Wahkeena Falls Picnic Shelter/Cpmmunity Kitchen - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area OR
Description
The picnic area at Wahkeena Falls benefitted from the attention of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees soon after the program was rolled out in March 1933. Workers from CCC Camp Benson improved a picnic area on the north side of the Columbia River Highway at Wahkeena Falls by adding stone fireplaces, picnic tables and a community kitchen/picnic shelter. As a result, the Wahkeena Falls Picnic Area is the largest day use area on the historic Columbia River Highway.
The Wahkeena Falls Community Kitchen, similar to the community kitchen at Eagle Creek, consists of post and beam construction, three to four feet of stone masonry making up the lower portions of the structure, and vertical board and batten from the stonework to the eaves line. The cooking area consists of a central open hearth fireplace with two side stoves.
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Wahkeena Falls - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area OR
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Wakheena Falls Picnic Area - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area OR
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Community Kitchen at Wahkeena Falls - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area OR
Source notes
Throop, Gail (1979) Utterly Visionary and Chimerical: A Federal Response to the Depression: An Examination of Civilian Conservation Corps Construction on National Forest System Lands in the Pacific Northwest. Portland State University: Masters Thesis in History. Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2935.
"Wahkeena Falls Day Use Area," US Forest Service website (Viewed May 10, 2023): https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/recarea/?recid=29996
Project originally submitted by Judith T Kenny on May 14, 2023.
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