The New Deal-era Camp Yeomalt cabin is one of the island’s heritage buildings, and the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation’s first major project. 

A gem of rustic, Works Progress Administration construction and a national historic site, the 1935 cabin was base camp for generations of island Boy Scouts. A hand-stamped plaque on the chimney honors the early scouts, bearing names that live on in island lore: Nakata, Knechtel, Moritani. During the war, the camp bivouacked a Coast Artillery Corps garrison. The Park District acquired the property in the 1980s, by which point the cabin logs and rock fireplace were badly deteriorated. 

In the mid-2000s, a cadre of community volunteers used old-school hand tools to peel newly harvested logs to replace the deteriorating logs. The cabin was raised, and its lower third and gabled roof were rebuilt atop a new foundation. The meticulous two-year restoration was funded through gifts to the Parks & Trails Foundation – our first major capital campaign. 

Camp Yeomalt is once again an active spot for community events, classes and gatherings of all sorts. 

Legacies of the WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps, the lodges and shelters of this era are treasured sites. The Camp Yeomalt cabin is an exemplar of period and form, a star in our constellation of heritage halls with those at Island Center, Seabold, and Fort Ward. 

Camp Yeomalt Cabin
Camp Yeomalt
Partners: Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, community volunteers
Built: 1935. Restored and rededicated: 2006-2009