Hidden Creek Refectory - NO CC

Historic buildings often have many chapters in their decades or even centuries-long stories. A building may have started as a miner’s cabin, become a rustic hotel, been turned into staff housing, and then eventually a museum in the modern day, and each chapter becomes just as important when telling the entire story of the area. Temple Mountains National Park has several places with stories such as this, and the Hidden Creek Refectory is one of them.

Located near the southern entrance of Temple Mountains, this rustic stone-and-timber day-lodge today serves as a small snack bar and barbeque area for passing visitors. The building has a history going back much further than just a recreation area though, having gotten its start as a community meeting place for the first European inhabitants of the Temple Mountains during the days of timber harvesting, and eventually becoming the first lodging in the area for a few years (though still a far cry from its spiritual successor, the luxurious Silverado Hotel, that now sits a few miles downstream from it!).



The next chapter of this building’s history came in the 1930’s, during the height of the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and groups of young men who were out of work because of the Depression were sent all around the country to undertake various public works projects. Many western National Parks like Temple Mountains owe much of their infrastructure to projects undertaken by the CCC during the 1930s and early 40s.

During this time, this lodge served as the officer’s quarters for the CCC camp, as well as a mess hall and recreation center for the enrollees. The three large fireplaces kept the building warm even during bitterly cold winter mountain nights, and the nearby tributary creek was a popular place to swim during hot summer days. This CCC camp focused on projects along the Silverado Creek Valley, building bridges, constructing roads, and laying the telegraph cables that first allowed for rapid communications between Temple Mountains National Park and the outside world.



Once the United States entered into World War II at the end of 1941, the CCC quickly began to fade away, as the young men who had made up its ranks began to enlist in the armed forces and shipped out to Europe and the Pacific. The building was never deserted though, as locations like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Temple Mountains were deemed ideal convalescent centers and recreational facilities for injured and furloughed servicemen during the war. During the early 1940’s this building went from a CCC headquarters to serving as a recreation center for visiting soldiers.

In the summer of 1943, a group of beavers constructed a dam blocking Eureka Creek that flowed in front of this building on its way to joining Silverado Creek on the valley floor. Rather than destroying the dam, the army began stocking the pond that appeared upstream from it for furloughed servicemen to fish in. The area still remains a popular fishing location, though today many of these non-native fish have displaced some of the species endemic to the Temple Mountains watershed, and National Park Service biologists are working on various projects to restore the ecosystem to a more natural state.



Once WWII was ended, this building became one of many historic structures within Temple Mountains National Park to be restored by the National Park Service, and it became a very popular stop along the main Silverado Valley drive through the park. In 1957 the refectory became part of the park’s concession contract, and ever since then, it has served as a snack bar and picnic area for park visitors.

During busy summer months, this refectory can be so crowded that many tours bypass it altogether, but during spring and fall, it’s a great place for a quick lunch before heading further into the park, and in winter, the three fireplaces are still a welcome sight amid the snow-covered mountains and towering conifers. The pond behind the beaver dam is not stocked with game fish any longer; however park visitors are still welcome to cast their lines in the hopes of catching some of the non-native fish that still swim in its waters. Even more visitors stop here simply to enjoy the shade of the trees, perhaps have a refreshing drink, and wet their feet in Eureka Creek.



Buildings like this are a pretty standard feature of western National Parks, since there’s always a need for little snack bars and places to get out of the weather for a little while in the middle of the day. Oftentimes they’re even buildings that have (or seem to have, but don’t actually, in some cases) an extensive history like I made out for the Hidden Creek Refectory here… anyone who’s been to places like Hermit’s Rest at Grand Canyon, or Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley will know what I mean!

This lot will set any aspiring NPS concessionaires among your Sims back by just under $150,000.

This lot was originally created for a contest, and as such, was not initially playable. However, I think I have managed to fix all the problems that would have prevented Sims from being able to use the lot- there are a few idiosyncrasies leftover that may not be useful in normal gameplay, but they shouldn't detract from it either. I have playtested a clone of the lot as uploaded and found no glaring issues- if you find any in your gameplay, please let me know! Enjoy your visit to Temple Mountains National Park, and get out there and explore some of your REAL National Parks sometime this year too!

Lot Size: 3x3
Lot Price (furnished): $149,283