{"nrhp_refnum":"08001315","name":"Stanislaus Branch, California Forest and Range Experiment Station","other_names":["Strawberry Work Station Historic District","Fs 05-16-53-0514","Trinomial CA-Tuo-2351H"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Forest Rd. 4N13B","address_restricted":false,"city":"Strawberry","county":"Tuolumne County","state":"CA","lat":38.18822029800003,"lon":-120.02467273499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-01-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Conservation","Science","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Forest Service research station historic district near Strawberry, Tuolumne County, California, along the South Fork of the Stanislaus River. Built 1927-1937, it covers about 4.75 acres with seven extant buildings plus an experimental plot exclosure and ladder tree.","why_significant":"The station was a branch of the California Forest and Range Experiment Station and conducted pine forestry research, including seed production and forest management studies. Its buildings, built partly by New Deal relief workers from standard Forest Service plans, retain the Forest Service Rustic character and the original site plan. Six of the seven buildings keep historic integrity.","narrative":"Tucked into a conifer forest beside the South Fork of the Stanislaus River near Strawberry, this former Forest Service research station was built between 1927 and 1937 as a branch of the California Forest and Range Experiment Station. Seven of its eight original buildings survive, including a superintendent's residence, an office-laboratory, a cabin, a granite-trimmed dormitory, a warehouse and a stone pump house, along with a narrow looping drive. The wood-sided buildings follow the Forest Service Rustic style, and most were built from standard plans by Bay Area architects Norman Blanchard and Edward Maher, using New Deal relief labor. Behind the caretaker's residence, the remains of a fenced test plot and a ladder tree recall the pine seed and growth studies carried out here. The site plan is unchanged since construction, and six of the seven buildings still convey their historic appearance, which is why the group was recognized as a historic district. The caretaker's residence was altered too heavily to count as contributing.","period_of_significance":"1937-1951","architect_builder":"Standard plans by Norman K. Blanchard and Edward J. Maher; built by New Deal relief workers supervised by Stanislaus National Forest Engineer Reginald Drew; two earlier buildings probably from Coert DuBois plans","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements/Craftsman/Forest Service Rustic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most buildings remain in use as residences; the dormitory serves as a barracks for seasonal crews. The caretaker's residence has lost integrity and is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.515906-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/08001315.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862295","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/tuolumne-county/stanislaus-branch-california-forest-and-range-experiment-station-08001315/"}