Arthur and Geneva Sharpe acquired the property in 1945 and adapted the resort to changing public tastes. In an effort to reorient the resort toward rustic, outdoor activities that provided an idealized Western experience, the Sharpes changed the name of the resort to the 4UR Ranch and constructed a new lodge in 1948. 

The Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs Resort is important for its association with the early development of tourism in Mineral County, representing the evolution of an early hot springs resort from a health-oriented attraction into a ranch resort that offered outdoor recreation and old-west nostalgia. The resort is also notable for its Rustic-style architecture and Mission-style 1905 bath house designed by master architect Thomas MacLaren.

Characteristics of the Rustic style seen in the district include the extensive use of natural materials, low profile buildings with broad open porches and wood shingle or log siding, stone foundations and chimneys, multi-light windows and paneled wood doors. Early examples of the Rustic style, using rough-hewn materials, are seen in conjunction with later examples from the 1940s and ’50s that use materials more uniform in size and surface; many of the earlier buildings were re-sided for consistency with later buildings constructed in the mid-twentieth century.