Mineral Headquarters Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Park Service

Provencher, Shaun; Warner, Len

The Mineral headquarters area is located along State Route 36, approximately one‑half mile west of the town of Mineral, in Tehama County, California. The headquarters property encompasses eighty acres of forest and meadow. Mature conifers surround the meadow, which occupies the center of the site; the open space of the meadow provides a distinct contrast to the dense forest. Because of its elevation at 4,850 feet, snow regularly covers the site four months out of the year. The site is almost entirely surrounded by the Lassen National Forest, with two exceptions: a residential development abuts the east boundary and a state highway maintenance facility occupies approximately ten acres along the site’s western boundary. The Mineral headquarters area is a historic designed landscape with a period of significance that extends from 1928 to 1943. This timeframe encompasses the period of original development and the presence of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The built environment includes the administration building, residences, garages and associated structures, as well as the residential area road and the maintenance yard. It also includes features associated with the CCC such as such as stone lined drainage ditches and remnants of a fence system. The headquarters area landscape is a picturesque collection of small‑scale, rustic‑styled houses and buildings encircling a clearing in the woods. The headquarters buildings and structures were designed in the rustic style and the landscape was developed along naturalistic principles. Native materials and construction techniques employed in the buildings and structures referred to local vernacular building traditions. Its setting in a mountainous area amidst the pine forest provided a natural context to apply the principles of rustic architecture and landscape development appropriate to the site. Buildings were designed with steeply pitched gable roofs to shed snow, wood siding stained a dark shade of brown (tobacco) to blend in with the forest, and native rock veneers on foundations. These design elements repeated the materials and forms of the surrounding landscape: the towering conifers, the mountains, and volcanic rock outcrops. Roads, buildings, and other structures were located in the landscape to conform to and enhance natural topographic qualities. The headquarters area continues to fulfill its historic function as the main administrative and residential area for Lassen Volcanic National Park, and the majority of the landscape characteristics contribute to the district’s integrity as a historic designed landscape. These include buildings and structures, circulation, cluster arrangement, land use, natural systems and features, topography, and vegetation. Small‑scale features is the sole landscape characteristic that has lost its integrity and does not contribute as a landscape feature. The Mineral headquarters landscape continues to convey a rustic and naturalistic association through its architecture and landscape architectural design. As a whole, the cultural landscape of the Mineral headquarters area is in good condition, retains integrity, and is an important, intact example of park service rustic architecture and naturalistic landscape design.

Mineral Headquarters Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lassen Volcanic National Park, National Park Service

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