Entrance Road (Devils Tower National Monument)

Entrance Road--Devils Tower National Monument
Location: Devils Tower National Monument, Devils Tower, Wyoming
Built: 1934
Architect: NPS Branch of Plans and Design
Architectural style: Other
Governing body: National Park Service
MPS: Devils Tower National Monument MPS
NRHP Reference#: 00000854
Added to NRHP: July 24, 2000[1]

The Entrance Road at Devils Tower National Monument is a scenic road that provides the approach to the Devil's Tower eminence, affording planned views to arriving visitors. The entrance road is a 3-mile (4.8 km) long, two-lane, asphalt paved road that spans the distance between the Entrance Station and the visitor parking area located just west of Devil's Tower. The road provides access to the monument's primary developed areas, such as headquarters and visitor center. It was originally constructed in 1917 with an eight percent grade and a ford at the Belle Fourche River. A bridge was built in 1928, and the road was extensively altered in the 1930s with labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps, improving grades and alignments.[2] CCC camp NM-1 remained at Devil's Tower from 1935 to 1938.[3] A complete loop was planned by the National Park Service Engineering Division in 1927, but was never carried out. The entrance road at Devils Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of close integration with the natural surroundings.[4][5]

Much of the CCC work involved realignment of the existing road and the careful obliteration of the old alignment, using young trees and sod stockpiled during construction of the new alignment.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  2. ^ "Entrance Road". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. 2008-11-09. http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/report.asp?STATE=WY&PARK=DETO&STRUCTURE=&SORT=&RECORDNO=6. 
  3. ^ "First Fifty Years: The 1930's". Devils Tower National Monument. National Park Service. 2008-11-08. http://www.nps.gov/deto/historyculture/first-fifty-years-the-1930s.htm. 
  4. ^ "Devils Tower Entrance Road". National Register of Historic Places. Wyoming State Preservation Office. 2008-11-08. http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=134. 
  5. ^ a b Kathy McKoy (January 31, 1996). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Entrance RoadPDF (601 KB). National Park Service. 

External links