The McCauley and Meyer Barn 2

Foresta, Yosemite National Park

The McCauley and Meyer Barns in Yosemite National Park are the last barns in the park that retain their original characteristics as structures built by homesteaders. The McCauley barn and the two Meyer barns represent different construction techniques and styles of design.

The McCauley Barn was built about 1883 by Irish-born James McCauley, who operated hotels in the Yosemite Valley. McCauley's ranch was to be his winter home, since Glacier Point, where he operated the Glacier Point Mountain House, was not suitable for winter living. McCauley purchased the land in 1883 and began to live full time at the ranch in 1897. McCauley's son Fred inherited the ranch after James' death in an automobile accident in 1911. Fred dispersed the property, which became known as "Foresta" and was unoccupied after 1955. The National Park Service acquired the ranch in 1974. The barn is a wood structure, with a log cribwork core using V-notched joints, measuring 40 feet (12 m) by 80 feet (24 m). A long center bay is flamed by two more open bays along the long axis of the barn. The overhanging gable roof structure is peeled logs, once covered with wood shingles but now covered with sheet metal. The logs were not chinked, and are presently sheathed with vertical boards. The design is unusual. The "Mormon Pole Barn" style dates to the 1850s in the Genessee Valley.