Ash Mountain Entrance Sign on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Ash Mountain Entrance Sign at 
Parkitecture in the Western Parks: Gateways
National Park Service {{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Sequoia National Park Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Individual signs in the United States History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) History of the San Joaquin Valley Buildings and structures completed in 1935 Civilian Conservation Corps in California National Park Service rustic in Sequoia National Park 1935 establishments in California Individual signs on the National Register of Historic Places
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief ...
was constructed in 1935 by Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...
craftsmen. Featuring a carved Native American face, the sign was made from blocks of sequoia wood and fastened with wrought iron brackets.
The design was first proposed by National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
architect Merel S. Sager in 1931, who designed a small log sign for the Ash Mountain entrance. In 1935 resident park landscape architect Harold G. Fowler created a much larger design. He recruited CCC worker George W. Muno, who had displayed a talent for woodworking, and they selected a piece of fallen sequoia wood from the Giant Forest
The Giant Forest, famed for its giant sequoia trees, is within the United States' Sequoia National Park. This montane forest, situated at over above mean sea level in the western Sierra Nevada of California, covers an area of . The Giant Fore ...
. Fowler sketched the profile in blue chalk on the wood using an Indian Head nickel as a guide. Muno carved the wood over a several-month period and the sign was assembled and erected over the winter of 1935-36. It was moved in 1964 to make room for a new park entrance station.
The sign is supported by a four-foot-diameter sequoia log rising from a two-tiered masonry platform. The sign panel is ten feet wide by four feet high and one foot thick, carved into a profile reputed to signify Sequoyah, whose Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...
tribe never inhabited California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The sign was originally unpainted, but assumed its present appearance in the 1950s. As originally built, a matching log pylon stood on the opposite side of the road. The pylon was removed when the sign was relocated.
See also
*East Entrance Sign (Zion National Park)
The historical buildings and structures of Zion National Park represent a variety of buildings, interpretive structures, signs and infrastructure associated with the National Park Service's operations in Zion National Park, Utah. Structures vary ...
* South Entrance Sign (Zion National Park)
The historical buildings and structures of Zion National Park represent a variety of buildings, interpretive structures, signs and infrastructure associated with the National Park Service's operations in Zion National Park, Utah. Structures vary ...
References
External links
Parkitecture in the Western Parks: Gateways
National Park Service {{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Sequoia National Park Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Individual signs in the United States History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) History of the San Joaquin Valley Buildings and structures completed in 1935 Civilian Conservation Corps in California National Park Service rustic in Sequoia National Park 1935 establishments in California Individual signs on the National Register of Historic Places