The site of the log cabin that John Thomas built and Dan Harris occupied following Thomas' death was constructed near the shore of the cove that became known as "Harris Bay" between Padden Creek and the trail that connected the Town of Whatcom with the Chuckanuts. That would have provided easy access both by water and by land, since the trail could be reached without having to cross the creek. This would also give ready access to a source of fresh water without having to dig a well.

    The first record to mention the location of Dan' cabin was the August 10, 1854 proposal by road viewers to the Whatcom County Commissioners for building a road for Road District No. 1. They declared that the most practicable route for the road would be:

. . . from Poe's Point along the Beach to where a scow is building, from thence across the knoll to a stream close to Mr. Harris' log house from thence along the trail to the house belonging to the Puget Sound Co. thence along the Bank cutting off the points to Charles Vail's, from thence along the Bank to Mr. Fitzhugh's from thence along the bank to the Mill Stream at Whatcom.⁷¹

    The second recorded reference to the location of Dan Harris' cabin was contained in an affidavit given by Edward Eldridge to Edward Inslee, Justice of the Peace, on July 19, 1867, accusing Dan Harris of smuggling. In Eldridge's statement he declared that he waited on the beach at night for Dan Harris to return from Victoria, that he heard the sound of rowing and saw Dan land his boat and that he saw Dan go up the hill to his house and heard him open the door.⁷² For Dan to have "gone up the hill to his house" it would have had to have been located on the east side of Padden Creek, which is defined by a low bluff, rather than the west side, which was bordered by two tidal basins and a marsh.

    The third recorded reference to the location of the Harris cabin appeared in the Bellingham Bay Mail on April 4, 1874 to the effect that "Mr. Dan Harris' house, a short distance from Sehome, was, with all its contents burned down on last Monday night."⁷³ Five days later the same paper reported that "D. J. Harris was allowed $25 for scrip" lost in the blaze.⁷⁴ Apparently, Dan had done some work under contract with Whatcom County and had been paid in scrip that he had not yet used. Left unspecified were the exact location of this cabin, whether or not it was the one originally built by John Thomas and whether or not Dan rebuilt it on the same spot after the fire.

    The fourth documented reference to the location of the Dan Harris cabin is found in the 1893 testimony of John H. Plasterer included in Dan's Whatcom County Probate File. Plasterer affirmed that he had lived in Whatcom County since 1858, that he had known Dan Harris from about 1860 to the time of his death, that Dan lived on his Donation Land Claim and that his original home was a log cabin on the east side of the creek (Padden.)⁷⁵

    Plasterer recalled a conversation that he had with Dan Harris about the disposition of his property around 1877 in a local saloon operated by Thomas Bartlett.74 Plasterer asserted that during this conversation Dan had expressed his firm belief that his property would be quite valuable some day.⁷⁶ Plasterer included in his testimony an assessment of Dan Harris' behavior asserting that Dan was "a jovial kind of person and laughing, but in business matters he never talked much" unless he had been drinking.⁷⁷ When asked, "Was he (Harris) a drinking man?" Plasterer replied, "He was at times. He might drink hard for a day or two and then not take anything for a month or six weeks." ⁷⁸

    The final documented reference to the location of Dan Harris' cabin is in a 1956 oral history interview with Philip Clark of Marietta recorded by Howard Buswell. Clark said that he had known Dan Harris around 1880 when he was a boy of eight and Dan was about fifty. ⁷⁹ Clark stated that he had visited Dan's house several times in the company of his father. He described the building as being "right on the beach just above the high water mark." He claimed that Dan had "two Cayuses" and a couple of dogs and that his chickens were living "right in the house." Clark also said that in his house Dan had "maps, maps everywhere." At least some of these were probably nautical charts.

    The 1855 map of the eastern side of Bellingham Bay reproduced on Page 26 shows a structure at Poe's Point, the name "Mimosee" inserted nearby to indicate that the area had been originally occupied by a people of that name, a circle marked "Park" on Dead Man's Point, a structure between Dead Man's Point and the mouth of Padden Creek and a structure just north of the mouth of the creek, which may have been Dan Harris' cabin. The map also shows the locations of the Pattle and Vail claims and the Bellingham Bay Coal Company and indicates that several other structures were situated along the shoreline to the north of the mouth of Padden Creek.