Jun Fujita Cabin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Jun Fujita Cabin
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The Jun Fujita Cabin from the east
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | Wendt Island, Rainy Lake |
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| Nearest city | Ranier, Minnesota |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Jun Fujita |
| Architectural style | Single pen cabin |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001351 |
| Added to NRHP | December 2, 1996 |
The Jun Fujita Cabin is a special old summer cabin in Minnesota. It was owned by a famous photographer and poet named Jun Fujita (1888–1963). He built this cabin in 1928 on an island in Rainy Lake. This area is now part of Voyageurs National Park.
The cabin was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is important because of its connection to art, Japanese-American history, and outdoor fun. It also shows how people started building vacation spots in the Boundary Waters area a long time ago.
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Who Was Jun Fujita?
Jun Fujita was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1888. When he was a teenager, he moved to Canada. Later, he came to Chicago and became a photographer for a newspaper called the Chicago Evening Post. This newspaper later became the Chicago Daily News.
Fujita took pictures of many big events. These included the sinking of the SS Eastland ship in 1915. He also photographed important moments during the Chicago race riot of 1919 and a famous crime event in 1929 called the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.
In the 1930s, he stopped working as a news photographer. He opened his own photography studio. He took pictures for companies like Johnson Outboards and Sears. Some of his photos for Johnson Outboards were taken right on Rainy Lake.
The Cabin's Island Home
Around 1928, Jun Fujita's longtime friend, Florence Carr, bought a 4-acre island on Rainy Lake. Carr and Fujita had been together for a while. They couldn't get married until 1940 because of old laws that stopped people from different races from marrying.
The island was bought in Carr's name. This was because Minnesota laws at the time limited land ownership by people who were not U.S. citizens. Even though Carr owned the island, neighbors mostly remembered Fujita being there alone. The island was once called by a very unkind name, but it is now known as Wendt Island.
A Popular Vacation Spot
The Rainy Lake area became a popular place for vacations. This happened after railroads reached International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario, around 1908. New roads were built from cities like Duluth by 1922. Even with these new ways to get there, the area was still quite far away from big towns.
People loved to visit Rainy Lake for fishing, hunting, and enjoying nature. It was a perfect wilderness getaway.
Building the Cabin
Jun Fujita started building his cabin with a main room that was about 13 by 16 feet. He used cedar poles for the frame. The outside walls were covered with drop siding.
Later, he added a screened porch on the north side. He also built a small log room on the east side. This room's floor was a bit higher than the rest of the cabin. Some people think it might have been a special place for quiet thought or a shrine.
The cabin fits in perfectly with the nature around it. There are big rocks, tall pine trees, and pretty wildflowers. Some parts of the cabin's design show ideas from Japanese building styles. For example, it has simple decorations and a foundation made of stones placed without mortar.
Later Owners of the Cabin
Jun Fujita slowly stopped visiting the island during World War II. This might have been because of the long distance from Chicago. Also, there were unfair feelings against Japanese people during the war.
From the early 1940s, he let Fred and Edythe Sackett use his cabin. They owned a nearby island. Fujita finally sold the cabin to the Sacketts in 1956. The Sacketts added a bedroom to the cabin. They also put in some appliances that used propane gas.
In 1973, the Sacketts sold the property to their friends, Charles and Mary Jane Wendt. Then, in 1985, Voyageurs National Park bought the cabin and the land. However, the Wendts still get to use the cabin by leasing it from the park.
