Thomason/Barker Ranch: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Death Valley National Park, National Park Service
Hankinson M and Stromberg G. 2009. Thomason/Barker Ranch: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Death Valley National Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 400250. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
Thomason/Barker Ranch is a five-acre property within Death Valley National Park. This historic site is located in the southern Panamint Range in the southwestern portion of the park, at an elevation of 3280 feet. Although the property is historically and currently referred to as a “ranch”, it should more accurately be described as a single-family primitive retirement retreat. As a compromise, the expression "primitive recreational ranch" will be used to describe this property, understanding that the term "ranch" remains problematic, since the occupants of this property never conducted any of the activities commonly associated with ranching. Initial development of the site occurred during the late 1930s by Bluch and Helen Thomason, a retired couple from Los Angeles. Further development occurred after another retired couple, James and Arlene Barker, acquired the ranch in the mid-1950s. Although both the Thomason and Barker families mined various claims near the ranch, their primary interest in Goler Wash was their desire for recreational habitation in the desert. The ranch is locally significant under National Register Criterion A due to its association with the internal migration of people from urban civilization to the desert in order to withdraw from mainstream society. The period of significance extends from the beginning of development in 1937 to the date of the last physical improvement in 1957. The Thomason/Barker Ranch retains integrity as demonstrated through the aspects of location, design, workmanship, setting, materials, feeling, and association. Contributing landscape characteristics include: Buildings and Structures, Circulation, Vegetation, Response to Natural Systems and Features, and Spatial Organization. The Thomason/Barker Ranch has been placed in management category B (should be preserved and maintained) and a condition assessment of “poor” has been assigned to the landscape. Deterioration and vandalism has occurred the past several decades since the site was last formally inhabited. Immediate corrective action is required to protect and preserve the remaining historical and natural resources.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Hankinson, Mike; Stromberg, Gretchen
- Date of Issue
- 2009-08-25
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- DEVA , PWR
- Keywords
- Chespa Mill Site, Counterculture Movement, Desert, domestic, Goler Wash, historic site, Industry, Mining, outbuildings, Panamint Valley, Primitive Living, Recreation, residential, Retirees, Settlement, Timbisha Shoshone
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 400250: Thomason/Barker Ranch