Section 106 Historic Resources Report Camp Whitsett, Sequoia National Forest Forest Road 22S22, Kernville, CA
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Section 106 Historic Resources Report Camp Whitsett, Sequoia National Forest Forest Road 22S22, Kernville, CA 1 April 2011 Prepared by: Prepared for: Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council 16525 Sherman Way, Unit C-8 Van Nuys, CA 91406 Executive Summary This report was prepared for the purpose of assisting the Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council and the Sequoia National Forest in their compliance with Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, in connection with proposed changes to the dam on Lake Ida on the grounds of Camp Whitsett, lo- cated on Forest Road 22S22 in the Sequoia National Forest, approximately 20 miles north of Kernville, Tulare County, California. The proposed undertaking includes repair to the gate stem and operator for the right outlet gate; addition of stem support on middle horizontal steel member of gate frame for both gates; removal of loose gunite and concrete on dam crest and repair with grout or concrete; the filling of two core holes on crest with grout; removal of silt at upstream abutments, inspection of intersection of the gunite and the bed- rock and repair of any cracks or separation. [Figure 1] This report assesses the historical and architectural significance of potentially significant historic properties in accordance with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Criteria for Evaluation. This report was prepared by San Buenaventura Research Associates of Santa Paula, California, Judy Triem, His- torian; and Mitch Stone, Preservation Planner, for the Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council, and is based on a field investigation and research conducted in January through March 2011. The conclusions contained herein represent the professional opinions of San Buenaventura Research Associates, and are based on the factual data available at the time of its preparation, the application of the appropriate federal regulations, and best professional practices. Summary of Findings The dam and lake appear to retain sufficient integrity to be eligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion B and therefore should be regarded as historic properties for the purposes of Section 106. The remaining eight buildings, including three residential cabins, the Commissary/Kitchen, the Health Lodge, the Trading Post, the tent cabin and Handicraft Lodge that may be eligible as a NRHP district, have not retained sufficient integrity to support NRHP eligibility. Report Contents 1. Administrative Setting 1 3. Area of Potential Effect 2 4. Description of Location of Undertaking 2 5. Historical Setting 2 Historical Context William Paul Whitsett 6. Potential Historic Resources 5 Overall Setting Buildings and Structures Constructed 1949-1961 Buildings/Structures Constructed After 1961 7. Eligibility of Historic Resources Within the APE 9 National Register of Historic Places: Significance, Eligibility and Integrity Integrity Discussion Properties Less Than 50 Years of Age Conclusions 8. Consultation With Local Organizations 12 9. Selected Sources 12 Figure 1. Project Location [Source: USGS 7.5’ Quadrangles: Sentinel Peak, CA, 1987; Johnsondale, CA, 1986] 1. Administrative Setting Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires that federally-funded agencies “...take into ac- count the effect of [an] undertaking on any district, site, building, structure, or object that is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register.” The National Park Service promulgates the criteria and stan- dards for determining eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); the procedures for deter- mining adverse effects on historic resources are contained in the Federal Register at 36 CFR 800 (Protection of Historic Properties). The criteria for determining eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) have been developed by the National Park Service. Eligible properties include districts, sites, buildings and structures, A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that rep- resent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. The minimum age criterion for the NRHP is 50 years. Properties less than 50 years old may be eligible for list- ing on the NRHP if they can be regarded as “exceptional,” as defined by the NRHP procedures. (Chapter 11, Title 14, §4842(d)(2)) According to the NRHP standards, in order for a property which is found to significant under one or more of the criteria to be considered eligible for listing, the “essential physical features” which define the property’s significance must be present. The standard for determining if a property’s essential physical features exist is known as integrity, which is defined as “the ability of a property to convey its significance.” The integrity evaluation is broken down into seven “aspects.” The seven aspects of integrity are: Location (the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred); Design (the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property); Setting (the physical environment of a historic property); Materials (the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property); Workmanship (the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period of history or prehistory); Feeling (a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time), and; Association (the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property). The relevant aspects of integrity depend upon the NRHP criteria applied to a property. For example, a property nominated under Criterion A (events), would be likely to convey its significance primarily through integrity of location, setting and association. A property nominated solely under Criterion C (design) would usually rely primarily upon integrity of design, materials and workmanship. Further, according to the NRHP guidelines, the integrity of a property must be evaluated at the time the evaluation of eligibility is conducted. Integrity as- sessments cannot be based on speculation with respect to historic fabric and architectural elements which may exist but are not visible to the evaluator, or on restorations which are theoretically possible but which have not occurred. (CCR §4852 (c)) The criteria for determining adverse effects on historic resources are established by the National Historic Pres- ervation Act of 1966, and by standards published by the National Park Service in connection with the National Section 106 Historic Resources Report Camp Whitsett, Sequoia National Forest Register of Historic Places. According to the Act, “An adverse effect is found when an undertaking may alter, directly or indirectly, any of the characteristics of a historic property that qualify the property for inclusion in the National Register in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property’s location, design, set- ting, materials, workmanship, feeling, or association. Consideration shall be given to all qualifying character- istics of a historic property, including those that may have been identified subsequent to the original evalua- tion of the property’s eligibility for the National Register. Adverse effects may include reasonably foreseeable Effects caused by the undertaking that may occur later in time, be farther removed in distance or be cumula- tive.” (36 CFR 800.5 (a)(1)) 3. Area of Potential Effect The Area of Potential Effect (APE) includes the lake, dam and surrounding campground. 4. Description of Location of Undertaking The dam is located on Lake Ida within the Camp Whitsett Boy Scouts of America Camp, an 88 acre site within the Sequoia National Forest. Nobe Young Creek and its tributary Bone Creek join above this location, the dam on Nobe Young Creek creating Lake Ida. Nobe Young Creek continues below the dam. Docks, a boat house, a campfire circle (amphitheater) and campsites are located on and near the lake. Camp buildings are widely scattered across the hillsides adjacent to the lake. The grounds are heavily wooded, primarily with Jeffrey Pines. 5. Historical Setting Historical Context On July 1, 1947 the U.S. Forest Service leased approximately 80 acres in the Sequoia National Forest to the San Fernando Valley Boy Scouts. This land became Camp Whitsett, which opened as a camp that summer. The camp was named for prominent San Fernando Valley businessman William P. Whitsett, the founder of the community of Van Nuys, and Chair of the Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles. The prior year, the Boy Scout Council asked Whitsett to serve on their board, but he declined because of his position with the MWD. Instead, Whitsett offered to donate a lot on Van Nuys Boulevard to the Boy Scouts, with the understanding that the organization would build on the parcel and use the income to improve a camp. He also suggested as the camp’s location the Kern River Canyon section of the Sequoia National Forest, the destination of many of Whitsett’s own camping and fishing trips during the 1920s and 1930s. The Boy Scouts made their first visit to the site during the summer of 1946 and began preparations. Whitsett joined the board after his retirement from the MWD in 1947, and thereafter became fully involved with the camp’s development. It was soon realized that in addition to fishing in the streams running through the camp the scouts would benefit from being able to swim, boat and learn water safety through rescue work.