Oregon Sites

From 1936 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Honeyman State Park, just south of Florence, Oregon, under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS).  The parkland had been purchased by the state from 1930 to 1936. Honeyman Park covers over 500 acres along Highway 101 (the Oregon Coast Highway), tucked behind the Oregon Dunes National Seashore.  It includes two freshwater lakes, Cleawox Lake within the dunes and the much larger Woahink Lake east of the highway. There is a day-use area on the north side of Cleawox Lake, a large campground south of that lake and water sports...

From 1936 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Honeyman State Park, just south of Florence, Oregon, under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS).  The parkland had been purchased by the state from 1930 to 1936. Honeyman Park covers over 500 acres along Highway 101 (the Oregon Coast Highway), tucked behind the Oregon Dunes National Seashore.  It includes two freshwater lakes, Cleawox Lake within the dunes and the much larger Woahink Lake east of the highway. There is a day-use area on the north side of Cleawox Lake, a large campground south of that lake and water sports...

From 1936 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Honeyman State Park, just south of Florence, Oregon, under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS).  The parkland had been purchased by the state from 1930 to 1936. Honeyman Park covers over 500 acres along Highway 101 (the Oregon Coast Highway), tucked behind the Oregon Dunes National Seashore.  It includes two freshwater lakes, Cleawox Lake within the dunes and the much larger Woahink Lake east of the highway. There is a day-use area on the north side of Cleawox Lake, a large campground south of that lake and water sports...

Among the first of their recreation related construction projects, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from Camp Belknap laid out and built the Horse Creek Campground in 1934. The group campground is located one-and-a-half miles south of McKenzie Bridge on the banks of Horse Creek. The campground can accommodate approximately 100 people and 23 vehicles. An interesting bit of CCC history in the Willamette National Forest (WNF) is associated with Horse Creek Campground. Forest Supervisor Perry Thompson hired landscape architect William Parke as a recreational planner for the WNF, instructing him to prepare site plans for campgrounds, picnic areas and organization camps...

Once the site of Multnomah County's Poor Farm, the city began developing this land in the West Hills of Portland as an arboretum in 1930. In its first six years, much of the labor for tree planting and park development was provided through the Civil Works Administration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the National Youth Administration (NYA). The local newspaper, The Oregonian, gave particular attention to the NYA workers' contribution, noting that nearly 100 young people between the age of 16 and 25 were employed for three months. They began the transformation of what was then a 200-acre, rough, wooded landscape...

  In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) initiated the development of Humbug Mountain State Park. From their camp, located on park property, the CCC enrollees undertook construction of roads and a trail to the top of Humbug Mountain, benches and fireplaces, park buildings, and provision of a water system. At the time, the trail to the top of the 1750-foot-tall Humbug Mountain distinguished the park and the CCC enrollees' accomplishments there.    

The Canyon Creek Crier: 1940 provided the following description of work to be undertaken by CCC workers in the fall of 1940: "Tall, yellow pine timber stands like primeval cathedrals near the southern bounds of the Malheur National Forest and here we find Idlewild, a most ideal locality for an overnight camp. With this in mind the Forest Service plans the construciton of a camp site water system, outdoor kitchen stoves, picnic tables and benches and the customary sanitary facilities essential for a recreational campsite." The Idlewild Campground was the more ambitious of the two campgrounds built by members of Company 1231...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp at Illahee Flats, in the North Umpqua River Valley in Oregon.  We do not know the exact years the camp was active, but enrollees from this camp almost certainly built the wooden Illahee lookout tower eight miles farther up FS-4760. The gazebo across the road from Illahee Flats is not CCC; it was built in 1928, burned in 1997 and rebuilt by the US Forest Service, along with a restroom and picnic tables. The main part of Illahee Flats is empty meadow.  There is no obvious trace of the CCC camp left nor of...

Built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Imnaha Guard Station is located in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. It was originally used to house patrol and fire crews. Unlike other guard stations, the Imnaha Guard Station has been used every summer since it was built, even before similar guard stations were rented out to the public.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp at Steamboat Creek from 1933 to 1941.  The enrollees made many improvements around area in Umpqua National Forest, working under the US Forest Service, including campgrounds, trails and bridges. One of the campgrounds developed by the CCC was Island Campground along the North Umpqua River and Highway 138.  It is a small, plain campground without special features.

The Medford OR post office and courthouse was originally constructed in 1916. An extension was added by the Treasury Department in 1940.  Treasury's Procurement Division was responsible for all federal buildings at the time and Louis A. Simon was the supervising architect. The extension was designed to match the original building, but it is clearly visible from the side wall joint, change in the bricks used and the plain roof line. The building is still in use by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. It was renamed the James A. Redden Federal Courthouse in 1996.

Collaborating with the Portland Public Schools, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a 1000 seat stadium for Jefferson High School in the summer of 1941.  The $14,000 project (1941 dollars) consists of an uncovered structure with restroom and concession facilities built in the rear.  The Oregonian, Portland’s morning newspaper, noted when the stadium structure was dedicated in October 1941 that the adjacent athletic field was also a WPA project, completed over the previous two years. Jefferson High School is notable as the high school of the historic African American community of north Portland.  Also worth noting is the 'mascot' of the...

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...

Although the majority of the New Deal era work completed on Johnson Creek addressed the stream’s annual flooding problems, the project brought some recreational benefits as well. WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers built a fish ladder in the channel and provided access to the stream for fishing. An overlook was built with local rock, which was quarried as part of the project.

Three different federal relief agencies took on the challenge of Johnson Creek’s annual flooding during the New Deal period, beginning with Oregon’s SERA (State Emergency Relief Agency) efforts. Responsibility for the project was transferred to the PWA (Public Works Administration) in 1935 and ultimately to the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1936. The Oregonian, Portland’s primary newspaper, noted in 1935 that the Johnson Creek flood control project would become one of the largest projects in the area as workers attempted “to curb the unruly stream” that caused thousands of dollars of damage every year. Over several miles of the...

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...

"The Klamath Armory houses units of the National Guard and is used also as an auditorium for large gatherings. The over-all dimensions of the building are 134 by 173 feet, and ti contains the drill hall 70 by 110 feet, a stage, a battery club room 22 by 52 feet, a banquet hall 22 by 52 feet, kitchen, quartermaster's supply and ordnance rooms, officers' rooms, and locker rooms. The exterior walls are brick trimmed with cast stone. It was completed in September 1935 at a construction cost of $93,731 and a project cost of $126,238."

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relief workers and Public Works Administration (PWA) funds contributed to construction of the Klamath Fish Hatchery during the 1930s and early 1940s.  It was originally owned and run by the Klamath tribe but was bought by the US Fish and Wildlife Service after the Second World War, when it was further expanded. "The fish hatchery we see wasn't begun until 1929, and from then on it slowly grew in size.  The first major improvements were made during the 1930s by men who came up from the Klamath Falls camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps. They constructed the...

“The Klamath Reclamation Project owes much to the CCC enrollees of Camp Klamath (BR-41) and Camp Tule Lake (BR-20). Between 1935 and 1941 the enrollees’ efforts, under the supervision of the Bureau of Reclamation, resulted in an expansion of the land area irrigated by the Project, and thereby increased the agricultural output of the region. Enrollees at these camps regularly worked on building water control structures of timber and concrete, digging ditches, clearing weeds, and killing rodents. However, some of the projects they completed were far from routine and demanded advanced skills and technical expertise. They also responded to emergencies...

“Almost immediately upon the initiation of CCC-ID work on the Klamath Reservation, several projects were outlined. Authority was granted to spend $25,000 to conduct CCC-ID conservation work. The first project, implemented on December 9, 1933, was coyote eradication. The second project, started on January 5, 1934, was the Agency-Lone Pine telephone line. The third was to construct the Sycan Bridge, which was started in January. Although the initial projects were not forestry related, most of the CCC-ID work on the Klamath Reservation concerned forestry activities such as fire hazard reduction, tree planting, mistletoe control and especially, pine bark beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis)...

“One of the most conspicuous reminders of the CCC program located along any state highway in Oregon is the Lake of the Woods Work Center. Situated about 30 miles northwest of Klamath Falls on OR-140, these structures were built from standard plans provided by the U.S. Forest Service architects. The ‘pine tree’ cutout, a symbol associated with both the USFS and the CCC, is clearly seen on the ranger station. Beyond the highway are Forest Service campgrounds originally developed by enrollees from Camp South Fork near Butte Falls during the 1930s.” –“CCC Landmarks: Remembering the Past”

In 1933-1934, Civilian Conservation Corps workers built several wood frame buildings to serve as the Ochoco National Forest's Supervisor's Warehouse or Lamonta Compound. Exemplifying the rustic architectural style developed by the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region, the three structures included an office/warehouse, maintenance shop, and oil and gas house. As described in a National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: "The Prineville Supervisor's Warehouse typifies the construction projects undertaken by the Civilian Conservation Corps and signifies the aid to the local community provided by the emergency work-relief program . . .  The Prineville Supervisor's Warehouse manifests the principles of comprehensive...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) became the New Deal's primary work relief program for the general population in 1935. WPA funds supported a number of projects in City of Portland parks. In the case of Laurelhurst Park, WPA funds provided wages for unemployed men to work on park maintenance.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made extensive improvements to Lithia Park, a 100-acre park at the heart of Ashland OR, from 1935 to 1938. Lithia Park was established in the early 20th century along Ashland Creek above the main town plaza, next to a small Chautauqua Park (added to Lithia Park in 1917).  A duck pond with waterfall was built on the site of an old flour mill in 1910 and then John McLaren, the designer of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, was invited to landscape the park in 1914-15.  McLaren transformed the little valley around the creek into a romantic...

Originally named the Longbow Forest Camp, the Longbow Organization Camp is a group facility constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Sweet Home Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest (WNF).  Starting during the winter season of 1937-1938, the CCC workers completed the campground during the winter season of 1938-1939. Their work was supervised by the US Forest Service. CCC workers from nearby Camp Cascadia (Co. #2907) improved the ten-acre campground along the banks of the South Santiam. They built six sleeping shelters, a community kitchen with attached dining, an amphitheater that seats seventy-five people, and a water system...

Macleay Park, a 130-acre portion of the City of Portland's enormous Forest Park, was the site of Works Progress Administration (WPA) works projects during the mid-1930s. WPA workers built several miles of trails,  access roads, and comfort stations, improving a park that provided access to nature within a short distance of the city center. The Stone House, shown in the photo, is a stone restroom facility that serves as a popular stop along the lower Macleay Park trail. Given its similarity to other comfort stations constructed with New Deal aid, the structure is often wrongly attributed to the WPA. In fact, it...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved a grant for construction of the Madras Grade School in 1938. The original, $35,000 four-room school building plus auditorium was designed by the Portland architectural firm of Roald & Schneider and constructed by Baldwin & Whier of Hood River. Substantial renovation work has expanded the school, currently called the Madras Elementary School. The front facade, however, retains much of its orginal colonial revival appearance. The one-story, red brick building is decorated with simplified classical details.

    As noted in the State of Oregon's Historic Preservation database: "The John Day Compound, Supervisor's Warehouse is a complex of work buildings, employee residences, and related infrastructure owned an operated by the Malheur National Forest in John Day, Oregon, United States. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936–1942, it is the headquarters for field operations in the national forest and is typical of projects carried out by the CCC on behalf of the Forest Service. It represents that era's shift in the Forest Service's architectural vision toward comprehensive site planning, as well as its policy evolution from custodial superintendence...

The federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop southeast Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the 1930s. "The Refuge was expanded on February 21st, 1935 to incorporate the 164,503 acre Blitzen Valley. The Blitzen Valley was purchased using funds made available under provisions of the Act for the Relief of Unemployment through the Performance of Useful Public Works and the National Industrial Act as established under Executive Order 7106 signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, July 19th, 1935. Between April and July, 1935 three CCC camps were established on Malheur refuge to fulfill that purpose." (www.fws.gov) The CCC built refuge buildings as well...

Among the many sanitary privies constructed by Work Project Administration (WPA) employees across America from 1935-1943, two latrines remain at Mark Prairie School near Canby, Oregon. Using the concrete vault design, these simple structures represented a significant increase in public health for rural schools and other primarily rural public and private facilities with an estimated 2.3 million WPA latrines installed across the country. The WPA reworked a U.S. Public Health Service concrete vault model outhouse to simplify its production. The standardized design produced a four foot by five foot wood-frame building with wood cladding and a braced-board door.. The interior specifications...

With the provision of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the City of Marshfield, Oregon replaced its crowded, thirty-year-old high school in 1939-1940 on the same site. Local funds covered 55% of project costs. The New Deal era campus construction included the main classroom building, an auditorium, and a new gym. At the time, the new gym was referred to as the west gym. Portland architect Francis Marion Stokes designed the concrete Art Deco structure. Additional buildings were added later to accommodate the high school's growth and changing needs but the Marshfield classroom building and Auditorium still dominate the eastern facade. Residents voted...

As noted on a history plaque at the Marshfield IOOF Cemetery: "The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds improvements to Ingersoll Avenue, including a 490-foot-long rock wall at the southern end of the cemetery." The WPA improvements occurred in 1938 and represent a significant improvement in shoring up the steep slope bordering Ingersoll Avenue.

Also referred to as the McKenzie River Campground, the McKenzie Bridge Campground was among the first campgrounds built with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor in the Willamette National Forest (WNF). The forest supervisor prioritized recreation projects in the WNF, setting a goal that 25% of CCC time be spent on recreational development with the remainder be spent on fire fighting and forest management responsibilities. CCC enrollees from Camp Belknap constructed the McKenzie Bridge Campground, laying out the site's roads and campsites, providing water, and constructing picnic tables as well as the needed facilities for camping and picnicking. Today at McKenzie Bridge...

Red oaks line a section of McLoughlin Boulevard on its southern entry into the City of Portland. The nearly ninety-year-old trees are the legacy of a highway beautification project funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934. The Oregon State Highway Commission selected this section on McLoughlin Boulevard (99E), along with two sections of Barbur Boulevard (99W), for the state's first comprehensive highway beautification program. Members of the Portland Garden Club joined in designing the landscape plans that focused on native plants. Funding for the six-mile section on McLoughlin Boulevard amounted to approximately $15,000, which covered landscape materials and a...

As motorists travel southbound on the Milwaukie section of McLoughlin Boulevard they pass through a corridor of Giant Redwood trees. The Public Works Administration funded the planting of these Sequoia Giantea in 1934. The Oregon State Highway Commission selected six miles of McLoughlin Boulevard (99E) that connects Milwaukie and Portland to launch the state's first comprehensive highway beautification program. The north unit is still marked by red oaks while this southern section is defined by the giant evergreen Redwoods. Funding for the entire six-mile section amounted to approximately $15,000 for landscape materials and the labor required to complete the landscaping.    

Restoration and preservation of the John McLoughlin House, dating from 1846, advanced in several ways during the New Deal era. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) funded local architects to document the house in 1934 as part of the first Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Over the course of several years, CWA and Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers provided the labor for house restoration efforts and landscape improvements at its site on Center Street.  Public Works Administration (PWA) funds supported the effort as well. Subsequently, the Secretary of the Interior designated the McLoughlin House a National Heritage Site on February 19,...

Oregon City's Grand Staircase links the historic center with the town's premier park located on a bluff 100-feet above it. Completed in 1939, the stone and cement pathway replaced an old wooden stairway in approximately the same location. Skilled and unskilled Works Progress Administration workers provided the labor for this feature of McLoughlin Promenade. Several aspects of the Grand Staircase make it distinctive. Workers cut a new pathway into the basalt bluff for the staircase. Natural landscaping and a man-made waterfall adjacent to the stairway enhanced the public amenity. Those aspects of the Grand Staircase's design established it as a safe,...

In 1851, Dr. John McLoughlin formally platted Oregon City reserving land along the city's prominent bluff for use as a park and naming that public amenity the Promenade. For decades, the Promenade's minimally improved walkway provided a view of the city's downtown, nearby neighborhoods, and rivers. That changed in 1936 when plans were made to improve the Promenade using skilled and unskilled Works Progress Administration workers. The plans involved three related projects: a stone and concrete pathway, the Grand Staircase, and Singer Falls. John L. Franzen, Oregon City's city manager and a registered engineer, designed all three integrated projects. The stone and...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers began construction of the Singer Hill Creek Falls landscape feature in May 1936. Oregon City manager J L Franzen designed the series of five waterfalls as part of improvements to the McLoughlin Promenade. WPA funding was $2500 for the combined waterfall project and the Promenade Staircase. Dropping from the Oregon City bluff at Eighth Street, Singer Creek falls into a series of twenty foot wide pools. Four of the pools create a ten foot drop while the fifth drops twelve feet. WPA masons used stone quarried locally encased in cement to create the park's water feature. This...

A Public Works Administration (PWA) grant provided approximately forty-four percent of the cost of constructing Milwaukie's City Hall in 1938. The simple Moderne style structure included space for the city's fire department as well as meeting the city's need for administrative office space. The red brick building was designed by Portland architect Walter E. Kelly with embellishment primarily at the entrance. The rounded arch entrance is decorated with four pilasters above the arch that have cast stone capitals. A few Art Deco features such as brass light fixtures at the entry complete the facade. The contractor Joseph H. Anderson built the...