An Underground Cabin
About one-eighth of a mile east of the cluster of buildings at Danby on National Trails Highway, old Route 66, are the remains of a tiny 'cabin', which was built of railroad ties and mostly underground except for a 2' section above ground that was lined with sheets of tin as weatherproofing.
Whether there was ever a cabin or living area on top of the structure is difficult to tell, but having a living area underground would have been prudent given how hot it can be in this part of the Mojave Desert during summer months.
What would have been the roof of the cabin is made of wooden planks that are now falling in. The entrance to the underground area was a small cut-out in the roof that measures about 3' x 4' with a ladder leading down. The ladder has long since rotted away, and the living area is gradually filling with sand that has blown in over the years.
Near the cabin are several large fenced corrals made of railroad ties that may have been for burros or cattle.
I have never been able to find out when the structure was built nor who lived there, but it seems to be very old and pre-dates the existing buildings at Danby. A fellow who lived in Danby as a young boy in 1955 recalls that they used to play there as kids and the structure was old and abandoned even then.
One person I spoke to who formerly lived in Danby said it looked as though someone had lived there, but left in a hurry. There was a separate little bedroom with a folding wooden army cot in it, and a small table with one chair. There was a metal plate with desiccated food on it, and a tin can that looked like it may have been used as a cup. There were tins of food stacked in one corner and some glass wine jugs with water in them. The walls were upended 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood braced in the upper corners to keep the sand out. “It was kind of a sad, forlorn little underground shack, but I remember it being wonderfully cool in the summer. I found the place completely by accident, by riding my across the top of it with my dirt bike and noticing that something didn’t sound quite right. I always wondered who built it, and what they did with their life while they lived there.”
