- City:
- Yosemite National Park, CA
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Lodges, Ranger Stations and Visitor Centers
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The New Deal made possible the construction of a ranger station in the Wawona area, which was added to Yosemite National Park in 1932. The present complex includes a ranger station and an interpretation office, as well as two ranger residences, that date back to the New Deal.
The ranger station and interpretation office have different origins, however. The latter building was the original ranger station at Wawona, built in 1934 or 1935 (Greene), which has been modified over time and repurposed. The former was moved here from the former Chinquapin ranger station site, built in 1934, which was eliminated decades ago (the site has been cleared).
Both are simple, rustic wood structures; the ranger station is shingled, the interpretation office is board-and-batten. They were probably paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and built by the National Park Service (NPS), not the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The current use of the ranger station is as the coordinating hub, a sort of control tower, for Wawona camping. It was clear from personal conversations with the staff that they love the building and are proud that, as they enthusiastically avowed, nothing can be done to alter it.
Source notes
Linda Wedel Greene, Yosemite: The Park and Its Resources; A History of the Discovery, Management, and Physical Development of Yosemite National Park, California, vol. 2, Historical Narrative (1987; repr., Delhi, India: Facsimile Publisher, [2021]), p. 838.
Site originally submitted by John Broesamle on April 7, 2022.
At this Location:
- Wawona Ranger Station Residences - Yosemite National Park CA
- Hetch Hetchy Dam and Reservoir Expansion - Yosemite National Park CA
- South Gate Entrance Station - Yosemite National Park CA
- Tioga Pass Comfort Station - Yosemite National Park CA
- Yosemite and Curry Village Improvements - Yosemite National Park CA
- Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center (former) - Yosemite National Park CA
- Tuolumne Meadows Campground Contact Station - Yosemite National Park CA
- Half Dome Climbing Cables Replacement - Yosemite National Park CA
- Tuolumne Meadows Campground - Yosemite National Park CA
- General Improvements - Yosemite National Park CA
- Tuolumne Meadows Campground Comfort Stations - Yosemite National Park CA
- Ostrander Ski Hut - Yosemite National Park CA
- Trail Improvement and Restoration - Yosemite National Park CA
- Seasonal and Stub CCC Camps - Yosemite National Park CA
- Yosemite Valley (Pines) Campgrounds Reconstruction - Yosemite National Park CA
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