• Fossil Elementary School Gymnasium - Fossil OR
    WPA funds and workers constructed the two-story Fossil Elementary School gymnasium in 1936, adjacent to the Fossil Grade School which was built in 1924.  The well-used facility changed in appearance in 1949 when it received a layer of asbestos siding. Community fund-raising and a donation from the Oregon Community Foundation returned the structure to its original appearance during the summer of 2013 with the removal of the asbestos and the application of a new coat of paint by volunteers.
  • John Day Highway Improvements - Fossil OR
    A late 1936 public announcement indicated that a contract had been awarded to Fisher Bros. of Oregon City to grade and resurface 4.1 miles of the Fossil-Kinzua junction of the John Day Highway during the following year. The Oregon State Highway Commission announced that the 1937 road maintenance budget topped $3,000,000, an increase of $150,000 due to the state's growing highway miles. Reflecting the Public Works Administration's (PWA) contribution to the state's transportation infrastructure, projects could be completed in counties throughout the state. That included this important section of roadway between Fossil, Wheeler County's county seat, and Kinzua, the site of...
  • Kinzua--Fossil Roadway Improvements - Fossil OR
    In fall 1935, the Oregonian announced that an additional $201,305 had been received to support Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief workers, including a project for Wheeler County. The project identified for funding involved improving four miles of road "from seven miles from Fossil to Kinzua." Improving access between Fossil and Kinzua served as an important economic link between the two towns. Fossil was, and still is, the county seat of Wheeler County. Kinzua, now a ghost town, was the site of the Kinzua Pine Mill Company's sawmill operation. The company town had been established in 1927 and would operate as such...
  • Shelton Wayside County Park (Shelton State Park; Camp Shelton) - Fossil OR
    During the summer of 1935, the Oregonian newspaper announced that among Oregon's 67 Civilian Conservation Camps that summer one would be located at Shelton State Park in Wheeler County. The 200 member work crew made improvements in the state park along with other tasks associated with CCC workers, such as reforestation work and fire fighting, and road construction. Shelton Wayside Park is the park's current name. It is located approximately ten miles southeast of Fossil on Highway 19.