Jim Baker Cabin, WY 2025
Join us as we preserve the Jim Baker Cabin, home of one of Wyoming’s last mountain men.
PROJECT PARTNER: Little Snake River Museum
SESSION DATES: July 27 – August 1 and August 3-8
CAPACITY PER SESSION: 6 Volunteers (No Kitchen Helper)
PROJECT SUPERVISORS: John Savoie & Steve Harris
CREW LEADER: Karina Burbank
Project Site Description & History
We’re excited to head to the Little Snake River Museum in Savery, Wyoming for a volunteer opportunity that will take us to a unique museum that stretches across multiple southeastern Wyoming towns. The Little Snake River Museum houses over 15 historic buildings and memorializes over 150 years of Wyoming history, while accurately capturing the essence of the ranching community’s past.
Within the Little Snake River Valley Museum lies the fabled Jim Baker Cabin. This rustic home was built in 1873 by frontiersman, Jim Baker, whose legend is one of trapping, scouting, and war leadership. Jim Baker was a skilled and perseverant trapper, whose expeditions led him both across the country and destined him for greatness. In August of 1841, Baker became part of the Battle Mountain conflict, where a battle between twenty-three trappers (including Baker) and around five-hundred to seven-hundred Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors ensued. At the age of twenty-one, Baker found himself in charge after the original Captain of the group was killed. Baker went on to become a skilled frontiersman, and used his varied skillset to serve as a guide, leader, and interpreter with local tribes (just to name a few capacities he served in). Jim Baker played a pivotal role in exploration of the valley, and many significant sites in Wyoming have been named after him.
The Jim Baker Cabin was built in 1873 by Baker himself at the age of 55. The cabin is a two-story log structure measuring 31′ by 16′, with two lower-level rooms and one small upper-level room. The cabin was purchased in 1916 for $500 and was moved to Cheyenne’s Frontier Park, but in 1973 was moved back to Savery’s Snake River Valley Museum. The Jim Baker Cabin was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in November of 1982, and continues to be a popular destination for visitors of the museum.
We’re excited to engage volunteers to restore the Jim Baker Cabin, and we hope you’ll join us at the Little River Snake Museum this summer. This volunteer opportunity bridges Wyoming’s past with current day preservation initiatives, so register today to help preserve this legendary cabin!
Location and Logistics
SESSION DATES: July 27 – August 1 and August 3-8
Please plan to arrive at the campsite no earlier than 5pm and no later than 7pm on the first day of your session.
LOCATION: Located about 10 minutes from Battle Mountain!
MAP to JIM BAKER CABIN
ACCESS: 
Tents, truck campers, campervans, and small trailers or RVs up to 25 ft will have access to our campsite (hookups are available). Dogs are allowed but must be leashed, kept under control at all times, and cleaned up after. Showers are available at the campsite.
WEATHER: Anticipate highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s. Weather conditions may be rainy, cloudy, or sunny. Volunteers are responsible for checking weather conditions before their session begins, and packing appropriately.
ABOUT VOLUNTEERING: HistoriCorps projects are free for volunteers! HistoriCorps will provide all meals, tools, training, equipment, and a campsite. Volunteers are responsible for their own transportation to the campsite, sleeping equipment, work gloves, clothes and boots, and other personal gear.
Scope of Work
SCOPE OF WORK DIFFICULTY: 
HistoriCorps is committed to educating and training volunteers in preservation skills, with an overarching mission of inspiring a preservation ethic in all those involved. Learning and working alongside expert HistoriCorps field staff and other volunteers while applying the traditional skills necessary to restore the Jim Baker Cabin, you will assist to:
- Improve exterior through sill and wall log replacement
- Address structure deterioration issues through repair and replacement of crown logs
- Improve appearance by removing deteriorated daubing and applying new daubing
- Refresh windows through rehabilitation
- If time allows: improve appearance of the Strobridge-Goshart-Hays House windows through repair and rehabilitation and other preservation tasks as determined with Little River Museum staff
Please note: Tasks vary by day and by week, depending on a variety of factors including: weather, project priorities, previous groups’ work, and more. Though it is likely you will get to learn and practice most or all of the above tasks, it is not guaranteed. The higher percentage of the scope a particular task is, the more likely you will get to practice it.
Sign Up!
We’re thrilled this project has inspired you to volunteer!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Visit our Job Calendar to see how many spaces are available!
*All registrations submitted to projects at capacity will be automatically added to our waitlist.*
CANCELLATIONS effect our ability to complete projects. Please register only if you are certain about your ability to participate.
You will know your registration was successful when you receive a confirmation email. Contact volunteer@historicorps.org for assistance.
HistoriCorps does not charge for its volunteering projects. HistoriCorps relies on donations to continue engaging volunteers to save significant historical sites across America for generations to come. Your donation of any amount will make an incredible difference! Increase your impact – make a generous gift today.
Volunteer Logistics, Policies, and Advice
We’re so glad you’re interested in joining this project! If you’re new to our community, review the Volunteer FAQ first! Please note the following logistics and policies:
- Volunteering with HistoriCorps is free! We will provide all meals, tools, training, equipment, and a campsite or shared indoor lodging. Dinner is not provided on the first night.
- Volunteers are responsible for bringing their own gear, work gloves, sturdy work clothes and boots, and appropriate sleeping equipment. Check the average temperatures before you start packing – the nights and mornings may be colder than you anticipate! Then, read this advice about how to stay warm when tent camping in colder places.
- Campsite accessibility varies by project. Some projects can accommodate tents only; others can accommodate small RVs. Please review the project site description above for more information, and if you’re still not sure, email volunteer@historicorps.org for help.
- If this project does not offer showers, you might want to consider bringing a solar shower or research other methods to clean up after the work day.
- Volunteer crew sizes generally range from 4-8 volunteers, with two HistoriCorps staff that lead and train volunteers in the work.
- Safety is one of HistoriCorps’ top priorities, and volunteers can contribute to a safe working environment by ensuring their physical fitness is adequate for the work. See above for this project’s scope of work and difficulty level. Please, call us if you are not quite sure if a project is a good fit for your skills or fitness level. We may be able to suggest a project more suitable and enjoyable for you.
- Hard hats, eye protection, ear protection, gloves are standard personal protection equipment (PPE) required on all projects. Hard hats must be worn at all times on the project site, unless working in a designated safe space. Field staff will train volunteers on correct use of PPE.
- Dogs are generally allowed to accompany their humans in project campsites (actually, we love having dogs join us around the campfire!). Dogs are not permitted on the job site for everyone's safety. HOWEVER: HistoriCorps also follows the rules and regulations of our project partner. If the project partner does not permit dogs onsite then HistoriCorps is no exception. Please ask HistoriCorps or the project partner directly if you have any questions about whether Fido is welcome.