Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Redwood National Park, National Park Service

NPS Pacific West Regional Office; Germano, Vida; Braa, Brian; Pidgeon, Elizabeth

Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery (PCFH) is located about four miles north of Orick, California in Humboldt County within Redwood National Park. The hatchery is located just above the confluence of Lost Man Creek with Prairie Creek, in a mountainous and heavily forested area on the east side of U.S. Highway 101. Except for a house opposite the hatchery on the other side of Highway 101, most of the immediate land surrounding the hatchery is undeveloped. PCFH was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2000 as a district. It is eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A (association with historic events) at the state level for its significance as one of only three fish hatcheries known to both survive and possess integrity among 150 hatcheries built, both by private and government entities, in California from 1871 to 1946. PCFH was built by the California Department of Fish and Game. It is representative of pre‑World War II hatcheries in California, and illustrative of significant changes in hatchery goals and infrastructure in post‑war years. This hatchery evidences basic trends in the uses and designs of hatcheries, in perceptions of environmental issues (especially the impacts of dams), and in government actions and programs considered appropriate to address those issues. The period of significance is 1936 to 1946, which begins with the construction of a permanent hatchery that replaced an earlier temporary facility on the same site. According to the National Register Nomination, the period ends in 1946, as the PCFH is representative of facilities constructed prior to World War II. Beginning in 1947, new hatcheries tended to be larger, more mechanized, less labor intensive, and used more electrical power. These qualities made those facilities different in design and function from previous hatcheries like the one at Prairie Creek. The boundaries of the PCFH historic district are the same as those of the original 6.2‑acre parcel that was purchased by the California Department of Fish and Game. Currently within the historic district boundaries are the main Hatchery, two houses, the garage‑shop, the shed, round concrete water tanks, and the pipeline stream crossing, which is all that remains of the pipeline. The buildings that survive are well‑built, but modest, plain, wood‑frame structures, designed by the California Division of Architecture. The reinforced concrete outdoor water tanks and pipeline crossing still convey the function of the facility. The PCFH originally consisted of a 6.2‑acre parcel with a main Hatchery building, four houses, a garage‑shop, a shed, and outdoor water tanks; a 3,000‑foot‑linear‑right‑of‑way for a 12‑inch pipeline; and an 800‑foot‑long reservoir created by a rock dam. However, most of the pipeline has washed away in floods and the original dam and reservoir were removed in 1989. Despite diminished integrity of design, workmanship, materials, and feeling that is associated primarily with the loss of the pipeline and dam, there remains a high degree of integrity amongst the buildings and other features of the PCFH. Whereas the pipeline and reservoir were upstream, away from the highway and hidden in the forest, the features which survive are highly visible and strongly convey the significance of the property. The historic character of PCFH is still evident in the following landscape characteristics: natural systems and features, spatial organization, land use, vegetation, circulation, buildings and structures, and small scale features. Based on the evaluation of these characteristics, the cultural landscape at the PCFH exhibits key patterns, relationships, and features that convey the historical significance of the district. Overall, the landscape is in fair condition.

Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Redwood National Park, National Park Service

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