Evaluation of Structures at Drakesbad

Drakesbad is the site of a mineral hot spring The area was first visited during the 19th Century by occasional trappers and hunters, and perhaps an occasional prospector The first regular visitors to the Warner Valley and the Drakesbad area were sheepmen and cattlemen who ran their stock in the area during summer months Among the latter was Edward R Drake (who incidentally claimed descent from the English privateer, Sir Francis Drake) Drake had been a hunter, trapper, and guide in the Rocky Mountains before moving to California to work in the gold fields Evidence on when he first settled there is conflicting, but it was apparently during the early 1880s, when he purchased a land claim from a man named Malgin. Of the original Drake and Sifford buildings at Drakesbad, only three remain. In compliance with Executive Order 11593 and at the request of the Superintendent, Lassen Volcanic National Regional Historian Gordon Chappell and Regional Historical Architect Robert Cox visited Drakesbad in order to evaluate the Sifford log barn, frame tack house, and log cook house in terms of historical and architectural significance. It is the professional judgment of the Historic Preservation Team, Western Region, that none of the structures at Drakesbad qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Evaluation of Structures at Drakesbad

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