{"nrhp_refnum":"78000355","name":"Yosemite Transportation Company Office","other_names":["Wells Fargo Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of Wawona in Yosemite National Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wawona","county":"Mariposa County","state":"CA","lat":37.538930132000075,"lon":-119.65563792899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-06-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1½-story rustic frame office building, about 23 by 21 feet, built in 1910 in Yosemite Valley and moved in 1960 to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center at Wawona, Mariposa County, California. It was built with funds and design from the Yosemite Valley Railroad Company.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an exceptional and rare example of the early Rustic Style in the Yosemite region, with decorative cedar bark and log infill panels. It is also significant for its use as a horse and motor stage terminal, and as a telegraph and express office that became known as the \"Wells Fargo\" office. Its significance is rated local, in architecture and transportation.","narrative":"Built in 1910 in Yosemite Valley, this small rustic office served as a terminal for horse-drawn and later motor stages linking the railroad depot at El Portal with the valley. The Yosemite Valley Railroad Company provided the funds and design. The 1½-story frame building uses unpeeled logs, vertical posts and horizontal beams, with panels of cedar bark and thin logs laid in herringbone patterns beneath a steep shingled roof. During the stagecoach years it also handled telegraph and express business, which is how the name \"Wells Fargo\" became attached to it. After the all-year highway opened in 1927, the transportation company moved its business to lodging front desks, and in the late 1930s the vacant building became an employee residence. Marked for demolition in 1959, it was instead moved to Wawona, restored to a circa 1912 appearance and opened to visitors. It is valued as a rare early example of rustic design meant to blend with the natural surroundings, and for its link to park transportation history.","period_of_significance":"1910","architect_builder":"Yosemite Valley Railroad Co.","architectural_style":"Rustic Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Moved in 1959-60 to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, restored to a circa 1912 appearance and opened for interpretive use; receives preservation maintenance. Form marks it occupied and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.348233-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000355.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000355/df1796dfb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000355/df1796dfb3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wearsunscreen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yosemite_Transportation_Office.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wearsunscreen</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yosemite_Transportation_Office.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859778","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_Transportation_Company_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8055938"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mariposa-county/yosemite-transportation-company-office-78000355/"}