Originally built in the early 1920s by Bill Berglund, the Point Cabin was initially a guest cabin as part of Berglund's Isle of Pines Fishing Resort. It was located on the eastern point of the largest of the group of three islands that made up the Isle of Pines and provided guests with a magnificent sunrise view over Knife Lake.

When the museum first opened, this cabin was a showcase for hundreds of collection items including Dorothy’s holiday lawn figures.

Today, this cabin houses the Living in the Boundary Waters Exhibit and features a 15-minute video documentary and accompanying interpretive panels detailing life off the grid at the pace of the changing seasons.

By combining objects from the museum’s collection – such as Dorothy’s 1957 Polaris snowmobile – with clips from the 1987 documentary film of the same name, the exhibit illustrates how Dorothy Molter embodied the spirit and inspiration of the northwoods wilderness.

The original paddles from the fence that Dorothy used to hem in flower gardens and provide railings for the footbridges connecting the three islands from the Isle of Pines Resort are displayed in the cabin’s rafters; these paddles display the names of those who visited Dorothy on Knife Lake. It became quite popular for groups to decorate broken canoe paddles and present them to Dorothy for her fences.

Dorothy Molter Museum Staff

Dorothy Molter: Living in the Boundary Waters. Black, Wade & Hadel, Judith. Documentary on/with Dorothy Molter. United States. 1987.

Andrew Hamilton. Loneliest Woman in America. Saturday Evening Post: October 18, 1952

File 2000.11.08.03 of the Dorothy Molter Museum, Courtesy of Superior National Forest Collection, Iron Range Discovery Center

Guy-Levar, Sarah and Terri Schocke. Dorothy Molter: The Root Beer lady. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. 2011.