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Rota, also known as the "Friendly Island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the third southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. In early Spanish records it is called "Zarpana"; the name Rota may have come from the Spaniards possibly naming the island after the municipality of Rota, Spain. It lies approximately 40 nautical miles (74 km) north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam. Sinapalo village is the largest and most populated, followed by Songsong village (Songsong). Rota also functions as one of the four municipalities of the CNMI.
A latte stone, or simply latte, is a pillar capped by a hemispherical stone capital (tasa) with the flat side facing up. Used as building supports by the ancient Chamorro people, they are found throughout most of the Mariana Islands. In modern times, the latte stone is seen as a sign of Chamorro identity and is used in many different contexts.
This is a list of the buildings, sites, districts, and objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Northern Mariana Islands. There currently 37 listed sites spread across the four municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands. There are no sites listed on any of the islands that make up the Northern Islands Municipality.
Rota Latte Stone Quarry, also known as the As Nieves quarry, is located near the Chamorro village of Sinapalo, on the island of Rota in the Marianas Archipelago. The prehistoric megaliths found there are believed to have been used as foundation pillars for houses, with some of them weighing up to 35 tons. Their exact age, origin, methods of quarrying and means of transportation have not been determined.
The House of Taga is an archeological site located near San Jose Village, on the island of Tinian, United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, in the Marianas Archipelago. The site is the location of a series of prehistoric latte stone pillars which were quarried about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) south of the site, only one of which is left standing erect due to past earthquakes. The name is derived from a mythological chief named Taga, who is said to have erected the pillars as a foundation for his own house.
The Japanese Coastal Defense Gun near Songsong on Rota in the Northern Marianas Islands, is a historic site that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The gun emplacement was built by the Japanese military in 1941. It was listed on the National Register in 1984.
The Japanese Hospital or Saipan Byoin is a historic World War II-era hospital complex on Route 3 in Garapan, a village on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. The three concrete buildings are the largest Japanese-built structures to survive the war. The main hospital building is an L-shaped structure with a domed entrance at the crook of the L. A second, smaller building housed the pharmacy, while the third is an underground circular chamber of unknown purpose. All were in deteriorating condition when surveyed in the early 1970s. The complex has since undergone restoration, and the main hospital building now houses the Northern Mariana Islands Museum.
The Commissioner's Office is a rare surviving example of transitional Spanish-Japanese architecture on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, an insular area of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a single-story structure with walls of manposteria, a construction method adopted during the Spanish period. The window trim consists of ifil lintels, and the building's cornice is Japanese in style. At the time of the building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, it was in deteriorated condition, lacking a roof and with one collapsed wall. The structure was built in the 1930s by the local Chamorro people, who had been displaced to that part of the island by Japanese settlement undertaken as part of the South Seas Mandate. The building housed the offices of a local commissioner, or village head responsible to the Japanese authorities. Many buildings built by the Japanese during the mandate period were destroyed in World War II.
The Chugai' Pictograph Site is a prehistoric rock art site on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands. The rock art is located in a limestone cave on the southeastern side of the island, in the I'Chenchon Bird Sanctuary. It consists of a large panel, 185 feet (56 m) in length, of about 90 painted drawings, believed to be of late pre-contact origin. The site is accessed via a trail cut by the Japanese during the South Seas Mandate period.
Tachognya, also known as the Blue Site, is a prehistoric village site on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is located near the "Blue Beach" landing site of Allied forces in the Battle of Saipan, from which its name is derived. The site consists of ten latte stone house foundations, the largest of which has twelve latte columns and measures 14 by 58 feet.
The former Japanese Hospital building on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands is one of the few remaining Japanese-era buildings on the island. It is a single-story L-shaped concrete structure. When listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, it was described as being in derelict condition, being little more than the concrete structure, lacking a roof, windows, and most of its woodwork. The window openings are sheltered by typical Japanese concrete canopies. The building was built by the Japanese about 1930, during the South Seas Mandate period; most Japanese-built structures on Rota were destroyed during World War II.
The Laulau Kattan Latte Site is a prehistoric archaeological site on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Located near the shore of Laulau Bay, it is a small village site containing the remains of four latte stone house foundations, and an extensive scattering of pottery artifacts. When first reported by the pioneering archaeologist Alexander Spoehr in the 1940s, the latte stones were described as mostly fallen over and extremely weathered.
The Unai Obyan Latte Site is a prehistoric archaeological site on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Located near Obyan Beach on the south coast of the island, it is the site of what was once a fairly extensive village, which was significantly disturbed by Japanese defensive preparations during World War II. The site includes the fragmentary remains of a single latte stone house site and a wide scattering of surface-level remains. Excavation of the latte house site in the 1940s by the pioneering archeologist Alexander Spoehr yielded evidence of a length period of occupation. The village at Obyan was documented in early Spanish accounts of the island, and was probably abandoned when the Spanish forcibly relocated the entire island population to Guam in 1698.
Chalan Galaide is a late prehistoric latte stone archaeological site on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is unusual as one of the few inland latte sites in the Northern Marianas. It is a single-component site dating to the late prehistoric, or Latte Period, in the island's history. Based in part on the local name for the area and the presence of suitable tree species, it has been suggested the site was important in the production of canoes..
The rectory on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands is a rare example of transitional Spanish-Japanese architecture in the archipelago, now a United States commonwealth. It was built about 1930, during the South Seas Mandate period of Japanese administration, when the native Chamorro people were displaced to this area by workers imported by the Japanese to work in the sugar fields. The rectory is an L-shaped concrete structure measuring 13.7 by 19.8 metres, and originally had a wood-framed second floor and roof. Although only the concrete frame remains, elements such as its massive steps and window placement are typical of the earlier Spanish period, while decorative elements such as its porch columns and window opening details are distinctly Japanese.
The Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha Sugar Mill is a former industrial facility in the village of Songsong on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands. Its ruins are a significant reminder of the South Seas Mandate period, when Imperial Japan engaged in large-scale sugar cane farming in the Northern Marianas, and are the only brick structure in the Northern Marianas. The sugar mill on Rota was one of the major installations of the Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha, the Japanese company responsible for economic development of the mandate area. Its Executive Director turned Board Chairman. Haruji Matsue, considered the Northern Mariana Islands, the best place to establish the sugar industry, and more especially since previous Japanese commercial enterprises tried their hand at growing and processing sugar cane, but failed. The Nan'yō Kōhatsu Kabushiki Kaisha, was the most dominant economic force and being the largest Japanese Corporation, came to the Northern Marianas in 1921. Not unlike its predecessors, the NKK experienced a very tough few years, which almost forced the company to cease operations. Things started to take a turn for the better in 1926. By the early 1930s, Matsue proceeded to expand the company's landholdings and operations to Tinian and Rota, respectively. Rota had one mill and 38% of the farmlands had sugar cane growing. The remnants of this sugar mill, all that survived the Allied capture of Rota during World War II, are located on the north side of the peninsula that projects southwest from Songsong, and consist of fragments of brick and concrete structures. The most impressive single element is a brick and concrete tunnel 42.5 metres (139 ft) long, from which openings lead to the locations of other parts of the once-extensive complex.
Mochong is a major prehistoric archaeological site on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is considered the best preserved and second largest latte village in the Marianas. It is an extensive village site on the northern side of the island comprising 50 individual latte sets, scattered mortars (lusongs), scattered subsurface artifacts such as tools, fishing implements and abundance pieces of pottery; the Marianas Red Ware Pottery and the Marianas Plain Ware Pottery. This site also includes an extremely rare latte house structure consisting of 14 columns. It also has a latte stone wall, consisting of six columns and five slabs, that is more than 50 feet (15 m) long. The site has been radiocarbon dated to c. 1000 BCE. The site was first sketched in the early 19th century by the French explorer Louis de Freycinet, and was in remarkably intact condition in the 1980s.
The Haputo Beach Site is a prehistoric village site in northwestern Guam. The site, located on Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Guam land near a sheltered cove, includes standing latte stones, as well as rock shelters and caves with evidence of human occupation. In addition to needing military permission for access to the site, the main trail leads through the Navy's Haputo Ecological Preserve.
The West Bona Site is an archaeological site near Santa Rita on the island of Guam. It encompasses a prehistoric village site consisting of at least seven latte stone house sites. Most of them are not in good condition, although the largest, with twelve stones, is in good condition. Radiocarbon dating places early occupation of the site to between 1285 and 1435, reaching its height around 1500. The site is on the grounds of Naval Station Guam.
References
- 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Draft Reconnaissance Survey, Island of Rota: Resource Significance". National Park Service (via the University of Hawaii). Retrieved 2015-04-15.
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