J. Pierce Cunningham arrived in Jackson Hole about 1885 from New York when he was twenty years old. A few years later, he and his new bride staked a homestead claim at this location just south of Spread Creek. They selected this location because it was covered with silt sediments deposited by an ancient lake that formed from glacial meltwater. These soils retained moisture and provided better nutrients than most local soils for raising lush grasses and forbs. This "dogtrot" cabin, with two small cabins joined by an open, covered breezeway, was the first building Cunningham constructed from lodgepole pine logs. Cracks between logs were chinked with dirt mortar and reinforced with willow wands. Sapling poles lined the roof and were piled with dirt. Floors were dirt, wetted with water, compacted and swept.