The Tower House Historic District: Orchard Management Plan, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Gjesfjeld, Cortney; Park, Keith; NPS Pacific West Regional Office

The Tower House Historic District (THHD) is associated with the Camden House and Tower Hotel; however, the site also contains portions of four historic orchards dating from the period of significance, 1869 to 1933. These orchard resources represent some of the oldest surviving remnants of Whiskeytown’s pioneer past and today serve as an important repository of heirloom fruit tree cultivars. The Tower House Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is locally significant under Criterion A for its association with early Euro-American settlement in northern California during the Gold Rush. The district includes historic agricultural, transportation and mining resources developed by Levi Tower and Charles Camden during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The National Register nomination listed several buildings and structures as well as the orchards as contributing features of the historic district. The THHD Interim Orchard Management Plan consists of five sections: Introduction, Orchard History, Existing Orchard Conditions, Orchard Stabilization and Historic Fruit Tree Management and Orchard and Historic Fruit Tree Treatment. The introduction (Section 1) includes the purpose of the document, study boundaries and a review of existing management information. The orchard history (Section 2) provides an analysis of significance, historic context information, as well as an illustrated chronology of physical development and repeat photographs. The existing orchard conditions (Section 3) provides an overall orchard site map as well as detailed information for each of the four orchard locations: Back Field, French Gulch Field, Tenant House and Camden House Yard. The stabilization and preservation maintenance measures (Chapter 4) provides recommendations for how to stabilize and preserve the THHD orchards and associated historic fruit trees in perpetuity. Finally, the treatment recommendations (Chapter 5) provide three alternatives with suggested recommendations for the Back Field, French Gulch Field and the Tenant House locations. More specifically, the Interim Orchard Management Plan documents the historical development, significance and existing conditions of the orchards and fruit trees associated with the THHD, utilizing information gathered through historical research and on-site field documentation. Despite ongoing NPS stabilization and preservation maintenance activities, many of the historic fruit and nut trees situated within the THHD are in fair to poor condition. Age, pests, and disease as well as many other stressors including encroaching vegetation have contributed to the gradual decline of these trees. This plan recommends the implementation of numerous stabilization and preservation maintenance activities to enact specific, positive interventions to maintain and/or improve the condition of fruit trees within the historic district. Many different techniques are recommended to maintain the historic fruit trees and orchards, including pruning, mowing, brushing, irrigating, fertilizing, and mulching. Ultimately, germplasm conservation and continued propagation of extant historic trees will ensure that these unique and often overlooked resources will be preserved in perpetuity. In addition to providing information related to the history, significance, existing conditions, and preservation and stabilization techniques, this plan provides treatment recommendations for the rehabilitation of representative orchard areas in the THHD in an effort to reestablish its historic character as well as enhance visitor opportunities at the THHD.

The Tower House Historic District: Orchard Management Plan, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, National Park Service

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