Buckey O'Neill Cabin

Although Buckey O'Neill's time at Grand Canyon was short, his influence is still evident today.

NPS/Joel Kane

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

This cabin is the only remaining building from the early pioneer settlement era of the Village. Built on this site in 1895 by William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill, the 2-room office and bunkhouse—complete with v-notched logs, rough mortar chinking, and a native stone chimney—was the rustic home of Buckey and his wife while they operated a small hotel on the South Rim. The consummate entrepreneur, Buckey improved the Bright Angel Trail and camp at Indian Garden and promoted the Grand Canyon Railroad to benefit both his tourism and mining interests.

Buckey O'Neill died in Cuba in 1898 during the Battle of San Juan Hill, fighting with Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. After his death, the cabin was bought by entrepreneur James Thurber, who owned and operated the nearby Bright Angel Hotel. Thurber incorporated the cabin as part of his hotel, connecting the two structures first with a large circus tent and later with an actual wooden frame building. The hotel, including Buckey's cabin, was sold to Martin Buggeln in 1901, and was later acquired by the Santa Fe Railroad after the completion of the El Tovar Hotel in 1905. The railroad and Fred Harvey Company tore down the Bright Angel Hotel in 1934-1935 to replace it with the Bright Angel Lodge, which still stands today. The architect of the Bright Angel Lodge and its associated cabins, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, decided to renovate Buckey O'Neill's cabin as a guest lodge. It remains operating as one of Bright Angel Lodge's active guest cabins to this day.