The Mama Cabin was the first building constructed on the site. The cabin started as a very primitive structure with one room and a sod roof for John Sr. and Johnnie to brave their first year here. It was gradually transformed to be the working headquarters for Mama Holzwarth and the Trout Lodge.

Beginnings: 

The property you see today was John Sr.’s second attempt at homesteading. He and two friends travelled over this parcel of land in 1917 and alongside teenaged Johnnie. They spent that summer building the Mama Cabin, tent house, woodshed, and cleared land for corrals. That winter, they used kerosene lamps and a kitchen wood stove to stay warm.

Mama and the daughters stayed in Denver during the winter and continued to do so for the duration of the time that the family owned the land due to their respective families and professions being based in the city.

The Trout Lodge:

After a wagon accident in 1919, John Sr. crushed his hip leaving him to use canes for the rest of his life. This event would limit his initial dream of turning the homestead into a horse ranch. 

When his friends from Denver repeatedly visited the homestead for hunting and fishing weekends, Mama and Johnnie realized there was a profit to be made from the tourist draw of the Colorado River and the Rocky Mountains. The family adapted by turning the property into a trout lodge, charging $2 a day and $11 for a week.

Family members would recall that it had always been a dream of Mama Holzwarth’s to run a lodge.

Fun Facts About the Mama Cabin:

• The dining room and kitchen were added in 1921 as well as a new roof to replace the original sod.  

• Upon initial construction the cabin only had 2 rooms, additions were added in 1921 

• The cabin didn’t receive electricity until 1929, from generator power 

• The Naitonal Park Service restored the Mama Cabin in 1998 

• The logs were sourced from Lodgepole pines the surrounding woods, the project was undertaken by John Holzworth and his two friends Louis Paltimier and Ben Miller. 

The Holzworth Trout Lodge was a success not only due to the magnificent scenery and abundance of fish but also because of the hospitable character of the homestead and the family. At the forefront of creating this homey environment was Mama Holzwarth.