Sunset Crater – Cinder Lake Apollo Program Historic District dedicated.
On April 29, representatives from the National Park Service (NPS), National Forest Service (FS), Lowell Observatory, and the City of Flagstaff gathered for a public ceremony to dedicate the district. Against the backdrop of Sunset Crater Volcano, several officials spoke to an audience at the monument’s Lava Flow Trail Amphitheater.
The district encompasses nine sites used in preparing for the Apollo Moon missions, where astronauts, geologists and engineers tested instruments, drove practice lunar vehicles, collected rock samples and simulated missions. Five of the sites are located at least partially within the boundaries of Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. The remaining sites fall within the bounds of the Coconino National Forest.
The district’s creation culminated a project that began in 2016. During an effort to document historic sites in the Sunset Crater area, NPS archaeologists came across information about the Apollo-related work carried out there in the 1960s-70s. Unfortunately, there were some missing pieces to the story. As NPS archaeologist Ian Hough explained, “We had great documentation of what happened, but none about where specifically it took place.”
Hough led an effort to fill in the gaps. “Our challenge was to take that archival material, walk the grounds of Sunset Crater, and relocate the actual places on the ground where the astronauts trained, where the equipment was developed and where the spacesuits were tested,” he said.
One goal of the documentation process was to create educational programming, so that the public could learn about the Apollo training heritage. “One way to bring this all together was a national register nomination, because it not only evaluates the wealth of information about the Apollo work but how important it is to history,” said Hough.
The NPS partnered with NAU’s Ben Carver, who had earned his Ph.D. in history at Northern Arizona University, to lead the research and write the nomination. “I got to do the fun stuff,” said Carver. “I got to go into the archives and uncover all the cool documents. I got to walk on this amazing landscape and find the actual spots and the actual rocks that the astronauts were testing, drilling, coring and sampling. It was a really amazing experience for me, not only as a historian, but as somebody who loves this area.”
Carver completed the work in one and a half years, and the NPS officially approved the nomination of the Sunset Crater – Cinder Lake Apollo Program Historic District on Nov. 8, 2019. Hough and his team created a plaque and related informational sign, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to delay an official ceremony until this year.
Visitors to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument may now see the plaque and sign, which are located along the Bonito Vista Trail. FBN
By Kevin Schindler, FBN
Courtesy photo by Danielle Adams: Participants at the dedication of the Sunset Crater – Cinder Lake Apollo Program Historic District included Jeanne Stevens, Jennifer Schaber, Jeremy Haines, Karen Malis-Clark, Kevin Schindler, Ben Carver, Robin Martin and Ian Hough.
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