{"nrhp_refnum":"79000547","name":"Madulce Guard Station and Site","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 mi. N. of Santa Barbara","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Barbara","county":"Santa Barbara County","state":"CA","lat":34.70309793000007,"lon":-119.57932182699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small frame seasonal guard station cabin built in 1929 on Pine Creek in Pine Canyon, Los Padres National Forest, about 40 miles north of Santa Barbara, California. It replaced an earlier log cabin on the same spot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cabin is significant for its relationship to a group of major backcountry trails and for its long use by trail crews, hikers and riders. It also illustrates Forest Service building policy of the era, which favored ordinary town-style cottages over structures fitted to their settings. The form concedes the building has little architectural merit in itself.","narrative":"Madulce Guard Station is a small white-painted frame cabin built in 1929 in Pine Canyon, deep in Los Padres National Forest north of Santa Barbara. It replaced a deteriorating log cabin, itself a rebuild of a structure left by a recluse known as Old Marlo, and was designed as a seasonal outpost serving as both ranger's house and office. Its steep roof, redwood shiplap siding, tongue-and-groove pine interior, pantry, storeroom and seven doors resemble ordinary town cottages of the period, with materials packed in by mule. The station sits near four important trails, and its listing rests mainly on that setting and on its continuing role as shelter for trail crews, hikers and riders after Forest Service use ended. The form also treats it as an example of Forest Service construction policy in the early twentieth century. It remains essentially unaltered, in fair condition, and draws roughly 200 visitors a year.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Designer anonymous; possibly a contractor or master carpenter employed by the Forest Service. Materials were packed to the site by mule.","architectural_style":"Simple frame cottage, relating to New England-style cottages; no decorative motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition fair; essentially unaltered since construction. Used by Forest Service trail crews and visited by hikers and riders, about 200 visitors a year.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.860398-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000547.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861602","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-barbara-county/madulce-guard-station-and-site-79000547/"}