Bellevue’s oldest building has found a new home.
The historic Burrows Cabin was disassembled and moved to a new permanent home in Chism Beach Park over the last week, near where the cabin was originally built. Crews disassembled parts of the 15-by-23 foot cabin and moved it from the land it has inhabited for the last 70 years, driving it past the skyscrapers that have sprouted up around it over the last few decades.
The property the Burrows Cabin has inhabited for the last 70 years will be redeveloped in the next few years. Longtime owner and Burrows family friend Ty Thorpe said he struggled with the decision to sell but is happy with the outcome.
“It has been part of my life for 61 years,” Thorpe told the Reporter. “It’s just time to sell the property and move on. But it was a lot easier of a decision to sell, knowing that the cabin will be moved and preserved.”
Thorpe grew up next door to the cabin and Burrows family descendent Roland (Rody) Burrows, the grandson of Bellevue pioneer Albert Burrows. The elder Burrows built the cabin for his family in 1883, and it is now one of the few historic landmarks in Bellevue.
In 1946, Rody moved the cabin to property he owned on 112th Avenue Northeast and a few years later sold land adjacent to the cabin to Ty’s parents. Rody often came over for family dinners and to play checkers with him, he said. On one occasion, Rody filled in at a cub scout father-son events when Ty’s father wasn’t able to attend.
Several people have inhabited the cabin outside of the Burrows family and the Thorpes (who bought the cabin and its property in 1965), as it served as a rental property for many decades. Over the years, it has undergone significant change not only in ownership and tenants, but also in appearance.
Rody had added an addition onto the cabin in the 1950s, and it suffered an interior fire in the early 60s. But the cabin still has many of its original hand-constructed features. More than once, Rody would visit the cabin and just rest his hand against the exterior wood corners, feeling the dovetailed exterior corners that his grandfather had built, Thorpe said.
When Ty decided to finally sell his sought-after Downtown Bellevue property, he worried what would happened to the cabin. The city council stepped in, voting to allot $150,000 for the cabin’s relocation in June.
While Thorpe had close ties to the Burrows family, the cabin has made an impression on many people. It wasn’t uncommon to see people stop and take photos of the property, and more than once prom-goers and bridal parties posed for photographs outside, he said.
“It feels like part of our family. After the move, we’ll take pride in knowing we helped preserve it,” Thorpe said. “It’s not only Rody’s history, but the city of Bellevue’s… It’s something tangible of our history.”
