From the NPS :
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning/yfalls/ch3.htm


Cultural Resources

Archeological Resources

The National Historic Preservation Act, the Archeological Resources Protection Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and NEPA require that the effects of any federal undertaking on cultural resources be examined. In addition, National Park Service management policies and cultural resource management guidelines call for the consideration of cultural resources in planning proposals.

Seven designated archeological sites lie within the Lower Yosemite Fall area. These include sites associated with the American Indian habitation of the Valley, early Euro-American homesteads, a concessioner warehouse complex, a sawmill operated by John Muir, and an early concessioner tourist camp (Camp Lost Arrow). Each of these seven recorded sites is described in the following sections.

Site CA-Mrp-58. Site CA-Mrp-58 is the Yosemite Falls Indian Caves, which consist of a series of meandering fissures (cracks) between boulders. A single boulder with three mortar cups (a depression in the rock formed from pounding acorn) situated beneath the overhang of a larger boulder occurs at the site. Because no subsurface investigation has been conducted at this site, it is unknown whether cultural deposits occur within the Lower Yosemite Fall area. Lacking such data, it is assumed herein that the site, located immediately adjacent to the western trail to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall, is within the Lower Yosemite Fall area boundary.

Site CA-Mrp-240/303/H. Site CA-Mrp-240/303/H is located directly west of Yosemite Creek and north of Yosemite Lodge in the Lower Yosemite Fall area. Seven stationary milling features (large stones or bedrock used for the processing or milling of foods) with a total of 63 mortar cups and three milling slicks (smooth parts of a stone where grains were milled) have been recorded at Site CA-Mrp-240/303/H, while sparsely scattered obsidian tools and debris are apparent on the surface and below the surface (Hull et al. 1998).

Ethnographic studies have suggested that Site CA-Mrp-240/303/H represents at least a portion of the former American Indian village of Koom-I-ne (Bibby 1994). Furthermore, this site has been the location of historic Euro-American activities, in particular the establishment of Camp Yosemite by the U.S. Cavalry in this area in 1906. Early topographic maps indicate the location of six buildings along the old road to the main bridge (Yosemite Falls Bridge), and these dwellings were apparently known as "Soapsuds Row." Old Yosemite Lodge was constructed near the Site CA-Mrp-240/303/H area in 1915 (Hull et al. 1998).

Development within this site includes Yosemite Lodge, the Lower Yosemite Fall parking area, Northside Drive, multi-use paved trails, subsurface utility lines, and the existing restroom.

Site CA-Mrp-749. Site CA-Mrp-749 is located north of the Merced River within the Lower Yosemite Fall area. The site consists of scattered prehistoric flaked and ground-stone artifacts; a small quantity of historic artifacts are also present (Hull and Kelly 1995).

Archeological trenches dug at the site revealed that the deposit extends to a depth of approximately 3 feet. Recently, a team of archeologists investigating the Hutchings-Sovulweski Homesites recovered artifacts of American Indian origin near the bank of Yosemite Creek that may be associated with Site CA-Mrp-749. As such, the boundaries of Site CA-Mrp-749 may be expanded or combined with those of the above-mentioned homesites.

Hutchings–Sovulewski Homesites (Site YC-12). The fruit orchard planted by James Mason Hutchings after 1864, in what is now the Lower Yosemite Fall area, comprises the surface evidence of Site YC-12. This site area also formerly contained the Hutchings cabin, barn, sheds, and other outbuildings that were once part of his homestead.

The cabin was built of hewn logs joined with a V-notch and rested on a stone foundation. It had a covered open porch on one side and a later frame, board, and batten addition on the opposite end. Shakes clad the roof and chinked the cracks between the logs. The home was heated by a large stone fireplace and chimney (NPS 1987; Olmsted 1880).

The Hutchings family resided in the cabin at least on a part-time basis until 1902. After James Mason Hutchings’ death, the structure was used to store hay for several years, until it was cleaned out in 1906 and assigned to Park Superintendent Gabriel Sovulewski (Pavlik 1988).

In 1909, the former Hutchings cabin was demolished (NPS 1987). A year later a new, two-story, wood-frame home was built for Gabriel Sovulewski in the same vicinity. The Sovulweski home was the first residence built in Yosemite Valley by the Department of the Interior. In the late 1920s, the Yosemite Advisory Board deemed the Sovulewski home an obstruction on the landscape and recommended its removal. After failed requests by Sovulewski to relocate the structure, the home was removed in the fall of 1936 (Pavlik 1988).

Recent excavations at this site identified structural remains likely associated with the Sovulewski home and refuse associated with both Hutchings and Sovulewski and Camp Lost Arrow.

Hutchings Sawmill and Camp Lost Arrow (Site YC-5). Site YC-5 consists of the reported remains of the James Hutchings sawmill (in the northeast portion of the Lower Yosemite Fall area) built by John Muir in 1869 and operated by Muir until the summer of 1871. The sawmill was constructed to process fallen timber to be used in the making of cottages for Hutchings Upper Hotel and Black’s Hotel. As depicted in a painting dated approximately 1871, two post-1882 photographs by George Fiske, and a line drawing by Muir, the mill building was a 1½-story structure with a front gable roof and rough-hewn vertical board siding. The structure was situated on the east branch of Yosemite Creek and powered by water obtained from a ditch that took water from farther up Yosemite Creek (Johnston 1995).

Today, the physical remains present at the Hutchings sawmill site include what are generally believed to be the millrace ditch (an open channel that provides water to a sawmill) and spillgate. National Park Service photographs taken in the 1940s identify the Muir’s millrace.

Recent archeological investigations reveal that in addition to the millrace, remnants of Camp Lost Arrow also occur within Site YC-5. Camp Lost Arrow was a camp established for tourist use in 1901. Originally named Camp Yosemite but renamed Camp Lost Arrow to avoid confusion with the Army’s Camp Yosemite, the establishment was situated near the site of Hutchings’ former sawmill (Johnston 1995). Originally consisting of a series of tents, the camp ultimately contained "… electric lights, wood-frame office buildings, bathhouse with four bathrooms, warehouse, and a dining hall seating more than two hundred" (Johnston 1995). The season of operation was evidently restricted to the period when Yosemite Creek flowed, as the creek served as the camp’s sewer outlet (Johnston 1995). Camp Lost Arrow was closed after the 1915 season, corresponding to the opening of Yosemite Lodge.

No physical remains of the sawmill were identified. Information recently uncovered by National Park Service staff suggest that the mill itself was located in the vicinity of the backyard of a residence adjacent to the Lower Yosemite Fall area. Consultation with a State Historic Preservation Officer may be needed to concur the site’s historical significance.

Curry Company Warehouse Complex (Site YC-11). The current Site YC-11 includes a 130-meter stretch of the east bank of Yosemite Creek with three warehouse footings, a concentration of granite and other riprap materials (broken stones loosely assembled) for bank stabilization, decomposing concrete block perhaps associated with a shop building, a creekside dumping of asphalt or oil, lumber riprap or refuse, and a sparse historic refuse deposit.

The complex was constructed just prior to 1919 and razed in approximately 1957. The complex included four warehouses; paint, electric, furniture repair, and plumbing shops; a storage facility; a cottage; and a garage. Both electric and sewer systems were part of the original construction.

Rock Ring. Recently a ring of stacked rock was identified in the Lower Yosemite Fall area by National Park Service staff. When National Park Service archeologists subsequently visited the rock ring, the feature could not be assigned either temporal or ethnic affiliation. It is unknown whether a cultural deposit occurs within the vicinity of the rock ring.

Ethnographic Resources

Ethnographic resources consist of features of the landscape that are linked by members of a contemporary community to their traditional ways of life. As more specifically defined in the NPS-28 Cultural Resources Management Guidelines (NPS 1991), ethnographic resources are any "site, structure, object, landscape, or natural resource feature assigned traditional, legendary, religious, subsistence, or other significance in the cultural system of a group traditionally associated with it." A traditional cultural property is an ethnographic resource that is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. An Ethnographic Evaluation of Yosemite Valley: The American Indian Cultural Landscape (Bibby 1994) identified and documented cultural and natural resources associated with American Indian occupation and use of the Valley. American Indians still living in the region provided oral history and assisted in the location of ethnographic resources. The area evaluated extended from Pohono Bridge to Mirror Lake and Happy Isles, and included all historic areas of human habitation, sites of traditional and contemporary spiritual value, marked and unmarked graves, and areas of past and present resource gathering and food processing. Most sites and features are historic, and tradition holds that many have long histories of use. The ethnographic evaluation recommended that Yosemite Valley be designated a Traditional Cultural Property and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a district. As of this date, none of the ethnographic resources located in Yosemite Valley have been formally designated as Traditional Cultural Property.

Based upon research completed by the National Park Service (Bibby 1994), five ethnographic resources are located within the Lower Yosemite Fall area. These ethnographic resources include the ethnographic village of Koom-I-ne, a bedrock milling feature with historic use citation, an area used for the gathering of helli (large white mushrooms, possibly Lentinus lepideus), a large grove of California black oaks where acorns were and continue to be gathered, and a location where bracken fern was and continues to be procured. These resources have been designated as numbers 50, 51, 52, 55, and 67, respectively, in the Bibby (1994) study.

Koom-I-ne. Among the several ethnographic villages within the Valley was Koom-I-ne, which was located at least partially within the Lower Yosemite Fall area. According to one report, this was the most important village in the Valley (Merriam 1976). Koom-I-ne is at least partially represented in the archeological record by site CA-Mrp-240/303/H.

Helli. The National Park Service’s American Indian consultants identified an area within the Lower Yosemite Fall area where helli mushrooms are gathered (Bibby 1994). This particular mushroom "has continued to be one of the most important, regularly gathered resources in Yosemite Valley" (Bibby 1994). Helli first appears in May and is evidently present for harvest through the summer.

California Black Oaks. The National Park Service identified a large grove of California black oaks within the Lower Yosemite Fall area (Bibby 1994). Within this grove are individual trees that have been associated with particular individuals. Acorns were the most important plant food to American Indians in California, including the Southern Sierra Miwok.

Bedrock Milling Feature. Within the confines of archeological site CA-Mrp-240/303, and thus also associated with the ethnographic village of Koom-I-ne, is a large boulder containing 38 mortar cups. This particular feature appears to be the same as that referred to by early Yosemite Valley resident Laurence Degnan. In a letter written in September 1954, Degnan, in reflecting on his earlier observations, mentioned that he had seen the grinding of acorns atop the large boulder along the road to Lower Yosemite Fall (Bibby 1994).

Bracken Fern. Bracken fern, an important component of traditional basket making to the Southern Sierra Miwok and Mono Lake Paiute, is prevalent throughout Yosemite Valley. Not all bracken fern, however, exhibits the required physical characteristics needed for basket weaving (e.g., length, straightness, and ease of extraction). A number of local weavers identified the eastern channel of Yosemite Creek as one location where the bracken fern was traditionally gathered for use in basket making (Bibby 1994).

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