A small group of 12 people crowded Sunday into the Cloud Cap Inn to listen to a history of the oldest building on Mount Hood.

“It was 1889 when it was built and this (area) was still considered the frontier, which the Census Bureau declared closed in 1890,” said Ron Kikel, a U.S. Forest Service Interpretive Ranger.

He and his wife, Jean, give the tours each week between July and Labor Day weekend. This Sunday, Sept. 2, will be the last tour until next year. But don’t expect to participate — the tour is already booked solid.

The Hood River Crag Rats search and rescue climbing group took over management of the building in 1952 through an arrangement with the federal agency. The tours are limited to small groups by reservation only to help the Crag Rats achieve their stewardship responsibility and mission.

The inn had originally been built as a commercial venture by founders C.E.S. Wood and William Ladd of Portland.

“They almost went broke the first year as only 88 people showed up,” Kikel said.