Old Paxson Roadhouse crumbling into ruin

I took this photo at the beginning of “summer,” and just came across it again. This is one of the original Paxson roadhouses, about a 1/2 mile north of Paxson Lodge. It is across the Richardson Highway from the DOT maintenance camp. There is no sign marking it and it doesn’t show up on maps. When all the summer foliage is out you can zip right by on the highway and probably not even notice the building.

I said one of the original roadhouses, because I think this is actually the second Paxson roadhouse. Photos of the original, built in about 1906, show a two-story affair.  I assume the original burned down.

Photos of this second roadhouse taken in the 1930s show a single-story structure twice the size of these ruins. The Paxson Lodge down the road was built in the 1950s after the south wing of the second roadhouse burned.