At a time when most of Tahoe’s lakefront property is filled with multi-million dollar mansions tucked between expansive blue waters and locked gates, one cabin invites people to marvel at its historic architecture while taking in those million-dollar views.
The Watson Cabin, sitting above the shoreline in the heart of Tahoe City close to Commons Beach, was built by Robert Montgomery Watson in 1908 as a wedding gift for his son (also named Robert) and new bride Stella Tong.
“He was the first constable here,” says Gatekeeper’s Museum Director Susan Winter. Robert M. Watson came to Tahoe City in 1875 from Pennsylvania and met his wife Sarah Cunningham in Foresthill, California. In 1887, they leased the Tahoe House inn and during the next 10 years had five children while running the establishment.
In 1897, Robert M. followed the Klondike gold rush with his oldest son Frank, leaving the rest of the family behind to run the inn. Upon his return in 1900, he built a log cabin for the resident gatekeeper who tended the dam that controls the water flows from Lake Tahoe to the Truckee River. That cabin is now known as the Gatekeeper’s Museum, and the dam is what locals lovingly refer to as “Fanny Bridge.”
Along with being Tahoe City’s first constable, Robert M. worked as a trail finder, mill operator, and a guide, which gave him the nickname of “Grandpa” by all the local kids.
Robert M.’s youngest son, Robert Howard, was born in 1886 and studied at the first school in Tahoe City (which his father built). The second-generation Watsons moved into the modest log cabin in 1909 and then split their time between Tahoe and Foresthill. Rob H. and Stella had their daughter Mildred in 1910.
When the Tahoe City traffic became too much for them, the Watsons leased their log cabin to E.P. and Fern Hunt in 1947, who ran it as a gift shop in the summers until 1976. The Tahoe City PUD and North Lake Tahoe Historical Society bought the cabin in 1979 and submitted it to the National Register of Historic Sites as Tahoe’s oldest home.
A lot goes into preserving Tahoe’s past, and along with safekeeping the authentic Marion Steinbach basket collection and offering exhibits related to North Shore history within the 130 West Lake Boulevard space, the Gatekeeper’s Museum is also helping the Watson Cabin’s history stay alive.
The Tahoe City PUD technically owns the cabin, and North Lake Tahoe Historical Society has an 80-year lease on it. The Gatekeeper’s Museum has held an agreement with the PUD to manage the cabin since 1987), which Mildred Watson Collins originally signed off on.
The Watson Cabin recently completed its two-phase Revitalize the Watson Cabin Project restoration and is excited to show it off to the public.
In Phase 1 of the restoration (launched in 2024), the Gatekeeper’s Museum replaced the old carpet and fixed problems with the plumbing. They put in new lighting and worked to make it accessible and safe to the public. After completion, the Historical Society then opened Watson Cabin to the public that summer as a gift shop and museum, which holds Rob Montgomery Watson’s hat.
With the logs on Watson Cabin’s exterior falling apart, The Gatekeeper’s Museum was able to restore the weather-beaten abode in its Phase 2 thanks to generous donors and funds received from the North Tahoe Community Alliance’s TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Program.
“We applied for a grant last year to restore it. It hadn’t been open regularly, only for special events like the Haunted House. You could walk by and view the interior through plexiglass but now it’s safe to go into again,” Winter says.
The Historical Society started Phase 2 of the Watson Cabin restoration project in April 2025, which was completed in fall of the same year. “We replaced the whole side with new logs. Before you could reach up and just rip them off with your hands, they were so rotten,” says Winter. Along with replacing the century-old logs, contractors put in new masonry work on the chimney, built a new back deck entrance, and installed fresh locally sourced hand-cut logs on the bottom floor east side of the cabin.
Visitation to the Gatekeeper’s Museum was low this past summer as the SR-89 “Fanny Bridge” Community Revitalization Project affected foot traffic, but hopefully the completion of that bridge replacement project will bring double the visitors next summer.
“I’m really excited for next year,” Winter adds, mentioning they want to have it open as much as possible for community events, such as the June Tahoe City Wine Walk and October Tahoe City Halloween events.
Speaking of Halloween, when asked if she believes Watson Cabin is haunted, Winter replies, “A couple of years ago we hosted the ’28 Days Haunted’ show and they all saw some activity on their equipment in the upstairs sewing room. Anyone who goes up there says the room just makes them uncomfortable. There’s always cold air flowing through there, and sometimes you’ll hear some tapping sounds out of nowhere. But I like to think they [the Watson ghosts] like that the cabin is being used.”
Winter’s favorite part of the Watson Cabin is the room with the view. There aren’t very many lakefront properties accessible to the public (the only prominent lakefront historic properties open to the public include Vikingsholm and the Thunderbird Lodge), so seeing that view from the second floor of the cabin over Commons Beach is a treat.
“I think it’s the best view of the lake. I think it used to be a porch…it was definitely an addition. I love being there because of the access to the lake.”
“We’re always going to do a haunted house [in the Watson Cabin]. Last year we opened it for Snowfest and had a freestyle snowboarding exhibit; We will definitely have it open for community events,” she says.
“The goal is to staff it [the Watson Cabin available to the public] June 1-Labor Day, Tuesdays-Sundays,” she says.
For more information on the Gatekeeper’s Museum and Watson Cabin, visit https://www.gatekeepersmuseum.org/.