Family fights to keep beloved Hansville cabin

Published 1:30 am Monday, July 13, 2026

For six decades, one small cabin tucked among towering evergreens in Hansville has been more than a vacation home. But now, after the deaths of longtime owners Richard “Dick” Hanson and his wife, Marilyn Hanson, the family’s beloved cabin may soon leave them forever.

“It’s honestly something that’s keeping me up at night,” Barry Metzger said, nephew of the Hansons. “The thought about losing this place is just killing me.”

The cabin’s story began in the mid-1960s, when several members of the family purchased three adjoining lots in the Shore Woods community of Hansville. The goal was to create a place where future generations could gather.

Construction began in 1966, and the cabin was completed the following year. Although the original plan had called for multiple homes, the family ultimately decided to build just one cabin for everyone to share. During the 1980s, ownership of the three lots was consolidated under the Hansons.

Bordering the Hansville Greenway, the property has remained largely unchanged for decades.

“My father grew up there,” Jessica Metzger said, Barry’s daughter. “My brother and I spent our entire childhood there. I got engaged there. I had my wedding there. My parents spent their honeymoon there. Now my children are starting their journey appreciating this beautiful place.”

Five generations of the Metzger family have now shared the cabin. Barry said the cabin was the place where extended family and friends gathered for Fourth of July celebrations, family vacations and birthdays.

“We’ve got some of the same pictures from when I was a kid that we’ve taken with my kids and now with my grandkids,” he said. “It’s always been there for the family.”

The future of the property changed earlier this year after Richard died in February. Marilyn then began working to settle the estate and intended to revise their will, but she died in May before doing so.

Jessica said that while cleaning out the home, the family discovered handwritten notes detailing changes Marilyn wanted to make to the estate. This included leaving the cabin to Barry and his sister instead of selling it.

However, those changes were never legally completed.

According to the family’s understanding of the original estate documents, the property must now be sold because the updated wishes were never notarized or incorporated into the will.

“Time just ran out,” Barry said. “She was trying to take care of everything after my uncle passed away, and she never got the chance to change it.”

The family is now hoping they can either prevent the sale or, if the sale must proceed, purchase the property themselves.

Jessica has launched a GoFundMe campaign while also sharing the family’s story through TikTok and Facebook in hopes of raising enough money to buy the cabin if it reaches the market.

“We really would like to keep it in the family and leave it exactly the way that it is,” she said.

Beyond ownership, the family is also exploring ways to permanently protect the property itself.

Jessica recently contacted the Great Peninsula Conservancy about the possibility of placing a conservation easement on the land because it borders the Hansville Greenway. She hopes environmental protections could preserve the mature trees and discourage future redevelopment if the property is eventually sold.

“My goal is to get it environmentally protected,” she said. “The cabin is so important to us, but the land is also so important because it backs up to one of the tree farms.”

Without protections, she worries a future owner could demolish the aging cabin, remove many of the mature trees and replace it with a larger home.

For the Metzger family, however, the fight extends beyond preserving one cabin.

Jessica and Barry hope that sharing their story encourages other families to review their own estate plans before it is too late.

“There are other people going through similar situations,” Jessica said. “These places matter. They preserve family history and the love that goes into not just the building, but what fills the building.”

For now, the family remains hopeful that the cabin where five generations have gathered can continue welcoming many more.

Nathan Hyun is a freelance reporter for Kitsap News Group.