- City:
- Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Paths and Trails, Campgrounds and Cabins, Picnic and Other Facilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1935
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
During 1935, Civilian Conservation Corps workers made improvements to Ainsworth State Park, thirty-six miles east of Portland on the Columbia River Highway. John C. Ainsworth, former chairman of the State Highway Commission (1931-1932) donated the original forty acres for the park in 1933.
CCC enrollees worked on picnic facilities and trails in the park. Perhaps the most distinctive improvement made by CCC workers involved the stone work steps and fountain that provided public drinking access to the park’s spring.
Source notes
"Ainsworth State Park," Oregon State Parks website (Viewed May 3, 2023): https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=105
"Ainsworth State Park," Recreating the Columbia River Highway website (Viewed May 5, 2023): https://sites.google.com/view/recreatingthecrh/historic-columbia-river-highway/horsetail/ainsworth-state-park
Armstrong, Chester (1965) "Ainsworth State Park," History of the Oregon State Parks, 1917-1963. Salem OR: Oregon State Parks Department. p. 83.
"Untold Beauty Offered by 60 State Parks in Oregon," Oregonian. May 28, 1940.
Site originally submitted by Judith T Kenny on October 4, 2023.
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