Cultural Landscape Recommendations, Park Headquarters at Munson Valley, Crater Lake National Park

Staff, PWR Cultural Resources Division

This Cultural Landscape Catalog provides a preliminary analysis and evaluation of the historic landscape at Munson Valley in Crater Lake National Park. Its purpose is to identify and evaluate historic landscape resources, and to develop preliminary guidelines and recommendations for preservation, rehabilitation, maintenance, and interpretation of those resources. This document is a technical supplement and does not replace a standard cultural landscape report. Additional work will be required prior to implementation of specific recommendations and/or design concepts. Both the Catalog and future projects resulting from the Catalog’s programmatic information will receive review from appropriate local, state and federal entities. Boundaries for this project are based primarily on the Munson Valley Historic District boundaries, yet are drawn to best reflect the physiographic characteristics defining the district. When the field inventory occurred, the employee cabins at Sleepy Hollow had been demolished and new quarters were being constructed at the site. The new development at Sleepy Hollow contains design elements and characteristics based on historic precedent; future preservation work for Munson Valley may include the area as part of the project boundary. The Park Headquarters site at Munson Valley contains administrative offices for Crater Lake National Park, utility buildings, and employee housing. Although Crater Lake was established in 1902 as the nation’s sixth national park, development of an administrative headquarters did not occur until 1926. The site had formerly been used as a seasonal construction camp for road crew, selected due to the relative protection from the surrounding valley walls and the availability of water and wood. As visitation increased in the 1920s, the site at Munson Valley became a summer headquarters for park operations. During this time, structures and vegetation were added as the park embarked on an ambitious rustic architecture program. Small-scale features and roads were also built, serving both design and functional objectives. The landscape was designed to integrate man-made structures and circulation systems into the natural setting, using naturalistic materials and arrangement to suggest a rustic style. For its associations with this period of park development, the Munson Valley Historic District is significant as a historic designed landscape during the period of 1926 to 1941. Although some elements of the site have been modified, Munson Valley continues to demonstrate the impact that natural features had on development and organization of the headquarters area. Circulation has also remained relatively unchanged since the design of the Government Camp in the 1930s. The landscape provides evidence of the NPS rustic architecture style, the park development era made possible by New Deal public work programs, and the specific design contributions of NPS landscape architects Thomas Vint, Merel Sager, and Francis Lange. The Castle Crest Wildflower Trail is significant for its association with the Park Headquarters area and National Park Service (NPS) interpretive programs of the mid-1920s to mid-1930s. Preliminary documentation of the trail as a cultural landscape is included in the appendix of this report.

Cultural Landscape Recommendations, Park Headquarters at Munson Valley, Crater Lake National Park

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