GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS An Administrative History

CHAPTER X: CULTURAL RESOURCE ISSUES (continued)

Preservation of Historic Structures and the Emigrant Trail

The Pinery

The ruins of the Pinery, a fort-like stone structure built in 1858 to serve as a stage station for the Butterfield Overland Mail, demanded the immediate attention of cultural resource managers when the park was established. In 1972 David G. Battle, Historical Architect for the Southwest Region, visited the park to determine which historic resources might be eligible for nomination to the National Register. Although little remained of the Pinery's 30-inch thick and 11-foot high walls built of limestone slabs (see Figure 31), there was little doubt that the site was significant enough to be listed in the National Register. [6]

Between September 1858 and August 1859, the Pinery was a meal and mule stop for the "Celerity" wagons that carried mail and passengers between St. Louis and San Francisco. It was built like a fort, with interior rooms attached lean-to style to the thick exterior walls. The station comprised a wagon-repair shop and smithy, a kitchen, and a corral for livestock. After the first year of operation of the mail service, Butterfield managers determined that a route passing by Fort Stockton and Fort Davis offered more protection from Indians and better access to water, so the Pinery was abandoned. The station, however, continued to serve as a stopping off place for west-bound emigrants, soldiers, drovers, and freighters as late as 1885. [7]

In 1972, only the north wall of the original structure remained and Battle worried about the deterioration that was taking place. He estimated that a substantial portion of the west end of the wall had collapsed since the Park Service had acquired the property and noted that about half of the remaining wall listed at a 10-degree angle. [8] In 1973 the Park Service took emergency measures to stabilize the wall and Battle completed a Historic Structure Report for the Pinery. In 1974 Park Service specialists began realigning and re-mortaring the wall. Archeologists tested the site to validate drawings and dimensions of the buildings that Battle had reported in the Historic Structure Report. Stabilization of the wall was completed in 1975. The Pinery was nominated to the National Register in 1973 and was accepted for listing. [9]

The Pinery is the most accessible of all the historic resources at Guadalupe Mountains, being visible from Highway 62/180 and on the road to the Pine Springs Campground. The site had attracted attention, however, even before being acquired by the Park Service. During the early 1950s, J.C. Hunter, Jr., and the Glovers deeded the Pinery site and a small parcel of adjacent land to American Airlines. Officials at the airline desired to restore the stage station as a memorial to the carriers of the mail who had passed by Guadalupe Peak. During the 1930s American Airlines had received the first government contract for air mail service between St. Louis and San Francisco, just as the Butterfield Overland Mail Company had received the first government contract for overland mail service between the two cities. Plans for restoration advanced to the point of requesting bids, but high costs forced the company to abandon the idea of restoration and to return the land to the former owners. The officials at the airline were undaunted, however, and refused to give up the idea of a memorial. At the Pinery on September 29, 1958, officials and veteran pilots of American Airlines dedicated a granite monument that had been placed to call attention to another monument, a six-foot high stainless steel trylon placed on Guadalupe Peak (see Figure 32). Both monuments were inscribed to commemorate the centennial of the transcontinental overland mail and "the airmen who, like the stage drivers before them, challenged the elements through this pass with the pioneer spirit and courage which resulted in a vast system of airline transport known as American Airlines." The plaques on each of the three sides of the marker on Guadalupe Peak also called attention to the three-way partnership of Federal government, private enterprise, and rugged individuals that advanced westward expansion. [10]

The memorial on Guadalupe Peak has caught the attention of park visitors who wonder about the appropriateness of such a monument in a national park. In 1975 Superintendent Dayton responded to a visitor who wrote to him with such a complaint. Dayton suggested that although the Park Service probably would not have permitted installation of such a marker if the park had been in existence, he felt that the marker should not be removed or relocated. He admitted that if the history and purpose behind the marker were better explained to visitors, it might be more acceptable to hikers and climbers who visited the peak. The next month Acting Regional Director Monte E. Fitch corresponded with Dayton to affirm the stand Dayton had taken about the marker. [11]

The Emigrant Trail to California and the Butterfield Stage Route

Another historic resource of the park closely associated in time with the Pinery is the road traveled by California-bound emigrants and later the Butterfield stages. Although park managers were aware of the existence of remnants of the road within the park, it received little attention as a cultural resource until 1977 when Regional personnel determined that a National Register nomination should be prepared. Since the best-preserved portions of the road are on the west side of the park, it was that area that was selected for nomination. The nomination was submitted late in 1977 but was rejected because of "substantive and technical questions." The staff at the National Register wanted more than a representative sample of the trail. They preferred to see the nomination include all vestiges of the trail that met the qualification of historic integrity. [12] The revisions required for the nomination of the Emigrant Trail were not simple to make. Regional personnel took another look at the traces of the road in 1980 and then let the matter drop for several years. [13]

In 1985, Betsy Swanson, who had a track record of writing successful National Register nominations, received a contract to complete the nomination of the Emigrant Trail. After a year of work, Swanson still had many questions about the nomination, such as whether natural landmarks should be included in the nomination, how wide the corridor should be, whether portions of the trail that could not be verified because of time and funding constraints should be included in the nomination, how the concept of integrity should be applied to trails, and how much examination of trail remains outside the park should be accomplished to assist with research on the in-park remains. Diane Jung, Survey Historian for the Southwest Region, visited the park late in September 1986, hoping to iron out the problems. After on-site research and discussions with National Register staff members, Jung and Swanson determined that natural landmarks, such as springs and El Capitan, should be included in the nomination. They agreed to a 500-foot wide corridor on either side of the nominated traces of the trail. Trail traces that could not be verified on the ground would not be included in the nomination. Trail traces would be considered of sufficient integrity for nomination where evidence on the ground agreed with documentary evidence. Swanson and Jung decided that the nomination should take the form of a historic district with discontinuous boundaries. [14]

Six months later, James "Jake" Ivey, Historian and Historical Archeologist from the Regional Office, visited the park to examine Swanson's claim that there was integrity to the section of the historic district near the Pinery. However, due to the amount of disturbance caused by ranching use, he was unable to recognize any traces of the stage road or the Emigrant Trail and concluded that the majority of the stage road probably was under the present highway. As a result, he could not justify including any area around the Pinery ruins as part of the discontinuous historic district for the Emigrant Trail. Ivey agreed, however, that the trail was clearly visible in the west-side historic districts Swanson designated for nomination. [15] By the end of 1987 no further work had been done on the nomination.

The proposed addition to the west side of the park being considered in 1987 included more traces of the Emigrant Trail. If this area were added to the park, the additional traces of the trail would also have to be considered for nomination to the National Register. During the study of the proposed boundary expansion, the Texas Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer expressed concern that archeological data for the proposed acquisition was sketchy and needed to be enlarged before sound cultural resource management plans for the area could be developed. In another action related to the boundary expansion, Regional Office staff consulted with officials from neighboring Hudspeth County who were planning to construct a road from Dell City to the western park boundary. The route originally proposed by the county coincided with the route of the Butterfield Trail. After consultation, the county agreed to relocate the route of the new road so that the historic trail could be preserved [16].

Williams Ranch

The Williams ranch house, located on the west side of the park near the mouth of Bone Canyon, may be the least visited of the park's historic resources. During most of the year the eight-mile-long road from Highway 62/180 is suitable only for 4-wheel-drive vehicles; the remainder of the time a high-clearance pick-up truck is required. The road is blocked at the highway by a locked gate for which visitors may check out a key from the park's information center.

The frame house with steeply gabled roof (see Figures 33 and 34), reminiscent of houses more often found in the Midwest than in the rural areas of West Texas, was built soon after 1900 with lumber hauled by mule train from Van Horn, Texas. It served as headquarters for a longhorn cattle ranching operation for more than a decade. Ownership changed in 1915 and the new owner raised cattle, sheep, and goats and farmed a limited amount of land until his death in 1942. Historically, the house is significant as a remnant of the ranching operations that provided a livelihood for the settlers of West Texas. In addition, the house is an architectural anomaly in the area, an attribute which adds to its significance. [17]

David Battle visited Williams Ranch in 1972 to determine whether the house was eligible for nomination to the National Register. While the house was the only intact structure at the site when the Park Service acquired the property, ruins of a barn and water storage tank remained as evidence of other structures that once stood at the ranch headquarters. Battle was as concerned about the deteriorating state of the ranch house as he was about the state of the Pinery wall. Because he had determined informally that the structure was eligible for nomination to the National Register it required protection. The frame structure was still in sound condition, but the stone foundation appeared to be in danger of "imminent" collapse, a circumstance, he believed, that could destroy the entire resource. Battle recommended repair of the foundation and other deteriorated structural elements and placement of temporary closures over windows, doors, chimneys, and other openings that might admit animals or humans. [18]

Park personnel followed Battle's recommendations. In 1973 they replaced the roof of the ranch house and stabilized its foundation. By 1977 the house had been treated with a wood preservative and the stone foundation rebuilt. Photographs of the water system were made to provide documentation for future reference. After those measures were complete, conservation specialists from the Regional Office considered the building to be stabilized and in a holding condition. They recommended bimonthly inspections of the exterior and annual inspections of the interior. In 1984 park personnel followed preservation recommendations, treating the exterior surfaces with wood preservative every fifth year after 1979. As of 1988, the Regional staff had not formally determined whether the ranch house was eligible for listing in the National Register, so a nomination had not been prepared nor had a formal management plan for the structure been written. [19]

Pratt Stone Cabin

The stone cabin that was formerly the summer home of the Wallace Pratt family stands on the flood plain at the junction of North and South McKittrick Canyons. As described in Chapter III, Pratt had the cabin built in 1930 to serve as a summer home for his family (see Figure 35). Two other structures complete the cabin complex: a building that contains a two-car garage and caretaker's quarters, and a pumphouse. Stone fences border the property on the south and west. [20] Soon after Battle's visit to the park in 1972, Regional staff prepared and submitted a National Register nomination for the cabin complex, which was subsequently accepted. The structures are significant for their unique architecture as well as for Wallace Pratt's stature in the nation as scientist, businessman, and conservationist. [21]

Although seasonal rangers were stationed at the Stone Cabin during the 1970s, and some researchers also used it during this period, the cabin has been little used for administrative purposes since that time. It has never been open to the public. For the comfort of personnel using the cabin, the Park Service installed electric heating. Later, contractors and park personnel restored the roofs of the house, garage, and pumphouse in stages from 1976 to 1984. They replaced roof supports, rafters, and decking and waterproofed the roofs. Vance Phenix, the architect who supervised the construction of the cabin, visited the site in 1981 and viewed the roof repairs with some interest. He had been skeptical about whether the roofs, constructed of natural stone shingles about one-half inch thick and mortared in place, would prove to be substantial. While the major roof restoration necessary by the late-1970s may have validated Phenix's initial skepticism about the permanence of the mortar bonds, it also may have been the result of less-than-regular maintenance after the Pratts moved to the Ship on the Desert. [22]

The only other preservation problem at the Stone Cabin occurred early in 1985 when the park's Facility Manager discovered an infestation of wood-boring ants in the cabin. Regional personnel recommended applying "Tie-Die PT 230" and "Perma-Dust PT240" insecticides. The applications were effective in controlling the ants, but park personnel continued to monitor the situation. [23]

CONTINUE >>>