Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
| Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park | |
|---|---|
The park's McWay Cove with McWay Falls
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | Monterey County, California, USA |
| Nearest city | Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |
| Coordinates | 36°10′15″N 121°40′23″W / 36.17083°N 121.67306°WCoordinates: 36°10′15″N 121°40′23″W / 36.17083°N 121.67306°W |
| Area | 3,762 acres (1,522 ha) |
| Established | 1962 |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is a state park in California, 12 miles south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on California's Pacific coast. A main feature of the park is McWay Falls, which drops over a cliff of 80 feet (24 m) into the Pacific Ocean. The park is also home to 300-foot (90 m) redwoods which are over 2,500 years old. The park is named after Julia Pfeiffer Burns, a respected resident and rancher in the Big Sur region in the early 20th century, who lived in the area for much of her life until her death in 1928. The 3,762-acre (1,522 ha) park was established in 1962.
The park is located on land originally called the Saddle Rock Ranch. Christopher and Rachel McWay homesteaded the property in the late 1870s. In 1924, former U.S. Representative Lathrop Brown and his wife Hélène bought the ranch from McWay. Julia Pfeiffer Burns, daughter of pioneer homestead Michael Pfeiffer, married John Burns in 1914 at age 47 leased pasture from the Browns. A daughter of the first permanent settlers in Big Sur, she and her husband leased a ranch at Burns Creek and leased pasture from the McWay’s Saddle Rock Ranch. Hélène formed a close friendship with Julia until she died in 1928.
The Browns first built a rough redwood cabin on a site at the top of cliffs opposite McWay Falls. They replaced that in 1940 with a modern two-story home named Waterfall House. The entryway was inlaid with an ornamental brass fish, a gold octopus, and a compass rose. The interior was decorated with fine furnishings and classic paintings. Construction of the Carmel San Simeon Highway took from 1919-1937. During this time, Saddle Rock Ranch foreman Hans Ewoldsen worked in the machine shop of the highway construction crew to build a Pelton wheel. He used hand-split redwood from the canyon and other materials he bought. He installed the wheel on McWay Creek in 1932. The undershot wheel ran a 32-volt generator and was the first electric power in the Big Sur area. It supplied power to three residences, a blacksmith shop, and the Funicular railway. The residences were the first electrified dwellings in Big Sur, powered by a Pelton wheel they installed on McWay Creek.
...
Wikipedia