Historical Trapper's Cabin Was Fixed-up Before Being Torched on Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Day fire that destroyed the historical also destroyed the hard work of Michael Bateman's Eagle Scout project.

Bateman, a member of Boy Scout Troop 585, had just put on a new roof, replacing the old moss-covered asphalt shingles with cedar shakes, in late October. The cabin exterior had also received a fresh coat of paint in early November as part of Bateman’s Eagle Scout project. “The cedar shakes gave the cabin a much more authentic look, as did the whitewashed side walls,” wrote Robert Bateman, Michael’s father, in an email to Woodinville Patch.

Two of the five benches built as part of Alex Kegel’s Eagle Scout project for Troop 573 at Cottage Lake Presbyterian Church were stolen that same week, according to garden manager Trisha Knox.

The Heritage Garden is located near  along the Sammamish River Trail and on land provided by . It was developed by the  to display crops pioneers in the Woodinville area grew, and give an idea as to the farming techniques these pioneers used. The garden’s design is based on the text from the 1867 Grange Manual. It describes the symbolic linkage between the seasons, plants and tools used by all of the laborers and tillers of the earth. Boulders engraved with words like faith and charity and descriptions of tools like the plow and the harrow are scattered throughout the garden.

Anyone with information regarding the theft or arson should contact King County Sheriffs, 206-296-5020.