Valley Y Ranch at Steel Creek Concept Plan, Buffalo National River
Mundus Bishop and National Park Service. 2022. Valley Y Ranch at Steel Creek Concept Plan, Buffalo National River. Cultural Landscape Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Midwest Region
Valley Y Ranch at Steel Creek is located within the Boxley Valley area of the Buffalo National River. Cultural use of Valley Y Ranch spans thousands of years from its origins as lands used by Native Americans to agricultural lands developed by Euro-American settlers in the 19th century to present-day recreation, education, and research uses. Provin W. (P.W.) Yarborough acquired and consolidated several small properties between 1954 to 1968 for use as a family vacation property. Use of the lands expanded from 1968 to 1974 and it was established as Valley Y Ranch, a nationally recognized ranch operation that raised champion Arabian horses. The Yarborough family sold Valley Y Ranch to the federal government in 1974 and by the 1980s the ranch evolved into a popular river access site near the western end of the Buffalo National River. This plan presents a concept for adaptive reuse of areas of the Valley Y Ranch, the Headquarters and adjacent Headquarters Bottoms. It builds upon treatment concepts for adaptive reuse of the areas an Environmental Education Center with office space per the recommendations of the 2020 Boxley Valley Comprehensive Area Plan and Environmental Assessment. This document provides an overview of the historical development and existing condition of the study area. It provides recommendations to protect cultural resources, identifies areas of further research or investigation, and provides site planning and design guidance for compatible adaptive reuse and development of new facilities. This document combines aspects of a Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI), Cultural Landscape Report (CLR), and concept plan. This hybrid document provides a list of features that contribute to the cultural landscape but does not include a determination of eligibility. The period of significance for the study area is 1954 to 1974. This represents the 1954 date when P.W. Yarborough acquired the first homestead that would become the ranch headquarters to 1974 when the NPS attained ownership and the Valley Y Ranch ceased operations at this location.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Mundus Bishop; National Park Service
- Date of Issue
- 2022-01
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- BUFF , MWR
- Keywords
- adaptive reuse, agriculture, Arabian horses, Boxley Valley, conservation, education, environmental education, floodplain, headquarter bottoms area, headquarters, horse ranch, livestock, Ozarks, P.W. Yarborough, Provin W. Yarborough, ranch, recreation, research
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 975514: Valley Y Ranch at Steel Creek