Tharp's Log
{{short description|Historic house in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Tharp's Log
| nrhp_type =
| image = Tharp's log.jpg
| caption =
| nearest_city = Three Rivers, California
| coordinates = {{coord|36|33|40|N|118|44|29|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin =
| area =
| built = 1861
| architect = Hale Tharp
| architecture = Log cabin
| added = March 8, 1977{{NRISref|2008a}}
| refnum = 77000117
}}
Tharp's Log is a hollowed giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) log at Log Meadow in the Giant Forest grove of Sequoia National Park that was used as a shelter by early pioneers. The log is named after Hale D. Tharp, who was described as the first Non-Native American to enter the Giant Forest.
History
Tharp had arrived in 1852 in the goldfields around Placerville, becoming a cattleman rather than a miner. Tharp moved to the area of the Kaweah River in 1856, and with guides from the Potwisha people of the area he explored the mountains above. Tharp went back in 1860 with his two sons. They climbed Moro Rock and made an encampment near Crescent Meadows. It was not until 1869 that Tharp moved a cattle herd into the Giant Forest area.{{cite book|last=Kaiser|first=Harvey H.|title=An Architectural Guidebook to the National Parks: California, Oregon, Washington|url=https://archive.org/details/architecturalgui0000kais|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=1-58685-0660|pages=[https://archive.org/details/architecturalgui0000kais/page/96 96–97]}}
Tharp established a small summer cattle ranch at Giant Forest and used a fallen log as a cabin. The log was hollowed by fire through fifty-five feet of its seventy-foot length. A fireplace, door and window exist at the wider end, with a small shake-covered cabin extension.{{cite web|url=http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/report.asp?STATE=CA&PARK=SEKI&STRUCTURE=&SORT=&RECORDNO=6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521205905/http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/report.asp?STATE=CA&PARK=SEKI&STRUCTURE=&SORT=&RECORDNO=6|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 21, 2011|date=2008-12-07|work=List of Classified Structures|title=Tharp's Log|publisher=National Park Service}}
John Muir described it as a "noble den".{{cite web|url=http://www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com/sights.html|date=2008-12-07|work=Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park|title=Sights: Tharp's Log|publisher=National Park Service}}
See also
- Cattle Cabin – another building associated with Hale Tharp in the Giant Forest area.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Tharp's Log}}
- [http://www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com/sights.html National Park Service – Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Sights: Tharp's Log]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070711080245/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/dilsaver-tweed/chap3b.htm National Park Service – "Challenge of the Big Trees," Caucasian Settlers come to the Southern Sierra, with history on Hale Tharp]
- [http://www.footnote.com/image/#269619278 Historic photo of Tharp's Log – 1956]
{{Clear}}
{{Sequoia National Park}}
{{NRHP in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Sequoia National Park
Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Category:Rustic architecture in California
Category:Individual giant sequoia trees
Category:Log cabins in the United States
Category:Tourist attractions in Tulare County, California
Category:Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California