Willow Prairie Cabin - Jackson County, OR - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The following is taken from the NRHP Nomination Form to describes this cabin's significance:

The Willow Prairie Cabin, built in 1924 as an administrative site on the Butte Falls Ranger District of the Rogue River National Forest, is significant for its association with the development of that agency in southern Oregon. Submitted as part of a multiple property submission, "U.S. Forest Service Historic Structures on the Rogue River National Forest, Oregon," the Willow Prairie Cabin represents its associated historic context, "Early Forest Service Administrative and Natural Resource Management on the Rogue River National Forest 1907 to 1932." The building meets the registration requirements outlined for "rustic"-style administrative structures in the registration document. Established during the historic period, the Willow Prairie Cabin retains its integrity of setting, design, and materials, and it evokes direct historic associations with its historic context. The building has previously been declared eligible to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A as an important, tangible representative of early Forest administration and natural resource management activities in southwest Oregon. Willow Prairie Cabin evokes the period when Forest Service rangers and guards traveled by horse and built log cabins for shelter during the summer fire season. The Cabin also has a direct connection with the building of one of the first important Forest Service roads in southwestern Oregon; a road that permitted transportation and communication in the previously remote High Cascades during the 1910s to 1940s. The Willow Prairie Cabin is one of three remaining examples of Forest Service log construction within the Rogue River National Forest. The cabin at Big Elk Guard Station, located a relatively short distance south of the Willow Prairie Cabin, is in good condition. The other, Fir Glade Guard Station, is totally collapsed and deteriorated.

Additionally eligible to the National Register under Criterion C as an excellent representative of early "rustic" Rogue River National Forest administrative buildings, the Willow Prairie Cabin embodies the characteristics of its type through its setting, design, and materials, and it effectively represents early twentieth-century log construction in southwestern Oregon. Its purlin-supported roof, projecting well over the entrance, was once characteristic of numerous cabins in southwestern Oregon. The projecting roof over the gable-end entry forms a sheltered porch and gives the cabin and others of its type a distinctive appearance. This particular design was used on Forest Service structures nearby, at Union Creek, Lake of-the-Woods, Mill Creek, Fir Glade, and other locations. Willow Prairie Cabin is the only extant example.

This cabin resides along a small trail on the west part of the campground. Access to the cabin is obtained during seasonal weather from early May through November.

County / Borough / Parish: Jackson County Year listed: 2000 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Conservation, Politics/Government, Architecture Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924 Historic function: Government Current function: Campground use Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Street address: Not listed Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

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