Hand-Built Five-Story Log Tower on the North Fork Highway
2902 North Fork Highway (US-14/16/20), Wapiti, WY 82414
Age
Exterior view only — private property
Cost
Free
View from the public highway only. The property has been privately purchased and is not open to the public.
Access
Limited Access
Highway pullout adjacent to private fenced property
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1973 · Folk Architecture · Wyoming Roadside Landmark
Francis Lee Smith was born in Cody on January 4, 1944, and trained as an architect at Montana State University, graduating with honors in 1967. He worked as an engineer at a local firm in Cody.
Smith began work on the cabin in 1971 on a parcel along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, with three years spent hand-excavating the foundation. He drew the timber from blow-down on Rattlesnake Mountain after a wildfire left large quantities of unclaimed standing-dead wood, hauling roughly 300 logs down by truck and horse. Construction continued from 1973 onward as a side project.
The building grew organically without blueprints. By the time of Smith's death in 1992 it had reached five stories and approximately 75 feet, with stacked rooms, exterior balconies, irregular staircases, and a viewing platform on top. Smith referred to the project as "a tribute to the North Fork Mountains."
On April 25, 1992, Smith was working on an upper-level balcony when a section of timber gave way. He fell roughly 20 feet, struck a roof below with his head and neck, and died instantly. His daughter Sunny Smith-Larsen became caretaker of the property after his death. The mansion was sold to private buyers in 2020.
The property is privately held and is not open to public entry. The exterior is visible from the public highway.
Sources
The Smith Mansion's paranormal reputation rests almost entirely on Francis Lee Smith's documented death from a fall during construction. Former caretakers and neighbors have described figures glimpsed in the upper-floor windows after dusk, particularly on the balcony where Smith was working on the morning he died.
Visitors photographing the structure from the highway have submitted images to local Wyoming paranormal collections showing what they describe as silhouettes on the upper levels, though the structure's unusual roof-line and exterior bracing produce reliable visual anomalies in low light. Sounds reported from the surrounding access road include footsteps on the balconies and unexplained creaks that may be attributable to the building's wooden construction settling in temperature swings.
Former caretakers have described electrical and equipment problems during attempts to maintain the structure, which the lore attributes to Smith's continued presence. With the property now privately owned, public access is no longer available and paranormal investigation is not offered.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
View the five-story hand-built log structure from the North Fork Highway between Cody and the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The mansion is a documented Wyoming landmark of folk architecture; the property was purchased privately in 2020 and remains closed to public entry.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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