John Scarffe, Boulder County. The Novak Cabin in Meeker Park received Historic Landmark Designation during a regular, virtual meeting of the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners on January 19, 2021. Staff Planner Denise Grimm introduced the request for Boulder County Historic Landmark Designation at 11482 Peak to Peak.

The property is zoned Forestry, and Katharine Burton submitted the application for landmark designation for the cabin. The request designates only the historic cabin on the property. 

An undated shed and an undated outhouse are also on the property, but they are not included in this request, according to background. “The property was part of the holdings of H.G. Nowels and O.L. Dever, who, together with their wives, planned to build a resort in the Meeker Park area to operate in the summer months,” according to background.

“Construction on the Meeker Park Lodge began in 1929, and the Devers soon bought out the Nowels and continued to build or acquire cabins and outbuildings over the next few decades. As the Meeker Park Lodge operation grew, visitors came from all over, and many of them returned year-after-year.” 

Before the Novak Cabin property was sold in 1939, O.L and Crete Dever owned since 1933 and may have built the cabin in 1936. “They are both known for their work done on the Meeker Park Lodge,” according to background. The lodge was constructed starting in 1929 and took five years to complete. 

Gay Nowel made construction plans and helped O.L. Dever during construction. The Devers continued building and buying cabins over the years and operated Meeker Park as a summer vacation lodge and cabin business.

Some visitors stayed at the lodge or rented a cabin. Some eventually bought a plot of land from the Devers to build their own summer cabin in Meeker Park with the Devers selling land to nearly 80 families. Most of the privately owned cabins are located on the west side of the highway.

Harry Nowells and his wife, Leota, lived in Longmont for 55 years. Harry Nowels was a cabinet maker and teacher at the local schools. 

He sold his interest in 1929 to O.L Dever. Owen Leroy Dever, who went by his initials O.L., was born in 1885 in Rockville, Missouri. He was married to Crete Mildred in 1922. 

O.L. was a high school teacher, principal, and superintendent. Crete was a teacher for 30 years. During the summer the Devers managed Meeker Park Lodge. 

The Novak Cabin property was sold to Janice Shaw in 1939. Crete Dever sold the other two tracts of land in 1955 to Janice Wood, formerly Shaw. The property then was sold in 1956 to John F and Katherine Novak. 

John F Novak was born in 1899 and was an insurance agent. The property stayed in the Novak family for more than 80 years and is owned by the great-niece of Janice, Katharine Burton, and her husband, Fletcher, and currently they live in the cabin. 

The cabin was constructed in a vernacular log-cabin style, and a large stone chimney is located on the front of the cabin, according to background. A shed-roofed addition was added on the east side in 1964, and a wraparound porch was added to the front after 1971. 

The cabin is rectangular in shape with a side gable roof with asphalt shingles and ski lights. The cabin has a log frame construction, and the addition has wood framing and lap log siding. It has a wraparound porch to the north with a portico at the entrance. 

The south elevation has a back door and casement windows. The north elevation has the main entrance with two casement windows that flank it, and another casement window next to the chimney to the west. 

The east elevation has replaced casement windows. The west elevation has two casement windows in the addition and one in the attic. Lastly, the cabin rests on a concrete and stone foundation.

The property is in unincorporated Meeker Park and accessed by a dirt road off Colorado Highway 7. The surrounding area is mountainous, and both properties have pine trees throughout and few aspen trees. The property also includes a propane tank near the outhouse and the northwest of the property has a large steel storage container with no foundation.

According to the Assessor reports, the cabin was constructed in 1936 and in 1964 had an addition to the east. Sometime after the assessor cards were taken in 1971, the wraparound porch was added to the south and east. The ski light has been added and windows have been replaced at an unknown time.

“In October 2019, Boulder County landmarked the Meeker Park Lodge Historic District with 26 contributing structures on six parcels that were all owned at that time by the Dever family,” according to background. “Although not a member in that district, the Novak Cabin would contribute to the district if added and would probably contribute to a National Register district if one were created.” 

On August 4, 2020, the Novak Boundary Line Adjustment was referred to a subcommittee of HPAB, which first found the cabin to be eligible for landmark status. The representative for the owner said that they were fine with landmarking. 

The property qualifies for landmark designation and is an embodiment of the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, type, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials. The cabin is significant for its association with Meeker Park’s development as a tourist resort during the first half of the twentieth century and to Boulder County’s Meeker Park Lodge Historic District. 

The Historic Preservation Advisory Board considered this application at its December 3, 2020, meeting and voted unanimously to recommend approval. Staff recommended approval with the conditions including the alteration of any exterior feature of the structure will require review and approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness (CA) by Boulder County; regular maintenance which prolongs the life of the landmark, using original materials or materials that replicate the original materials, will not require review for a Certificate of Appropriateness, provided the Community Planning & Permitting Director has determined that the repair is minor in nature and will not damage any existing features. Emergency repairs, which are temporary in nature, will not require review. 

“The cabin is historically significant for its possible association with Meeker Park’s development as a vernacular tourist resort during the first half of the twentieth century. Despite some loss of integrity, the cabin’s vernacular style of architecture is relatively intact and should be considered a good example of the vernacular style of architecture,” according to background.

Character defining features include the log construction, the gabled roof, and the stone chimney. The cabin should also be considered a contributing resource to the local Landmark Historic District of Meeker Park.

Despite the loss of a few original windows, a small addition and wraparound porch, the cabin displays a significant level of integrity relative to the seven aspects of integrity defined by the National Park Service – location, setting, design, workmanship, materials, feeling and association, according to background. 

Grimm said one neighbor supported the designation, and staff recommended approving the docket. Commissioners asked if the wrap around porch was common, and Grimm said it is common, and they found that the alteration didn’t detract from eligibility. 

Commissioner Claire Levy asked that, once this is approved, what are they allowed to do? Grimm said they would contact us to find out what is approved. “We will look at it and determine whether anything they want to do needs review.”

Levy said to Burton, “How fortunate you are to be part of Boulder County history and thanks for preserving it. It meets the criteria.”

The Commissioners approved the historic landmark designation for the Novak Cabin. 

(Originally published in the February 4, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)