Description of Historic Place

The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin sits on the north side of the Medicine Tent River and faces a large meadow. It is a modest, single-storey log structure with a gabled roof with generous overhangs and a chimney. There is a sheltered porch at the entrance gable. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin is associated with the National Park program that constructed a series of outposts for the use of boundary patrols of the Warden Service, to control poaching and visitor activities. It is also linked to historic travel routes and to the intersection of important trails through the park.

Architectural Value
The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin is a good example of a function-oriented design with rustic character. The functional plan of the structure, its craftsmanship and use of natural building materials respect the rustic architectural imagery practiced within National Parks.

The Environmental Value
The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin maintains an unchanged relationship to its site on the north side of the Medicine Tent River and shares a physical and functional relationship with the Wood/Tack Shed. The Cabin contributes to the character of the natural setting through its form and materials. Its visually prominent location, at the junction of two major trails, is a destination for travelers along the South Boundary Trail.

Source: The Medicine Tent Warden Cabin, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Heritage Character Statement, 96-099.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character defining elements of the Medicine Tent Warden Cabin should be respected.

Its function-oriented plan, rustic character and good quality craftsmanship and materials such as:
-its simple massing of a rectangular plan, single storey structure with a gable roof and
chimney;
-its log-framed sheltered porch area at the entrance gable;
-the roof brackets, queen posts, collar tie which add visual interest to the entrance;
-its good quality construction;
-its walls of peeled logs, horizontally laid and saddle-notched at the corners; and,
-its vertical cornerpost construction, exposed through-purlin log ends, decking roof edges and simple door and window trim.

The visually prominent location of the Medicine Tent Warden Cabin and its relationship to its site as evidenced in:
-the direct and unobstructed relationship between the structure and the trails; and,
-the relationship between the structure and the Wood/Tack Shed.