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Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape
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| Location: | Mineral King Rd, Sequoia National Park, Mineral King, California |
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| Area: | 408 acres (165 ha) |
| Built: | 1915 |
| Architectural style: | Other, NPS Rustic |
| Governing body: | Federal |
| NRHP Reference#: | 03001063[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | October 24, 2003 |
The Mineral King Road Cultural Landscapeis a historic district within Sequoia National Park in California, linking the former mining community of Mineral King to the outside world. The road was first built in 1879 and upgraded for automobile traffic in the 1920s and 1930s. For much of its history the Mineral King area was outside the boundaries of the national park, and features a number of summer homes in park inholdings along its route.
Mineral King was the scene of a silver rush beginning in 1873. A toll road company was established in December 1873 to build a wagon road, not reaching Mineral King until 1879. Until then, access to Mineral King was by rough tracks. No commercially-viable silver mining had taken place by 1877, and despite a better-organized final effort that finished the wagon road in 1879, no significant mining ever took place. The area almost immediately became a recreational center instead, reinforced by the destruction of most of the mining structures in landslides following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.[2]
The Mineral King Road passes through two groves of giant sequoias, the Redwood Creek Grove and the Atwell Grove. In 1890 the groves were included in the boundaries of the newly-established Sequoia National Park, encompassing the central portion of the road. Mineral King itself was excluded from the new park. The Mineral King entrance was the most heavily-used gateway to the park until 1903. The corridor preserves the Lookout Point park entrance. The chief period of recreation development on lands that by 1906 were part of Sequoia National Forest took place between 1915 and 1942.[2]
The corridor preserves three significant vacation home settlements. The Cabin Cove settlement comprises seven cabins, of which six are considered contributing structures. West Mineral King grew up around a place called Barton's Camp, and comprises 35 cabins, all of which are at their original locations and all of which are considered contributing structures. East Mineral King, also known as the Beulah Tract, was built around the site of Crowley's Hotel. There are 24 cabins in East Mineral King.[2]
Cabins are typically simple frame structures with board-and-batten siding and metal roofs. In addition to the cabins, the Atwell Mill ranger residence is included in the corridor, exemplifying the National Park Service rustic style. The Lookout Point entrance station and residence were built in the Mission Revival style. A number of water troughs, sited along the road to provide water for overheated car radiators, are also contributing structures.[2]
The Mineral King corridor was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 2003.[1]
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