options identified for each property will be triggered. 

As historic leasing is the preferred management option for most of the properties, the Park Service decision now enables the park to develop a historic leasing program.