United States Everyone’s Cabin in the Woods: Department of Agriculture Historic Context for Public Recreation Forest Service Cabins in the Alaska Region 1960 - 1971 Alaska Region R10-FR-009 September 2012 K. Nicole Lantz Everyone’s Cabin in the Woods: Historic Context for Public Recreation Cabins in the Alaska Region 1960 - 1971* K. Nicole Lantz U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture Alaska Region, Recreation, Lands & Minerals R10-FR-009, 107 pp. September 2012 CITATION: FS-R10--RLM. 2012. Everyone’s Cabin in the Woods: Historic Context for Public Recreation Cabins in the Alaska Region 1960-1971. Juneau, Alaska. U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Region. Publication R10-FR-009. 107 pages. *Based on original report written in 2010. Contents Purpose and Scope 7 Introduction 7 Research Methodology 9 Administrative Boundaries 10 The Alaska Region: Region 10 of the Forest Service 10 Chugach National Forest 11 Tongass National Forest 13 Temporal Boundaries 15 Historic Context: Developed Recreation and the Forest Service 17 1897-1929 A Need for Recreation Management Arises 17 1930-1945 Recreation Infrastructure Built by the CCC – WWII Shifts Priorities 20 1945-1959 Post War Boom Brings New Focus to Recreation 26 Dingell – Johnson Act: First Public Recreation Cabins since the CCC 27 Operation Outdoors 29 The Outdoor Recreation Resource Review Commission 30 1960-1971 Recreation Gains Administrative Recognition 30 Multiple Use – Sustained Yield Act 31 The Alaska Region Establishes a Recreation Cabin Program 31 The Wilderness Act 36 The Alaska Region Public Recreation Cabins Program Today 36 Conclusion 38 The National Register Evaluation Process 39 Guidelines for Evaluating and Nominating Properties that Have Achieved Significance Within the Past Fifty Years 41 Historic Context 42 Scholarly Evaluation 42 Fragile or Short-Lived Resources 43 Time 43 Comparative Evaluation of the Significance of a Property 44 Associations with Living Persons 44 Properties in Historic Districts 44 Justifying the Importance of Properties That Have Achieved Significance in the Past Fifty Years 44 Property Types 45 A-Frame 45 A-Frame Architectural Information 51 Building Characteristics that Typify the Period of Significance 51 Pan Abode 54 Pan Abode Architectural Information 56 Building Characteristics That Typify the Period of Significance 56 Evaluating Alaska Region Public Recreation Cabins 66 National Register Criteria for Evaluation 66 Criterion A 66 Criterion B 67 Criterion C 67 Criterion D 68 Integrity 68 Location 69 Design 69 Setting 70 Materials 70 Workmanship 71 Feeling 71 Association 71 Synthesis 72 Needs Assessment 72 Conclusion 73 References Cited 74 Appendix I: Glossary of Architectural Terms 78 Appendix II: A Brief History of Plywood and Plexiglas 81 Plywood 81 Plexiglas 81 Appendix III: Recreation Cabin Survey Form 82 Appendix IV: Maps and Tables of Cabins by Date and Type 85 Purpose and Scope Introduction From 1960-1971, the Forest Service in the Alaska Region expanded a program of public recreation cabins on the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests. In cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and local volunteer organizations at least 91 cabins were constructed during those eleven years. They were buildings constructed simply to provide the public access to hunting, fishing and other recreational opportunities over the vast and remote areas of forest lands in Alaska. In contrast to the rustic architecture used by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s, where large timbers and logs from the local environments were crafted to create a frontier aesthetic, modern materials and prefabricated structures were used. Not built to last, these cabins are now in need of repair and replacement. Historic properties, as defined by National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), are “any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion on the National Register” (16 U.S.C. Section 470(w)(5)). In order for a property to be determined eligible it must be evaluated against a set of criteria established by the National Park Service; keepers of the National Register of Historic Places. As a federal agency, the Forest Service is required by the NHPA to inventory and evaluate their lands for historic properties. Generally, properties at least 50 years old are given consideration as potential historic properties. At the time of this writing in 2009, the oldest recreational cabins remaining from the 1960s era of cabin construction are 49 years old. These potentially historic properties are in need of a historic context in which they can be evaluated. Because these properties are just shy of being 50 years old, they have not been consistently reviewed as historic properties. However, the National Register eligibility evaluation process does consider properties less than 50 years old. Historic context is particularly important when evaluating young properties. A historic context establishes the framework upon which a pattern of developments occurred in history. The history of “developed recreation” within the Forest Service is 1 presented as the framework in which the public recreation cabins were constructed in the Alaska Region. Developed recreation within the Forest Service refers to those areas designed and constructed to provide convenience to visitors and employees. With this historic context, background research for NHPA Section 106 reviews of Alaska Region recreation cabins can be streamlined. The target audience for this report is Forest Service heritage specialists. The Alaska Region of the Forest Service consists of the Chugach and the Tongass National Forests. These two unique and expansive National Forests encompass 21,969,321 acres of forests, shoreline, glaciers, ice fields, tundra and mountain peaks. The Alaska Region provides a broad range of recreation opportunities where a visitor will inevitably face inclement weather. Shelter is, at times, much appreciated. There are currently 206 cabins available for nightly rentals to the public. Cabins are available to rent through the National Recreation Reservation Service (NRRS) an Internet-based reservation service. Public recreation cabins are maintained at the district level throughout the Alaska Region. They are most often located in remote locations on saltwater beaches, inland lakes, rivers and glacial forelands and have become an integral part of recreation for residents and visitors in Alaska. Following the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps era of three-sided shelter and cabin construction, a lesser known era of plywood structures known as Dingell-Johnson cabins were constructed in the 1950s. This was followed by what we know today as the recreation cabins program. The current program arose in the 1960s encompassing those earlier cabins and building new ones. At that time, two main cabin property types were constructed; the A-frame and the Pan Abode. Another type known as Hunter or Wood Frame was used less frequently. As the cabins program became established, a few historic cabins not constructed by the Forest Service were incorporated into the reservation system. This document focuses on the A-frame and Pan Abode. Evaluation and documentation of Forest Service public recreation cabins, prior to replacement or decommissioning, has occurred sporadically. In one instance, an assessment of ineligibility was met with a request for more information by the Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). In a letter dated July 18, 2007 the SHPO stated that “resources nearing the 50 year mark do not need to meet Criteria Consideration G.” This decision was in reference to the A-frame building type. SHPO suggested the Forest Service explore further “the history of this building type.” In response to this, the Forest Service proposed that the cabins program history, as a whole, should be further explored. This document is a result of that exploration. 2 Research Methodology This study was based on primary and secondary resources, personal interviews and archival information within Forest Service regional and district offices. Journal articles cited in The United States Forest Service: a Historical Bibliography, 1876-1972 by Gerald Ogden were useful. Two important sources for Forest Service administrative history include History of the United States Forest Service in Alaska by Lawrence Rakestraw (2002) and A History of Outdoor Recreation Development in National Forests, 1891-1942 by W.C. weed (1978). Research was limited to cabins presently in the Forest Service reservation system in the Alaska Region. A cabin is defined as a completely enclosed structure with a roof and a door intended for remote recreational activities. In order to limit the scope, three-sided shelters and structures associated with cabins were not included. These associated structures include outhouses, wood sheds, meat sheds, etc. Cabin construction dates were taken from the Forest Service facilities infrastructure database (Infra). Often, the construction dates in the Infra database are inaccurate. When the database was populated a date was sometimes estimated and entered for the date of construction. For many cabins, the “remarks” category of Infra notes when cabins were replaced or moved. The author worked out of the Forest Service Regional Office in Juneau. Travel was limited to a trip to Anchorage in May of 2009 for three days of research on the Chugach National Forest. While there, the files at the Supervisors office, Glacier Ranger District office and the Seward Ranger District office at the Kenai Lake Work Center were reviewed. Cordova Ranger District was not visited. The Yakutat Ranger District office was visited August 11, 2009 en route to a site visit to the Tanis Mesa duplex A-frame cabin in the Yakutat Forelands. One site visit was also made to the Turner Lake East and West Cabins on the Juneau Ranger District. 3 Figure 1. Overview of the Alaska Region. Administrative Boundaries The Alaska Region: Region 10 of the Forest Service Under the Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service is divided into nine Regions.1 The Alaska Region is classified as Region 10 and is contained entirely within the State of Alaska (Figure 1). National Forest System lands in Alaska total 21,969,321 acres. Two National Forests make up the Alaska Region, the Chugach National Forest and the Tongass National Forest. They are the two largest National Forests within the National Forest System. Only public recreation cabins administered by these two forests were considered. All references to ranger districts and their cabins reflect current administrative boundaries. 1 There were ten regions of the Forest Service until 1965 when Region 7 was eliminated and its forests divided among Regions 8 and 9. 4