In 1993 it became the first location associated with Japanese American history to be designated a King County landmark[2] and was listed the following year on the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Park Service (NPS) describes the 4.8-acre (1.9 ha) site as "a rare, intact example of a property associated with the history of Japanese American settlement in Washington.

[4] Denichiro Mukai's first American employer, a wealthy sheep farmer, eventually sent him to school, where he learned English.

He worked subsequently in various jobs in San Francisco including as a police interpreter and head of an employment agency.

According to the NPS, this "revolutioniz[ed] the industry";[3] Mukai could sell directly to makers of preserves and ice cream.

Masa Mukai had the good fortune to be a personal acquaintance of the Lieutenant Commander of the Western Defense Command, and was notified two weeks before the evacuation order, allowing him to move his family (himself, his wife, his son Milton and stepmother Kuni[2]) voluntarily to Dead Ox Flats, Oregon, across the Snake River from Weiser, Idaho, where Chiyeko's brother lived.

His hauler Morris Dunsford operated the business in his absence; Masa Mukai worked in the seed industry in Idaho during the war years and, according to the NPS, "became a respected member of the community" there.

Mukai's) California property and send him the balance of his bank accounts, with which he purchased and restored the family's ancestral home in Osaka, where he died in 1973.

The one-story wood frame Barrelling Plant building was designed by Masa Mukai and built by local contractor Deb Harrington.

Constructed in a modified ell-plan, the Mukai residence possesses multiple gable roofs sheathed in wood shingles.

The garden also served for notable social functions when tea parties were held to view the cherry blossoms in the early spring.

[2] The designation of the plant as a King County landmark coincided with the 1993 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, held in Seattle.

The plan was to restore the garden, develop interpretive public exhibits, maintain the facilities, provide programs and educational opportunities with "free or reduced cost" admissions.

In the interim, they hosted relevant programming and hired Artifacts Consulting to develop a 246 page Historic Preservation Plan, a blueprint for restoration of the Mukai Agricultural Complex features.

King County, as owners of the Barreling Plant, ceded control to Friends of Mukai, effectively unifying key remaining components of the original farm.

Restoration of the 90 year-old Mukai Cold Process Fruit Barreling Plant is now underway; Friends of Mukai recently completed stabilization work at a cost of $842,000 which covered extensive structural support to remedy failing damaged wood, replacement of the entire 100’ long west side, new siding, and installation of a new roof with encapsulated insulation.