Oregon Caves Historic District

About this property

Oregon Caves Historic District covers 6 acres (24,000 m2) in the main visitor area of Oregon Caves National Monument in southern Oregon. The district includes four primary buildings plus two other structures. Because of the unique rustic architecture of these National Park Service buildings and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Elijah Davidson discovered the Oregon Caves in 1874 while bear hunting near Sand Mountain (now renamed Mount Elijah after Davidson). While Native Americans may have known of the caves prior to Davidson's discovery, no evidence of earlier exploration or use has been found. Thus, Davidson is credited with being the first person to enter the caves. In 1907, Joaquin Miller visited the caves. After his visit, he wrote an article that highlighted the cave's unique beauty. The article gave the caves nationwide exposure. Under authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906, Federal Government ordered a site survey, which was completed in 1908. As a result, of the survey and continued advocacy from Miller and others prominent citizens, the Oregon Caves were designated as a National Monument by President William Howard Taft in 1909. The United States Forest Service was given responsibility for the Oregon Caves National Monument in 1909. Due to the caves remote location the first permanent road to the site was not completed until 1922. In 1934, oversight of the monument passed to the National Park Service. Over the next nine years, the Park Service worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps to develop and landscape the Oregon Caves site to attain the look of a "rustic alpine village" nestled in a mountain canyon. The Park Service's naturalistic design principles dictated the use of indigenous materials and rustic stone work. Every element was careful set in place to highlight the rugged character of the canyon. Cedar-bark sheathing was used as a unifying design element on all the buildings. While some changes have been made to the original structures, the buildings still retain their unique rustic character which is enhanced by the surrounding park landscape. In 1992, part of the Oregon Caves National Monument was designated a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings in the Oregon Caves Historic District illustrate the National Park Service rustic-style architecture. The historic structures remain generally intact with only a few minor exceptions necessary for general site rehabilitation due to landslide, flood damage, and safety codes. The Oregon Caves Historic District has four primary buildings plus two other structures. The primary buildings are the Chalet, built in 1924 and reconstructed in 1942; the Oregon Caves Chateau built in 1934; the Guide Dormitory, built in 1927 with major additions in 1940 and 1972; and the Ranger Residence, built in 1936. The most noteworthy of these is the Chateau, which is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP # 87001346).

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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