Landscape Inventory: Phantom Ranch, Rural Historic District

Di Lucido, Mark

The Phantom Ranch area has seen continual use since the turn of the century when it was first envisioned by entrepreneurs as a dude ranch and campground. Today it attracts upwards of 300 users per day during the peak season. Heavy use and the resultant additional facilities required to accommodate this use are destroying the significant cultural/historical and natural resources that make up Phantom Ranch. According to the Park Landscape Architect a problem statement concerning Phantom Ranch might be: "How would the National Park Service provide for the use and enjoyment of the area, yet preserve the historic and natural landscape and still allow the natural behavior of indigenous wildlife?" In plain language this means that large numbers of users are adversely impacting cultural/historical and natural resources, and how might the problem be corrected without restricting the users' experience? This Rural Historic District Inventory is intended to be the first phase or step in a process whose ultimate goal is preservation of the site and listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a Rural Historic Landscape District. Other phases not addressed in this project yet important in the attainment of this goal are design guidelines and management strategies for cultural landscapes. Previous efforts have attempted to gain historic recognition of Phantom Ranch but always considered the Ranch as a segment of a larger district concerned only with the preservation of structures. In 1980, staff members of the Denver Service Center prepared a district nomination to the National Register of Historic Places which resulted in a determination of eligibility (National Register form E. 0. 11593). Unfortunately, National Register listing did not follow (personal communication with Jim Garrison, February 1991). However, the work did influence T. Cleeland's: "The Cross Canyon Corridor Historic District in Grand Canyon National Park: A Model for Historic Preservation", a substantial analysis of structures located along the Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim through Phantom Ranch. ·As stated, the concern of these earlier efforts was the evaluation of historic structures as opposed to landscapes. Nonetheless, much of the research and evaluation process from these works remains relevant to the goal of this report and must be considered important in its development.

Landscape Inventory: Phantom Ranch, Rural Historic District

Series