Longmire, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Longmire Historic District
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 Location in Washington (state)
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| Location | Mt. Rainier National Park, Longmire, Washington |
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| Area | 85 acres (34 ha) |
| Architectural style | Rustic style |
| MPS | Mt. Rainier National Park MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000173 |
| Added to NRHP | March 13, 1991 |
Longmire is a special place inside Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. It's a visitor center where people can find help and information. Longmire is about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) east of the park's Nisqually Entrance. It sits in the Nisqually River valley, about 2,761 feet (842 m) high. Tall, old trees like Douglas fir, western red cedar, and western hemlock grow all around Longmire. This whole area is also known as the Longmire Historic District.
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Longmire Historic District
The Longmire Historic District used to be the main office area for Mount Rainier National Park. It's also where many buildings for visitors are located. This district has 58 important buildings and structures. Four of these are so special they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places by themselves.
Many buildings here are built in the "National Park Service Rustic" style. This means they look natural and fit in with the park's wild surroundings. They often use local wood and stone. You can see these buildings on both sides of the Paradise-Nisqually Road. The Longmire Meadows area is on one side, and visitor services are on the other.
Some of the important buildings include:
- The Longmire Buildings, which were once the park's main offices.
- The Longmire Cabin.
- Three comfort stations (restrooms) named L-302, L-303, and L-304.
The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 1991. Longmire is also home to the National Park Inn and the Longmire Museum. The National Park Inn is the only place to stay inside the park that is open all year. The entire Longmire Historic District is part of an even bigger area called the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District. This larger district includes the whole park and celebrates its unique rustic buildings.
Longmire is the second most popular spot for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park. Only Paradise gets more visitors! In 2000, about 38% of the park's 1.3 million visitors came to Longmire. The Cougar Rock Campground is also nearby, about 2 miles (3 km) away. Longmire is also one of the starting points for the famous Wonderland Trail, a long hiking path around the mountain.
History of Longmire
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The story of Longmire began in 1883. On August 16, 1883, three men named George Bayley, Philemon Van Trump, and James Longmire successfully climbed Mount Rainier. On their way back down, James Longmire found some natural hot springs. He returned later that year and claimed the land, which became known as Longmire Springs.
In 1884, James Longmire built a rough trail from Ashford, Washington, about 13 miles (21 km) away, to these hot springs. He also built cabins there. This was the second trail ever made through what would become the national park. Famous writer John Muir even stayed there in 1888 on his way to climb Mount Rainier. The oldest building still standing in the park is a cabin built by James Longmire's son, Elcaine Longmire, in 1888. It's located in the area now called Longmire Meadows.
Between 1899 and 1904, about 500 people visited Longmire Springs each summer. They would travel by train to Ashford, then take Longmire's wagon trail. Visitors loved the hot springs and the amazing view of Mount Rainier. They could also hike to places like Paradise or Indian Henry's Hunting Grounds, which were about 6 miles (10 km) away on trails built by the Longmire family.
In 1890, Longmire built a five-room hotel, which later grew bigger. By 1906, the Longmire family's hotel, along with tents and cabins, had 30 rooms. But that same year, the Tacoma and Eastern Railroad built their own hotel, the original National Park Inn, at Longmire. This was a three-story building with space for 60 guests. Having a competitor made things difficult between the Longmire family and the park officials. There were even legal arguments, like when James's son, Robert Longmire, opened a saloon that park officials quickly closed.
In 1911, the Tacoma and Eastern Railroad built a Hiker's Center. It was built in an early rustic style, similar to the other park buildings. Today, this building is the Longmire general store.
The Longmire family eventually grew tired of the park asking them to improve their facilities. After Elcaine's death in 1915, they leased their property to a new company in 1916. This new company built another hotel and 16 cabins. Even though they cleaned up the area, it still wasn't as nice as the National Park Inn across the road.
Steven T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, wanted to have only one main company providing services in each National Park. This way, the park could control the quality better. So, over several years, the National Park Service worked to make the Rainier National Park Company the only company offering services in the park. This happened in 1919 when the Rainier National Park Company bought the Longmire family's buildings and leased their land. They eventually bought the land completely in 1939.
In 1920, the Rainier National Park Company moved the 1916 Longmire Springs Hotel building next to the National Park Inn. It became known as the National Park Inn Annex. They also tore down the original 1890 Longmire Springs Hotel and other buildings to "improve the appearance" of the area.
Once the road to Paradise and the Paradise Inn opened, many visitors preferred to stay at Paradise. This made the Longmire hotel less profitable. The Rainier National Park Company tried to advertise the hot springs water as having medicinal benefits. However, government scientists tested the water and found it had no special healing powers. The National Park Service stopped the company from making false claims, and the springs were never developed further.
In the 1910s, as more people visited the park, the Park Service moved its main administration office from the Nisqually area to Longmire. The community kitchen was built in 1916 and is now the park library. The park's first administration building was also built in 1916 and now serves as the Longmire Museum and Visitors Center.
In 1927, park planners created a design to make the buildings in the Longmire Plaza area look more organized. Three important buildings came from this plan, showing how the National Park Service wanted buildings to blend in with Mount Rainier's rugged slopes.
- The Community Building (1927) is a great example of the early National Park Service Rustic style.
- The Administration Building (1928) is considered the most important building from this time. It used heavy stone on the first floor and wood on the second, similar to a building in Yosemite. Local boulders were carefully chosen to help it match the landscape.
- The Service Station, built in 1929, was also designed to blend into its natural surroundings.
The original National Park Inn burned down in 1926. Only the National Park Inn Annex remained, which is now simply called the National Park Inn. This building was updated in 1936 and then largely rebuilt again in 1990.
In 1977, the park's main administration center moved outside the park to Tahoma Woods. This was part of a plan to limit new construction inside the park. In 1987, the Longmire Buildings were officially named a National Historic Landmark.
2006 Flooding
On November 6, 2006, Longmire and Paradise were hit hard by a huge rainstorm. About 18 inches (457 mm) of rain fell in just 36 hours! This caused a lot of flood damage and closed roads. State Route 706, the road that leads to Longmire from the Nisqually entrance, was closed until May 5, 2007, because of the flooding.
Climate
Longmire has warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. It gets a lot of rain and snow, especially in the colder months.
Images for kids
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The Longmire Service Station, built in 1929.
See also
In Spanish: Longmire (Washington) para niños
