Stay at Fure’s Cabin, Katmai National Park, Alaska

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Roy Fure constructed a cabin in the Bay of Islands around 1916. Fure prospected for gold in the area and did occasional work as a caretaker and cannery worker, as well as other odd jobs. He also spent time trapping, hunting, and fishing. Fure’s Cabin and associated structures are listed on the National Register of Historical Places, and the cabin is available by reservation for public use. It is $45 per night June 1 through September 17. Guests at Fure’s cabin are limited to no more than 4 consecutive nights and 7 nights per calendar year. Group size is limited to six. Reservations can be made on www.recreation.gov. Please note, outside of June 1 through September 17, reservations for Fure’s Cabin are free and must be made through the park headquarters in King Salmon by calling (907)246-3305. Fure was born in 1885 in Lithuania, and came to Alaska in the early 1900s seeking his fortune. He settled in the Naknek area, supplementing his trapping and mining income by working as a laborer. In 1919, he married Anna Johnson, a Native woman from Bethel. They had three sons and a daughter, but only two of the children, Alexander and Marian, survived childhood. After Anna's death in 1929, Fure married Fanny Olson, a Native woman from Naknek. They had a daughter, Nola, in 1930. Fanny left some time after 1940 for Kodiak. The Bay of Islands cabin was built in 1926, a labor of love. The roof, walls, and floor are made of hand-hewn spruce logs with dovetail notching reminscent of European craftsmanship. In 1931 the land on which the cabin stands was incorporated into the expanded Katmai National Monument. Because he never became a U.S. citizen, Fure was not eligible for a homestead claim and was "trespassing" on Park land. In 1940 Fure was arrested for game violations and told to leave the Bay of Islands cabin. He and Fanny built a new cabin outside the Monument on American Creek, but continued to use the Bay of Islands cabin. Fure periodically stayed in the cabin until the 1950s. He died in 1962 in Portland, Oregon. Fure's cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In the late 1980s, NPS maintenance staff restored the cabin.

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