This cabin, on the edge of McGurk Meadow, was probably built by Hugh Davanay, who sold the property to Jack McGurk in 1895.

McGurk was a cattleman who probably grazed his stock at the meadow during the summer months. He occupied the site for two years before being evicted by the Army in 1897 over a title dispute. Aside from McGurk's seasonal residence in this cabin, there is no evidence of his spending time in Yosemite.

In 1958, a group of Sierra Club volunteers stabilized the cabin as be a unique interpretive outpost for Bridalveil Campground and McGurk Meadow hiking trails in Yosemite National Park.