Joshua Tree National Park, Mission 66 Determinations of Eligibility

Mission 66 Entrances & Cottonwood Ranger Station

Hennebery Eddy prepared two Determinations of Eligibility for Mission 66 resources in Joshua Tree National Park – a landscape-scale effort to assess the three 1964 park entrances and an evaluation of the 1964 Ranger Station located in the Cottonwood area, near the southern park entrance. Our team researched and evaluated the Mission 66-era entrance components, including monument signs, landscape features, and associated buildings, and documented their significance to help guide the park’s planning and preservation efforts as it faces exponential growth and prepares a Visitor Facilities Development Plan addressing capacity deficiencies. In evaluating the ranger station for individual eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, we determined the structure was part of a larger Cottonwood-area planned development, designed to alleviate pressure on the nearby Cottonwood Oasis natural feature. We adapted our approach on site to include documentation of the Cottonwood area’s Mission 66-era contributing resources and evaluated the area as a cohesive historic district.

Historic photos are from the Joshua Tree National Park research library