Mineral King - Preservation

Preservation

Several significant vacation home settlements are preserved along Mineral King Road.

One mile before reaching the Mineral King cabins is a grouping of 30 or so cabins in an area named Faculty Flat. The Faculty Flat cabins were mostly built in the 1920s and many are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The name Faculty Flat derives from a group of Los Angeles educators that originally populated the area.

The Cabin Cove settlement comprises seven cabins, of which six are historic preserved structures. West Mineral King grew up around a place called Barton's Camp, and comprises 35 cabins, all of which are at their original locations and all of which are considered historic structures. East Mineral King, also known as the Beulah Tract, was built around the site of Crowley's Hotel. There are 24 cabins in East Mineral King.

Cabins are typically simple frame structures with board-and-batten siding and metal roofs. In addition to the cabins, the Atwell Mill ranger residence is preserved, exemplifying the National Park Service rustic style. The Lookout Point entrance station and residence were built in the Mission Revival style. A number of water troughs, sited along the road to provide water for overheated car radiators, are also historic structures.

The Mineral King road corridor was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 2003.

There are two groups devoted to preserving Mineral King:

• The Mineral King District Association, whose main focus is on attaining recognition of Mineral King as a living historic community.
• The Mineral King Preservation Society, which is nonprofit, public benefit corporation dedicated to preserving the natural and historic assets of the Mineral King area. Since its inception in 1986, the society has engaged in research, restoration, and preservation planning. Among its other activities is a new partnership with Sequoia National Park to insure preservation of all historic resources in the National Register listed area and assist in volunteer projects and educational activities.