Historical Society of Federal Way (Out of Many, One display)
John Barker Cabin
The Barker Cabin, often called the Ivied Cottage, is the oldest original structure in the Federal Way area. John Barker filed for a 160-acre homestead in the Buenna area (now Federal Way) in 1883. The cabin, likely erected in 1883, was built using a unique regional slab cedar style, featuring logs that are dovetailed at the corners rather than simply stacked. This style utilizes Western Red Cedar for its durability and resistance to weather and insects. The Barker family lived in the cabin until they eventually moved to a house they built on nearby Steel Lake land.
In the mid-1950s, the cabin was moved from its original homestead site to the Old Line Historic Park (also known as Flags West Village) within the Federal Shopping Way complex. It served as a central attraction for the shopping center’s historical exhibit. Due to financial troubles at the shopping center and the deterioration of the site, the Historical Society of Federal Way (HSFW) worked to save the cabin. In September 1993, the cabin was dismantled and moved to its current location at the West Hylebos Wetlands Park. Volunteers worked on restoration of the cabin throughout the 1990s and 2000s, using traditional tools like broad axes and froes to split fresh cedar logs for replacement parts and roof shakes. After installing a stone fireplace, chimney, wooden flooring, and a sleeping loft, restoration was completed in March 2008.
How it represents the community’s American experience:
The story of the Barker Cabin is a profound testament to the American spirit, beginning in 1883 when John Barker carved a 160-acre homestead out of the Washington wilderness. Building the cabin required grueling physical labor and pioneer ingenuity, as the family used traditional slab cedar techniques and hand-tools to create a home that could withstand the elements. Their determination was fueled by the Homestead Act, which required five years of grit and cultivation to prove up the land and earn a formal title.
This same spirit of perseverance resurfaced a century later when the local community refused to let the deteriorating structure be lost to history. Over a fifteen-year period starting in 1993, volunteers and the Historical Society of Federal Way navigated bureaucratic setbacks, permit expirations, and the physical exhaustion of hand-splitting over a thousand cedar shakes. By choosing traditional craftsmanship over modern shortcuts, they honored the original pioneers’ resolve, ensuring the cabin remains a lasting symbol of the determination required to build—and preserve—community.
On display at West Hylebos Wetlands Park, year-round. View the interior of the cabin 2nd Saturday of the month, 11a.m. – 3 p.m., starting May 2026.
A display panel and flipbook exhibit about the cabin is on exhibit at the Heritage Center of Federal Way, Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., until July 2026.
A display about John Barker will be on display at the Red, White & Blues Festival at Celebration Park in Federal Way, July 4, 2026, and at the Heritage Center of Federal Way on August 8, 2026.
