Eagles Nest Hunting Lodge
Online
Eagles Nest Hunting Lodge was built in 1896 by Joseph and Hancock Banning as a hunting camp and stagecoach stop. It has gone through many transformations as ownership of the island changed to William Wrigley in 1919 and then to the Catalina Island Conservancy in 1972. Archaeological excavations by PCIAP occurred from 2008-2014 to assist with mitigation of the California Environmental Quality Act and to further contextualize the history of the location in preparation of the lodge becoming a historical museum.
A Virtual Presence
PCIAP has unpublished data, archival photos, stories and historical items collected that will be presented through a virtual exhibition to provide public access to the raw data while also providing a summary of our findings and how it enhances understanding of three major components in the life of this building (Banning, Wrigley, Conservancy). Blogs about the creation of this website with the struggles and surprises that occurred can be found at http://digitalarchaeology.msu.edu/eagles-nest-hunting-lodge/.
There are three thousand people that live on Catalina Island and more than a million visitors yearly. Many of these islanders and visitors are multi-generational and have warm family memories of Eagles Nest either as a holiday location, hunting area, or as a tourist stop where they received lemonade/coffee and cookies. Inland island tours still pass here generating a great deal of interest into its history. It is in their honor that we make this contribution.
Partners
The Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project (PCIAP) has never worked on its own. It is with generous support and assistance of many people that the project continues to be so successful. Excavations at Eagles Nest have been through field courses sponsored by UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Law School’s Tribal Learning Community and Educational Exchange, Institute for Field Research, and CSUN Anthropology. Our permit is from the Catalina Island Conservancy. Ongoing support is being given by the Catalina Island Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, USC Archaeology, USC Spatial Sciences, USC Environmental Studies & Wrigley Marine Institute, and the City of Avalon. This project was developed as part of the Institute on Digital Archaeology Methods & Practice sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences at Michigan State University. For their push and assistance, I am grateful.
A Virtual Presence
PCIAP has unpublished data, archival photos, stories and historical items collected that will be presented through a virtual exhibition to provide public access to the raw data while also providing a summary of our findings and how it enhances understanding of three major components in the life of this building (Banning, Wrigley, Conservancy). Blogs about the creation of this website with the struggles and surprises that occurred can be found at http://digitalarchaeology.msu.edu/eagles-nest-hunting-lodge/.
There are three thousand people that live on Catalina Island and more than a million visitors yearly. Many of these islanders and visitors are multi-generational and have warm family memories of Eagles Nest either as a holiday location, hunting area, or as a tourist stop where they received lemonade/coffee and cookies. Inland island tours still pass here generating a great deal of interest into its history. It is in their honor that we make this contribution.
Partners
The Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project (PCIAP) has never worked on its own. It is with generous support and assistance of many people that the project continues to be so successful. Excavations at Eagles Nest have been through field courses sponsored by UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Law School’s Tribal Learning Community and Educational Exchange, Institute for Field Research, and CSUN Anthropology. Our permit is from the Catalina Island Conservancy. Ongoing support is being given by the Catalina Island Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, USC Archaeology, USC Spatial Sciences, USC Environmental Studies & Wrigley Marine Institute, and the City of Avalon. This project was developed as part of the Institute on Digital Archaeology Methods & Practice sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences at Michigan State University. For their push and assistance, I am grateful.
The Banning EraThis represents the building of the lodge in 1896 and was a turn around for the stagecoach. The stagecoach journeyed from Avalon to Eagles Nest in about 4 hrs. The road from Eagles Nest to Little Harbor wasn't completed until 1903.
Catalina Island ConservancyEagles Nest Hunting Lodge closed during WWII. The island interior was accessible again by 1947 through an Inland Motor Tour offered by the Catalina Island Company. Managers of Eagles Nest offered a respite for refreshments and to learn more about the island's mining and stage coach activities. This continued until 1984 when these activities were moved to Rancho Escondido. The Catalina Island Conservancy was formed in 1972 as a private land trust and took over management of the Lodge. Plans to repair the aging structure were created in 1978 and modified throughout the 1980 and 90s .
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Wrigley's RenovationsAfter William Wrigley purchased the island in 1919 he set about making major renovations in Avalon and in the interior. In the Catalina Islander on 6/20/1928 Eagles Nest lodge was described on page 3, "The picturesque hunting lodge, under its clump of cottonwoods and wild cherry trees, beside the lilting Middle Ranch stream, stocked with trout, now has a big dining room, where goat barbecue, prepared by a Spanish chef, is served; a trophy room, lobby, and
reading rooms. Fifty one-room bungalettes have been erected to take care of hunting parties remaining over night. Sure-footed horses, guides familiar with the thrills of the goat country, guns and ammunition, are supplied at the lodge." Today's ChallengesIn January 1995 major rains swelled the banks of the Middle Canyon Stream and washed out sections of Middle Canyon Road. No structural repairs have been undertaken and the lodge continues to decline. The loss of land to the stream over the years has moved the road to the front door of the Lodge, while slit deposits have put the doors below road grade.
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