Ryan Historic District Officially Placed on the National Register of Historic Places
January 27, 2025
The DVC is pleased to announce that on January 27, 2025, the Ryan Historic District was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Ryan Historic District is composed of Ryan (or Ryan Camp), the Upper and Lower Biddy mine complexes, the remains of the Death Valley Railroad, the remains of the Baby Gauge Railroad, a network of trails and roads, and numerous intact archaeological deposits.
The district was deemed significant under National Register Criterion A for its association with the early twentieth-century Death Valley borax mining industry, the burgeoning Death Valley tourism business, 1950s location filming, and the Cold War-era civil defense program. It was also found significant under Criterion C for embodying the distinctive, yet cohesive, characteristics of early twentieth-century Pacific Coast Borax corporate vernacular-style architecture as well as ingenuity in engineering. Finally, it was deemed significant under Criterion D for its immense quantity and pristine quality of archaeological remains.
With this designation, Ryan is now officially recognized as one of the most significant and enduring historic borax mining operations in Death Valley, the state of California, and perhaps North America. It also underscores the DVC’s commitment to preserve and protect this American treasure.
