Manning Cabin

Manning Cabin in 1972

National Register of Historic Places

Quick Facts

Location:

Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Park, Tuscon, Arizona

Significance:

Manning Cabin is the first home built in what is now Saguaro National Park

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

The Manning Cabin sits in the Rincon Mountains in Saguaro National Park. Levi H. Manning had the cabin built in 1905 for use as a mountain summer home. It was the first such retreat built in the Rincon Mountains.

The cabin was built using pack horses and wagons to transport materials to the site. Trees for the cabin came from the immediate vicinity. The log structure contained a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and two small bunk rooms. The cabin also housed a piano, brought up from the Rincon Valley via the wagon road.

The Manning family used the cabin as a summer home from mid-summer 1905 to mid-1907. In 1907, the area became part of the Coronado National Forest. For several subsequent years, Manning leased the land from the Forest Service but did not use the cabin again.

The historical importance of the cabin was formally recognized in 1975, when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. For more on Manning Cabin and it's original owner, visit Levi Manning and Manning Cabin: Past and Present.