Quonset Hut Village near Colfax

The Quonset Hut Village was located on the east side of old Highway 40 (now State Route 174) north of Colfax, about halfway to Shady Glen. I. H. Cupps, former operator of the Pomin’s Lodge at Lake Tahoe, purchased the property from Samuel Liang in early 1946. The parcel was three acres, 648 feet wide along the highway and 250 feet deep. Laing had removed 79,000 yards of rock and dirt to bring the property to highway level.

Cupps envisioned a motel with 20 units of Quonset huts plus a restaurant and lounge, a cocktail bar and lounge, a tennis court, badminton court, and a super gas station.

Total cost was estimated to be around $150,000 [over $2.5 million in 2026 dollars] and take five months to complete. Work of transporting material to site had already begun in February. Fred Schultz was engaged to survey the location.

Each hut, furnished, cost around $5,000 and had a living room, 10.6×20 feet, bedroom 9×11.3 feet, bath 5.4×8 feet, and kitchen 13×6 feet. A stone fireplace, electric range, electric water heater, and electric heating were featured. Ten feet of space separated each of the units.

The huts were at the rear of the property and the swimming pool, 40×100 feet, were built In front of them. The cocktail lounge and the restaurant buildings were placed along the highway, each 40×100 feet, with the tennis court between the two buildings. A super gas station to cost $10,000 was planned for the southwest corner, nearest the Colfax city limits.

By September 1946, all 20 of the huts were built and work was underway on the restaurant and cocktail bar buildings, as shown in the photo at the top of this page. One of the latter buildings is finished and the swimming pool is just a hole in the ground. Landscaping was yet planted nor had the tennis court been started.

Initially called the Quonset Hut Village Inn, the facility opened in February 1947. The cocktail bar and restaurant, each with two fireplaces, one at each end,  opened the following month.

In March 1950, Col. Reeve D. Keller, a local resident, bought the huts, and the following year the business was sold to Orrin and Helen Peters of Oakland. They changed the name to Quonset Motel and offered furnished or unfurnished units on a monthly basis.

Martin and Alice Castle opened the Quonset Coffee shop at the east end of the Quonset Motel on October 7, 1952. They served dinners as well as short orders, but moved to Illinoistown the following July.

Owners Orrin and Helen Peters came up with an unusual marketing idea in March 1953. An article in the Colfax Weekly Record read: “UNIQUE INVITATION comes from the Peters at Quonset Motel, who suggest you make your overflow guests comfortable in a Quonset.” It was accompanied by this ad.

The Peters sold the Quonset Village Motel to Menlo P. Irving on October 1953. Irving was a former railroad engineer operating through Colfax some 15 years ago.

Ray and Leah Berg of San Francisco bought the property in July 1954 and changed the name to “El Cortez Motel.” R. C. Cross and daughter Vonoa, formerly of Gold Run, were the managers.

Less than six months later, new owners took over – Mr. & Mrs. W. G. Wilkerson of Pleasanton, and by April 1955 the name had reverted. An ad read: FOR RENT—Quonset Village Motel—3-room deluxe cabins, furnished for housekeeping; utilities paid—electric heating, plus fireplace—1 doble bed cabin $65 per month; 2 double bed cabin, $75 per month [about $810 and $940 in 2026 dollars].

By November 1957 the rent had decreased and was by the week instead of the month. An ad gave rates “from $10 to $18 per week at the Quonset El Cortez Motel” [$120 and $215 per week (or $480 and $860 per month) in 2026 dollars].

When Highway 40 became four lanes in the late-1950’s, the route no longer went past the Quonset Motel’s front door. The huts continued to change hands, finally ending up owned by Carrie Brown.

The water supply for the huts was untreated ditch water, so residents had to boil it. Around 1978, the Placer County Health Department ordered Brown to provide potable water or be shut down. The property was also in violation of various Colfax City ordinances pertaining to the habitability of rental units. In 1980, Brown undertook a remodeling project.

However, at some point, the property was condemned and the buildings gradually deteriorated. The location became a spot for an unauthorized weekend flea market.

In 1998, The Colfax City Council approved providing 20 large metal trash bins at the property. The city attorney resisted using public funds to owners of a commercial property. He proposed renting a D-9 Caterpillar to bulldoze the huts and then send the bill to the owner, but he was voted down.

The owner and family agreed to demolish the remaining huts and clear the site of debris if the City made the trash bins available.

In 1998 the buildings were razed, leaving only the chimneys, and the area was fenced while the property was listed for sale. (The asking price in 2014 was $750,000.) For years, only the chimneys remained. The entire site was cleared in March 2025.