John Muir National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Inventory, John Muir National Historic Site, National Park Service

Fitzgerald, Kathleen; Dorrance, Rick

The John Muir National Historic Site consists of the remaining 336 acres of the Strentzel-Muir fruit ranch. The historic site is comprised of the House Unit, Gravesite Unit and Mt. Wanda Unit located near Martinez within the Alhambra Valley. The Strentzel-Muir ranch appears today much as it did during the period of significance of 1849 to 1914 when the site was initially laid out and occupied by the Strentzel and Muir families. This period encompasses the construction of key landscape features such as the Martinez Adobe, Muir House, carriage house, orchards, roads, and landscape vegetation. Natural Systems and Features, Land Use, Circulation, and Buildings and Structures, are contributing characteristics of the landscape. The John Muir National Historic Site is significant for its connection to the Conservation Movement (Criterion A), its association with John Muir (Criterion B), and its Victorian Italianate architecture of the Muir House (Criterion C). The site contains three historic buildings; Muir House, Carriage House, and Martinez Adobe, as well as other landscape features; including orchard remnants, specimen trees, and an historic circulation system. The Muir House was recognized as one of the few remaining significant examples of a Victorian Italianate country house that was popular among the more prosperous families in this part of California. The Martinez Adobe was cited as regionally significant as an example of the California‑Mexican style rancho. The overall condition of the historic site is fair and displays five of the seven aspects that determine integrity: location, design, materials, workmanship, and association. Areas of national significance were identified as; Conservation, Social/Humanitarian Concerns, Literature, and Science. These areas were specifically linked to John Muir and his extensive efforts to establish National Parks and to bring his environmental experiences to the public through literature. Conservation was described in terms of his work with other conservation leaders to save Hetch Hetchy and establish Forest Reserves (which served as the foundation for the U.S. Forest Service) and his influence on Theodore Roosevelt, which led to the establishment of five National Parks, twenty‑three National Monuments, and 148 million acres of National Forest. The areas of Social/Humanitarian Concerns and Literature were cited as significant because of Muir’s many newspaper and magazine articles and books that introduced the American landscape to the public in terms of both natural and human values. Lastly, Muir’s explorations and scientific studies were recognized as significant because of his discoveries of Yosemite Valley’s glacial origins and glaciers in the Sierras and Alaska. The Alhambra Valley is characterized by the Alhambra Creek watershed to the southeast and the Franklin Creek watershed to the northwest. The loam and clay loam soils provided agricultural land for the orchards and gardens developed by Dr. Strentzel and John Muir. Plant species throughout most of the lower slopes and valley floor, and specifically around the Muir House and Martinez Adobe, are primarily native and non-native trees, shrubs, and hedges; which correspond to the suburban development of the valley. Riparian vegetation and orchards dominate the rest of the landscape at the House and Gravesite Units and are the last vestiges within the park of the agricultural landscape that characterized the Alhambra Valley during the historic period.

John Muir National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Inventory, John Muir National Historic Site, National Park Service

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