Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service

Brown, Frederick; Schaible, Daniel

The Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape District follows the East Fork of the Kaweah River drainage along the southern side of Sequoia National Park, in California’s Sierra Nevada range. This landscape follows the Mineral King Road and is roughly 15.2 miles long, extending from the park boundary south of the Lookout Point ranger station to the road's terminus at the Eagle Lake/White Chief trailhead parking lot in upper Mineral King Valley. The Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape District was listed in the National Register in 2003. The Mineral King Road itself is additionally eligible under Criterion A for its 1930s association with Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) projects. The three cabin tracts and the historic structures owned by the NPS are eligible for listing under Criterion C for their architecture as recognizable examples the rustic vernacular style. The period of significance for the district is 1915-1942. This period begins with the year that the Term Occupancy Act was passed, which spurred substantial recreational development within the district and ends when the USA entered WWII, at which point demand for cabin permits declined and the area had largely taken on its current character and appearance. The historic district boundary extends 30 ft. on either side of the centerline to include all features associated with the road, including culverts, rock cuts and turnouts. As the road passes through Mineral King developed areas, the district expands to include the buildings, structures and associated features of these developed areas. These areas include: the Lookout Point ranger station, the Atwell Mill ranger station, Cabin Cove, West Mineral King and East Mineral King. The historic district does not include the private inholding of Silver City. The area that makes up the historic district has been partially owned and managed by the NPS since 1890 with the creation of Sequoia National Park, and wholly owned by the National Park Service since 1978 when the upper Mineral King Valley was transfered to the Park Service from the Forest Service. Development within the district is focused along relatively flat natural benches found along the upper portion of the road and consists of three tracts of cabins: Cabin Cove, West Mineral King and East Mineral King. Development was originally driven by mining interests in the 1870s, but transitioned into recreationally driven growth after mining proved to be unprofitable. Beginning in 1915 with the passage of the Term Occupancy Act, the Forest Service began to issue summer home permits to private individuals for a term of up to 30 years. Over the next 26 years, over 50 private cabins were built along Mineral King Road under permit to the Forest Service and another dozen or so pre-existing structures became official permittee cabins. Nearly all of the cabins associated with the Mineral King Road Cultural Landscpe District are still privately owned structures on public land. The important exception is Silver City, where the cabins are privately owned and on private land. The Silver City property owners opted out of consideration for inclusion within the cultural landscape district. Pernitee cabins within the cultural landscape district must follow Secretary of the Interior Standards relative to repair and maintenance of thier cabins. National Park Service owned buildings and structures within the district include several ranger residences, comfort stations, garages, a ranger station and one formerly private cabin in the Cabin Cove developed area. Mineral King Road is the focal point of and the physical link between the developed areas of the historic district and continues to have similar characteristics as were present during the period of significance. The buildings and structures along the road, both private and NPS owned, primarily date back to the period of significance and are largely considered contributing features within the district.

Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service

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