diff --git a/Source/cmState.cxx b/Source/cmState.cxx
index 2d8b93530..bd37e614e 100644
--- a/Source/cmState.cxx
+++ b/Source/cmState.cxx
@@ -470,8 +470,6 @@ void cmState::AppendGlobalProperty(const std::string& prop,
 
 const char *cmState::GetGlobalProperty(const std::string& prop)
 {
-  // watch for special properties
-  std::string output = "";
   if ( prop == "CACHE_VARIABLES" )
     {
     std::vector<std::string> cacheKeys = this->GetCacheEntryKeys();