Pipe Spring Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Pipe Spring National Monument, National Park Service
Froeschauer Nelson P and Shapins Associates. 2008. Pipe Spring Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Pipe Spring National Monument, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 975168. NPS Intermountain Regional Office. Intermountain Regional Office/CLI Database
This Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI) focuses on the 6.5-acre Pipe Spring Historic District, located within Pipe Spring National Monument in northwestern Arizona. The study area was narrowed following analysis of the 40-acre Monument site, after it was determined that the overall landscape has undergone significant change since the late 19th century period of significance and no longer retains sufficient integrity to qualify as a cultural landscape. Upon acquiring the property in 1924, the National Park Service (NPS) altered the utilitarian, ranching landscape in an effort to make it more attractive and safer for visitors. New reservoirs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developments (e.g. picnic areas, camping), and plantings all compromised the historic integrity of the overall landscape. The majority of the monument’s landscape features and patterns represent NPS development and use of the property, diminishing historic integrity from the period when it operated as a tithing ranch. In contrast to the overall Monument landscape, the Pipe Spring Historic District cultural landscape that immediately surrounds the Fort remains representative of the period of significance, identified as 1863-1895. This begins with the first settlement by Mormon rancher James Whitmore, includes the development and use of the ranch and fort, and ends with the sale of the property from the Church to a private rancher. The landscape is significant in areas of agriculture, architecture, archeology, telegraph communications, American Indian heritage, ranching, and Mormon settlement. Established as a church-owned tithing ranch in 1870, Pipe Spring was shaped by Mormon settlers and demonstrates the Church’s commitment to the welfare of early immigrants. In addition to its use as a cattle ranch, the Mormon Church constructed a fort in 1870 to protect against attacks from other Anglo-American settlers and Native Americans. The site's construction features native materials, shade tree plantings, and spring developments, reflecting Mormon cultural traditions and settlement patterns in the region in response to natural resources. The Pipe Spring settlement’s placement and operation were also pivotal factors in other regional changes, influencing the displacement of the Kaibab Paiute and the development of telegraph communication through the western frontier. The historic feel and function of the cultural landscape encompassing the Fort, cabins, ponds, and corrals has been preserved. The re-evaluation of the National Register listing found that the NPS has located most new developments south of the old monument road and outside the District. Similarly, NPS reconstruction projects within the District boundary have historic precedent and are compatible with the character of the original landscape. Reproductions of the telegraph line, the East Cabin corral complex, and the outhouse are all based on historic documentation and enhance the cultural landscape’s historic feel. Given the integrity of the District’s cultural landscape and the diminished historic character of the overall monument landscape, this CLI focuses on the analysis and evaluation of landscape features within the District boundary.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Froeschauer Nelson, Peggy; Shapins Associates
- Date of Issue
- 2008-01-30
- Publisher
- NPS Intermountain Regional Office
- Units
- IMR , PISP
- Keywords
- Agriculture, Archeology-Historic, Architecture, Arizona, CCC, Church of Latter-day Saints, Civilian Conservation Corps, Communication-Telegraph, corral, Creating Social Institutions and Movements, defense, Dugout, Ethnic Heritage-American Indian, Ethnohistory of Indigenous American Populations, Exploration and Settlement, Farming/Ranching, Fort, historic district, Historic Wagon Road, James Whitmore, Kaibab Paiute, Missionary Activity, Mohave County, Mormon Settlement, Peopling Places, ranch, Ranching Communities, Religion-Mormon, road trace, Springs, Telegraph and Telephone, Telegraph Line, The Cattle Frontier, Tithing Ranch, Vernacular architecture, Vernacular Landscape, Westward Expansion of the Colonies and the United States 1763-1898