John Ehn, Old Trapper’s Lodge
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Location:
Los Angeles, California, USA (Map)
Status:
Relocated (incl. Museums)
Artist:
Built:
circa 1951-1981
Materials:
concrete, paint
Visiting Information
Old Trapper’s Lodge was named a California State Historical Landmark in 1981, the year John Ehn died. In the mid-1980s, to ensure the continued maintenance of his monumental sculptures, several were relocated to the grounds of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California, where they are available for public viewing. A number of smaller sculptural works can also be seen at the Oakland Museum of California.
circa 1979
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circa 1979
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circa 1979
circa 1979
circa 1979
circa 1979
circa 1979
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circa 1979
circa 1979
circa 1979
circa 1979
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Photograph by Seymour Rosen. ©SPACES
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
Used with permission of the photographer, Don Howlett
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About the Artist/Site
Johan Henry (“John”) was born in Violet, a temporary lodging camp near Gould City, Michigan. His ancestors were Finish and Swedish immigrants who worked in the United States as lumbermen, farmers, and commercial fishers. Ehn married in 1921 and worked for the State of Michigan’s Field and Game Department as a game warden. He then moved with his family to Florida; for five years he trapped alligators and snakes, inspiring him to write and to publish How to Snare: The Best Kept Secrets of Trapper John, a series of ten correspondence courses. Ehn would continue to mail his courses, along with scents and trapping supplies, until his death.
In 1940, a spinal inflammation forced Ehn to give up trapping. He moved with his family to Roscoe in Southern California and opened a motel. He later named the property to reflect his former occupation, and dressed the part, wearing Western clothes and sporting a goatee and pierced ears.
After watching sculptor Claude Bell at work at Knott’s Berry Farm, a Buena Park, California theme park, Ehn hired the artist in 1951 to portray him as a trapper in a giant concrete sculpture. After three days, Ehn felt he had learned all the techniques he needed to work alone. Working in the front yard of his motel, he began building a series of sculptures he later called “Boot Hill Cemetery.” Each sculpture began with a strong wire armature he covered with cement, often adding a final application of brightly colored paint.
For the next fifteen years, Ehn constructed the cemetery figures and another series he called the “Old West Mooseum.” A friend occasionally helped with signage, but Ehn built the sculptures alone. His “Boot Hill Cemetery” was intended as a family memorial: he built the faces of his statues around life masks he made of family members. The characters they portrayed were from favorite folksongs and stories. A tombstone epitaph described the alleged demise of each sculpted character.
Ehn also decorated the walls of his motel with a collection of animal skins, tools, and other memorabilia he’d accumulated over a lifetime. His office was filled with trapping paraphernalia, guns, and photomontages.
Old Trapper’s Lodge was named a California State Historical Landmark in 1981, the year John Ehn died. In the mid-1980s, to ensure the continued maintenance of his monumental sculptures, several were relocated to the grounds of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California, where they are available for public viewing.
~Seymour Rosen/Jo Farb Hernández
SPACES Archive Holdings
Collection size: 2.2 linear feet (1975- )
Appraisal (1986)
Correspondence
Ephemera
Clippings
Pamphlets
Maps
Photographic prints, slides, negatives (approx. 900)
Related Documents
timeline for John Ehn and Old Trapper’s Lodge
Letter to La Haye Bronze from Sandra J. Elder, CA State Historical Resources Commission, 1/25/1985
Description of John Ehn’s Old Trapper’s Lodge
diagram of John Ehn’s boothill, 1985
Letter to Councilman Joel Wachs, LA City Hall from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 12/5/1987
contract for Pacific Arts Publishing/Overview, 10/24/1986
Letter to County Fair from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 1/26/1988
various info about John Ehn and Old Trapper’s Lodge
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Warren D. Thomas, LA Zoo, 2/17/1988
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Robin S. Hall, Knott’s Berry Farm, 2/23/1988
Letter to Lorraine Phillips from Kim Kralj, Double KK Gallery, 8/7/1989
detailed list of John Ehn statuary
Letter to RoseMarie Farish from Larry Whiteley, Whiteley Gallery, 5/22/1986
inventory list of John Ehn statuary
Letter to Jim Jenkins, Cal State Fullerton from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/8/1988
Request for Historic-Cultural Monument Declaration
How a property becomes an historic-cultural monument, 1984
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 5/18/1983
Letter to John Ehn from SPACES/Susan Alderson Hoffman, 5/20/1981
Letter to Rosemarie (Farish?) from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 11/1985
business card for Old Trapper’s Lodge
notes about Old Trapper’s Lodge contact
Lining Showcase pricing, 7/1/1984
Letter to Elsie Gildersleeve, Greater Burbank Vistor’s Guide from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/15/1986
Environment Field Survey Form for Old Trapper’s Lodge
Restoration info for Old Trapper’s Lodge
business card for Rosemarie Farish
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 5/29/1987
list of contacts for boothill, 6/17/1987
Letter to Steven K Messerli, Regional Parks Dept from Ehn Trust, 9/10/1986
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Ed Lohr/Carnevale and Lohr., Inc, 6/2/1987
notes for conversation between Stanley Pearson, R. Vacar, and Attorney Garcin, 6/27/1986
various info about John Ehn and Old Trapper’s Lodge
John Ehn Preservation Project, 1987
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Clifford B. Ehn
copies of various business cards
Reconciliation of inventories and photo books
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 7/21/1990
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 4/6/1992
press release for Wall of Voodoo Bows First Video in Three Years, 10/14/1985
Donation or loan of Educational Materials, 4/20/1988
Letter to Pierce College from The Ehn Family
Letter to The Ehn Family from David Wolf, LA Pierce College, 5/31/1988
Letter to David Czamanke, LA Community College from Rosemarie Farish, 6/9/1988
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Daniel G. Means/ Pierce College, 6/12/1989
Letter to The Ehn Family from David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges, 6/29/1988
Letter to Pierce College from The Ehn Family, 5/2/1988
Letter to Ehn Trust from Harold W. Garvin, LA Community Colleges, 7/20/1988
Letter to David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges from Lorraine Phillips, 12/10/1988
Letter to Ehn Trust from Harold W. Garvin, LA Community Colleges, 1/11/1989
Letter to Ehn Trust from David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges, 1/18/1989
Agreement between The Ehn Trust and LA Community College District, 1/25/1989
Agreement between The Ehn Trust and LA Community College District, 2/16/1989
Letter to The Ehn Trust from David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges, 2/22/1989
Letter to David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges from Lorraine Phillips and Rosemarie Farish
Letter to David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges from Lorraine Phillips, 4/1/1990
Authorize agreement for construction of donated building at Pierce College
Authorize acceptance of completion of construction contract, 7/6/1988
Authorize renewal of maintenance agreement, 4/4/1990
Letter to Ehn Trust from David Czamanske, LA Community Colleges, 4/12/1990
Letter to Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 10/28/2000
Interview with Rosemarie Farish, 8/19/1985
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Jo Farb Hernandez, 10/15/1993
press release for MPMA Director to leave museum, 1993
Letter to Ehn Family Trust from Philip E. Linhares, Oakland Museum Art Dept, 6/15/1994
Fax to Lorraine Phillips from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 4/7/1992
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Bonnie Grossman, The Ames Gallery of American Folk Art, 10/11/1991
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 1/20/1993
directions to Old Trapper’s Lodge
Agreement for Ehn Trust, 10/1992
Letter to Di Adams from AAM Government Affairs, 10/14/1991
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/8/1993
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 2/25/1992
description of Shelter and various writers, 4/9/1991
Letter to Judith Chiba Smith, Museum of International Folk Art from Ehn Family Trust, 10/1993
Letter to Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, National Museum of American Art from Ehn Family Trust, 10/1993
Letter to Jo Farb Hernandez, Monterey Peninsula Museum from Ehn Family Trust, 10/1993
Letter to Ruth DeYoung Kohler, John Michael Kohler Art Center from Ehn Family Trust, 10/1993
Letter to Philip E. Linhares from Ehn Family Trust, 10/1993
list of John Ehn sculptures, 5/25/1993
Letter to Phil Linhares, Oakland Museum from Ehn Family Trust, 6/9/1994
Disposition of John Ehn Art Works
Disposition of John Ehn Art Works
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Judith Chiba Smith, Museum of New Mexico, 2/21/1994
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, National Museum of American Art, 5/11/1995
John Ehn Collection Description, 10/17/1993
Letter to Steve Brezzo, San Diego Museum of Art from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 1/25/1995
Report and Appraisals of John Ehn Collection, 6/21/1993
Record of John Ehn’s guns, 4/11/1965
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Jo Farb Hernandez/ Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1/20/1994
note about distribution of Ehn sculptures
Letter from the Ehn Trust, 4/26/1993
draft of Letter from the Ehn Family Trust
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Anne Washburn, The Ames Gallery of American Folk Art
notes about John Ehn sculpture inventory
Appraisal of “O.T.” John Ehn Collection for Ehn Family, 1993
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Jo Farb Hernandez, 2/2/1994
Letter to Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, National Museum of American Art from Ehn Family Trust, 1/24/1994
card to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Rosemarie Farish, 11/1994
business card for Rosemarie Farish
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Rosemarie Farish, 10/24/1994
Letter to Rosemary (Rosemarie) Farish from Ruth DeYoung Kohler, Kohler Foundation, Inc, 10/10/1994
John Ehn Collection Acquisition and Preservation Agreement
list of various John Ehn sculptures
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from John Michael Kohler, Kohler Arts Center, 7/27/1993
Fax to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Ruth DeYoung Kohler, 2/25/1994
Letter to Ruth DeYoung Kohler, John Michael Kohler Art Center from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 4/26/1993
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Philip E. Linhares, Oakland Museum of Art, 6/15/1994
John Ehn Collection Acquisition and Preservation Agreement, 10/28/1994
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Philip E. Linhares, Oakland Museum of Art, 12/30/1993
to do list for distribution of John Ehn sculptures
Letter to Rosemarie Farish from Philip E. Linhares, Oakland Museum of Art, 12/29/1993
Letter to Phil Linhares, Oakland Museum from Ehn Family Trust, 5/23/1994
Letter to Ruth DeYoung Kohler, John Michael Kohler Art Center from Ehn Family Trust, 5/23/1994
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Philip E. Linhares, Oakland Museum of Art, 5/13/1993
diagram of Old Trapper’s Lodge
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen, Rosemarie Farish and Lorraine Phillips from Clifford Ehn, 3/6/1993
Letter to Allen from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 5/5/1992
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Barbara Pallenburg, Sotheby’s, 6/26/1984
letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Don (Howlett?)
info about repainting Old Trapper’s Lodge
Howlett survey of Old Trapper’s Lodge, 1999
Letter to La Haye Bronze from Sandra J. Elder, CA State Historical Resources Commission, 1/25/1985
Minutes of the State Historical Resources Commission, 2/1/1985
Letter to Sandra J. Elder, CA Dept of Parks and Rec from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 9/19/1984
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Rosemarie Farish, 8/22/1984
CA Historical Resources Committee Agenda, 11/2/1984
CA Historical Resources Committee Agenda, 5/11/1984
Letter to Knox Mellon, CA office of Historic Preservation from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 12/23/1983
partial list of CA sites, 1/7/1992
list of self taught artists, 12/16/1991
note about John Ehn, 8/30/1985
death certificate for John Ehn, 9/6/1985
timeline of John Ehn’s life, 3/1989
brief history of John and Mary Ehn
flyer for dedication of ceremony for Old Trapper’s Lodge, 3/25/1985
business card for Old Trapper’s Lodge
Press Release for Old Trapper’s Lodge, 3/12/1985
Christmas card from Old Trapper’s Lodge
Christmas card from Old Trapper’s Lodge, 1984
christmas card from Rosemarie Farish, 12/15/1983
christmas card from John and Mary Ehn
Christmas card from Old Trapper’s Lodge, 1982
list of contacts for John Ehn site
Letter to Roy Rogers from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/7/1987
Public Agenda Request, 7/6/1988
pamphlet for The Western Hotel
notice of public hearing, 11/20/1987
notes about various contacts for John Ehn sculptures, 5/11/1987
domestic return receipt, 2/4/1988
pamphlet for The Orange Show, 1988
Press Release for Old Trapper’s Lodge, 7/6/1988
Ehn Family Videotape of Old Trapper’s Lodge
Information regarding SPACES’membership
Letter to Councilman Joel Wachs, LA City Hall from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/26/1987
Draft of Letter to Councilman Wachs from The Cultural Heritage Board, 12/9/1987
Letter to Councilman Joel Wachs, LA City Hall from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 12/5/1987
Letter to Councilman Joel Wachs, LA City Hall from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 11/23/1987
Letter to Councilman Joel Wachs, LA City Hall from SPACES/Seymour Rosen and Rosemarie Farish
Letter to Simi Valley Unified School District from Rosemarie Farish, Ehn Trust, 1/18/1988
Request for acceptance of gift, 1/18/1988
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lyle Mills, Acting Manager Kern County Fair, 4/26/1988
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Rosemarie Farish, 5/6/1988
list of people interested in John Ehn sculptures
Letter to Cheri Doyle, Southwest Museum from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/17/1988
Letter to William Kobin from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 4/1/1988
Draft of letter to KCET-TV from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/16/1988
Letter to Jerry Samuelson, Cal State Fullerton from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/9/1988
Letter to Tony Marrando, Walt Disney Imagineering from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/8/1988
Letter to Suzanne Muchnic, LA Times from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/4/1988
Letter to Al Martinez, LA Times from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/2/1988
Draft of things Rosemarie could say in the Howser interview, 1/28/1988
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rose from Tony Marando, Walt Disney Imagineering, 3/4/1988
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Joanne (Johnson?), 2/20/1988
Letter to the Editor from Joanne Johnson, Preserve Bottle Village, 2/19/1988
Letter to Huell B. Howser from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 11/23/1987
Letter to Patrick Ela, Craft and Folk Arts Museum from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 11/23/1987
Letter to Ken (?) from Slim Pedersen, 11/15/1987
Letter to Suzanne Muchnic, LA Times from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 6/25/1987
Letter to Patron on the Arts from Byron C. Campbell, The Cultural Foundation, 8/1/1987
Rufino Tamayo exhibition background and bio
draft of letter to Madeleine Landry
Letter to Rosemarie Farish, Old Trapper’s Lodge from Ed Lohr, Carnevale & Lohr, Inc, 6/2/1987
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Lorraine Phillips, 3/4/1988
Letter to SPACES/Cynthia Pansing from Lorraine Phillips, 3/15/1988
Letter from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/9/1988
list of various John Ehn sculptures, 3/9/1988
Letter to various County Fair leaders from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/21/1988
Letter to Carlotta Giersch, GLAZA from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 3/2/1988
Letter to Warren D. Thomas, LA Zoo from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/16/1988
Letter to Robin Hall, Knott’s Berry Farm from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/2/1988
Letter to Carlotta Giersch, GLAZA from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 1/26/1988
Letter to Jim Jenkins, Cal State Fullerton from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 11/17/1987
Letter to Huell B. Howser from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 10/19/1987
Letter to Madeleine Landry, The Cultural Foundation from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/27/1987
Letter to Pat Scanlon, Walk Disney Emagineering (sic) from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/24/1987
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Ron Dominguez, Disneyland, 8/20/1987
Letter to Dick Nunis, Disneyland from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/7/1987
Letter to Dick Nunis, Disneyland from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/6/1987
Letter to Jon Pugh, Knotts Berry Farm from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/7/1987
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from John Pugh, Knott’s Berry Farm, 7/29/1987
Letter to Jon Pugh, Knotts Berry Farm from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 7/20/1987
Letter to Roy Rogers from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/7/1987
Letter to Jim Blackie, 6 Flags Magic Mountain from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 8/7/1987
domestic return receipt, 7/21/1987
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Didi Barrett, Museum of American Folk Art, 5/8/1987
Letter to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from James H. Nottage, Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, 4/18/1987
Letter to Gene Autry from SPACES/Seymour Rosen, 2/18/1987
Letter to Earle “Bud” Larson, Calico Ghost Town from Co-trustees, Old Trappers Lodge, 9/10/1986
Letter to Steven K Messerli, Regional Parks Dept from Co-Trustees, Old Trappers Lodge, 9/10/1986
Card to SPACES/Seymour Rosen from Rosemarie Farish
Map and site information
El Rancho Dr
Los Angeles, California, United States
Latitude/Longitude: 34.184411 / -118.586991
Visiting Information
Old Trapper’s Lodge was named a California State Historical Landmark in 1981, the year John Ehn died. In the mid-1980s, to ensure the continued maintenance of his monumental sculptures, several were relocated to the grounds of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California, where they are available for public viewing. A number of smaller sculptural works can also be seen at the Oakland Museum of California.
is a nonprofit public benefit organization created with an international focus on the study, documentation and archive of art environments and self-taught artistic activity.
Seymour Rosen
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