NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a). 1. Name of Property historic name Medicine House Site other names/site number 48CR2353 2. Location street & number x not for publication x city or town Hanna vicinity state Wyoming code WY county Carbon code 007 zip code 82327 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this x nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property x_ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: national x statewide local Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Medicine House Site Carbon, Wyoming Name of Property County and State 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing x private building(s) buildings public - Local district 1 sites public - State x site structures x public - Federal structure objects object 1 Total Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) listed in the National Register N/A N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) Domestic/Camp Landscape/Unoccupied Land 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) N/A foundation: N/A walls: N/A roof: N/A other: N/A 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Medicine House Site Carbon, Wyoming Name of Property County and State Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph The Medicine House site (48CR2353) is an Early Archaic habitation site located in the Hanna Basin near Hanna, Wyoming in Carbon County. The site contains one of the largest and best preserved pithouses known to exist in the basin as well as a surface scatter of lithics, hearths, and fire cracked rock. Early Archaic period dates of 5360±80 BP and 5160±120 BP were obtained from features with the pithouse. The inhabitants of the site invested considerable labor in constructing the pithouse structure and in arranging the internal features to best utilize the available space. The dwelling not only housed the residents but also served as a storage facility for subsistence resources collected from the surrounding area. The storage features contained thousands of Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) seeds, suggesting a long term winter occupation. Construction and use of this facility demonstrate a viable adaptation to a semiarid intermountain basin during a period of climatic stress. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of the pithouse remains unexcavated, allowing for future research. The Medicine House site also has the potential to contain additional pithouse features. The site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D at the statewide level of significance. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description ENVIRONMENT The Medicine House site is located approximately 13 miles northwest of the modern town of Hanna, Wyoming in Carbon County. The site is 22 miles northeast of the modern city of Rawlins, Wyoming. The Medicine Bow River branch of the Seminoe Reservoir is approximately one and one half miles east-northeast of the site. The North Platte River branch of the Seminoe Reservoir is approximately four miles northwest of the site. Medicine House is situated in the rolling terrain of the Hanna Basin in south-central Wyoming at an elevation of 6540 feet. The Seminoe, Shirley, and Freezeout Mountains define the northern border of the Hanna Basin. Located to the east of the basin are the Saddleback Hills and to the south are Elk Mountain and the Medicine Bow Range. The western side of the basin is bound by the Haystack Mountains that form a segment of the Continental Divide (Miller and McGuire 1997:373). The Hanna Basin is one of the many interconnected basins separated by isolated mountains located in the larger Wyoming Basin (Eckerle 1997:141). The Medicine House site is located within a stabilized dune on the western side of an ephemeral drainage (McGuire et al. 1984:12). The drainage is connected to a playa located a little over half a mile to the southwest of the site. The climate of the Wyoming Basin is arid to semiarid with cold winters and cool summers (Eckerle 1997:141). The nearby town of Hanna, Wyoming has an average high temperature of 26°C (80°F) in July and an average low of -10°C (13°F) in January (Western Regional Climate Center 2016). The average rain fall is 33 cm (13 inches), and average snow fall is 190.5 cm (75 inches). The vegetation is dominated by sagebrush steppe species (Eckerle 1997:141). Before the construction of the Seminoe Reservoir in the 1930s riparian zones covered the river valleys (Miller and McGuire 1997: 374). Currently, the area is dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), prickly pear (Opuntia) greasewood (Sarcobatus), and Thurber’s needlegrass (Achnatherum thurberianum). The shrub component includes rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentate), winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), and hopsage (Grayia) among others. Grasses include basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus), Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) among others. Extant mammals located in the Hanna Basin include: pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), jackrabbit (Lepus sp.), cottontail (Sylvilagus sp.), weasel (Mustela frenata), badger (Taxidea taxus), coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Felis rufus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Medicine House Site Carbon, Wyoming Name of Property County and State (McGuire et al. 1984:55). Some of the smaller mammals include chipmunk (Tamias sp.), pocket gopher (Geomyidae sp.), and sagebrush vole (Lemmiscus curtatus). Bison (Bison bison) were present in the area prior to the historic period. PERIOD OF TIME Artifacts found at the site, together with the radiocarbon dates gathered from features within the pithouse indicate the site was occupied during the Early Archaic period (7,500 – 5,000 BP) (Miller and McGuire 1997, Kornfeld et al. 2010). The two projectile points (Figure 8) are examples of Early Archaic side-notched projectile points (Kornfeld et al. 2010). Within the pithouse a firepit (Feature 4) contained sagebrush charcoal that was collected and dated to 6295-5944 cal yr BP (Intcal13, Sigma 2, 5360±80 BP, Beta-7119) (Miller and McGuire 1997: 377). A second radiocarbon date was produced from Stratum F, a dark gray and black charcoal stained sand located immediately above the pithouse floor (Figure 3). Stratum F dated to 6260-5651 cal yr BP (Intcal13, Sigma 2, 5160±120 BP, Beta-7352)