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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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)… read more
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… read more
"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,… read more
“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… read more
“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… read more
“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… read more
“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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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,… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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,… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
Mott Bridge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935-36. It is the one remaining wooden bridge of several the CCC constructed in the Umpqua River canyon. It was the work of enrollees from the Steamboat CCC camp… read more
“The Multnomah County Poor Farm in Troutdale was built in 1911 to replace Multnomah County’s first home for the destitute, the Hillside Farm in Portland’s West Hills. The latter institution, which housed the poor, ill, and disabled, was inspected in… read more
“Munson Valley Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 for its landscaping and eighteen of the buildings. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, landscape architects Thomas Vint, Merel Sager, and Francis Lange oversaw the development… read more
The State of Oregon received a two-acre, ocean-front property from Jack Ponsler in 1939 to be made into a public park in memory of his wife Muriel O. Ponsler. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees provided the labor to develop it. The… read more
Founded in 1937, the Museum of Contemporary Craft was originally located in 3934 SW Corbett Avenue. At the time, it was known as the Oregon Ceramic Studio and became the Contemporary Crafts Gallery in 1965. The studio was built with… read more