Oregon Sites

Although the State's initial acquisition of land for the park occurred in 1931, the early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. As shown on the map below, a portion of the land that became Silver Falls State Park was once Silver Falls City.  Surrounding this old logging town, the...

The early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c. 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. During that period, a distinction was made between Silver Falls Park, which was accessible to the public, and the area designated as the Silver Creek Recreation Development Area (RDA), which was a special federal program designed to allow urban youth...

The early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the Federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c. 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. During that period, a distinction was made between Silver Falls Park, which was accessible to the public, and the area designated as the Silver Creek Recreation Development Area (RDA), which was a special federal program designed to allow urban...

Although the State's initial acquisition of land for the park occurred in 1931, the early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. As shown on the map below, a portion of the land that became Silver Falls State Park was once Silver Falls city. Surrounding this old logging town, the...

The bridge over the Siuslaw River at Florence OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges over Alsea Bay, Coos Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, and  Yaquina River that completed the Oregon Coast Highway. All but the Alsea River bridge still stand. The coast highway was developed after 1914 by the state and county highway departments, but money ran out in the Great Depression before the job could be finished.  With the advent of the New Deal, the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan of $4.2 million –...

Also known as Dillard Bridge, the original South Umpqua River Bridge was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project in 1939. The bridge has since been replaced.

This beautiful day-use park is located along Sprague River and just north of Hwy 140 and three miles east of Bly, OR. The park was designed and built by Camp Bly CCC members.

This historic CCC structure is located just west of Upper Applegate Rd and on a hillside, across the road from the current ranger station in Jackson County, OR. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This former ranger office was also constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934. "The agency utilized Companies 5463, 290 and 926 of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) stationed at nearby Camp Applegate F-41 to build new structures at the Star Ranger Station complex. The CCC construction activity occurred between 1934 and 1936 (Brown 1934-1937; RRNF. Historical Photograph Collection, ·File...

Civilian Conservation Corps workers from Camp Canyon Creek constructed a warming cabin to the south of Starr Ridge and just to the east of Highway 395 sometime between 1937 and 1940. The log structure with its impressive fireplace and chimney sits adjacent to a groomed sledding hill.

The State Highway Division Region 1 Office, originally known as the State Highway Division Office and State Police Headquarters Building, was constructed in 1938 by Works Progress Administration (WPA) employees. The total cost of the building, landscaped grounds, and associated out-buildings was $118,287 with $78,541 provided by WPA funds and the remaining provided by the state. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) state office building sits adjacent to Pacific Highway 99E, Oregon’s first “superhighway.” This section of the roadway named McLoughlin Boulevard had only been operating for three years when the rustic style building opened its doors for use as the...

"This building to the west of the Capitol Building was built as Salem's Post Office at a cost of $310,000, and was dedicated on October 16, 1937. It was the only marble post office west of the Mississippi River beside Denver's. It served as Salem's post office until 1976, when a new building on 25th Street took its place (until 2012, when it was decided to cease operations at that location). Today it serves as the State of Oregon Executive Building."

This oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Builders of Salem," was painted in 1942 by Andrew McD. Vincent, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The original post office lobby was subdivided into Conference Rooms A & B when the building became the Executive Building, and the mural now hangs in Conference Room A (https://www.oregon.gov/DAS/EAM/pages/building_info/executive.aspx).

There was a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) on Steamboat Creek,  ~1.5 miles up Steamboat Road from Highway 138, along this tributary of the North Umpqua River.   We were not able to locate a likely site for the camp on our visit to the area in 2022. According to a plaque put up by the National Association of CCC Alumni, Region 4, at Mott Bridge just east of the river and road junction, Steamboat Camp was occupied by CCC Companies 927, 703 and 3450 from 1933 to 1941 (not 1944 as stated on the informational panel nearby, because the CCC was...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved the Crook County School District's request for funds to construct a new high school in September 1935. A local bond raised $29,000 for the project and PWA funds provided the rest. Over the years, this one-story building has served several purposes, including its use as the school district's high school from 1936 to 1951. It is currently the Steins Pillar Elementary School. Portland area architect John Ernest Tourtleotte designed the $52,000 building in a style commonly known as PWA Moderne. The simple, modern lines of the school are accented with details that include both the...

During the hard winter months of 1933-1934, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a work relief program that employed Portlanders on a variety of needed projects. Street repair work was one such project category. These men are shown on January 26, 1934 repairing a street damaged by the collapse of a retaining wall at the intersection of NW Maywood Drive and NW Melinda Avenue in Portland's West Hills. The CWA served as a federal relief program from November 8, 1933 through March 31, 1934.  When the CWA began, Oregon anticipated being able to put 21,000 men back to work on small...

Located in the Umatilla Forest of northeastern Oregon, the Summit Creek Guard Station provides an early example of the US Forest Service's development of such forest management complexes. Overtime, guard stations replaced lookout towers. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees began construction of the complex in 1933. Other sources attribute development of the complex to work completed in 1938. The Depression-era bunkhouse and warehouse still stand. The bunkhouse is available for rental use.    

"The Sunset Highway No. 47 (see Oregon highways and routes), in the state of Oregon, is an official designation for the portion of U.S. Route 26 between its western terminus, south of Seaside, and the interchange with Interstate 405 in downtown Portland...The road was originally named the Wolf Creek Highway and was under construction by January 1933. Both the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps participated in the construction during the Great Depression. Portions of highway officially opened to the public on September 19, 1941. In 1949, the highway was completed." (Wikipedia) "The Wolf Creek and Wilson River highways were...

Workers from the Camp Sisters Civilian Conservation Corps (Company #1454) provided the necessary labor for improvement to US Forest Service land on the south shore of Suttle Lake over a number of years (approx.. 1935-1937). The CCC workers constructed campgrounds, trails, picnic spots, and outdoor fireplaces.  In 1936, the CCC members built the Suttle Lake-Camp Sherman road. On the south shore of Suttle Lake, a natural lake located within the Deschutes National Forest on the east side of the Cascades, are three large campgrounds and two day-use areas.

In 1935, the City of McMinnville applied for a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant to construct a public library on the grounds of Linfield College. As explained in the region's major newspaper, the Oregonian, the library was to be built by the city with a local bond ($36,000) and the PWA grant ($29,250). In this unusual arrangement, the City leased the library to Linfield, making the college responsible for its maintenance and operation. Initially, the public could use the library by paying the same fee for access required of the students. Located on the northwest edge of campus, the Linfield-McMinnville Library...

The Tillamook Burn was a series of forest fires occurring at approximately six-year intervals between 1933 and 1951. The fires destroyed 355,000 acres of old growth timber in what is now the Tillamook State Forest. At the time of the fires, the majority of timberland belonged to private timber companies. The CCC was instrumental both in fighting the fires in the early 1930s and in replanting much of the area destroyed by the burn.

Timberline Lodge was built as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose; but it was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Timberline Lodge  was constructed between 1936 and 1938, a rapid pace considering the frequently inclement weather on the mountain. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Lodge on September 28, 1937 – five months before completion of the interior in February 1938 – after which the lodge was opened to the public. The 'Magic Mile' chairlift and Silcox Hut at 7,000 feet opened in 1939.  The four-story structure...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

Timberline Lodge was built in 1936-38 as a ski lodge 6,000 feet up on Mount Hood, and it still serves that purpose.  It was equally a showcase for the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The four-story structure was built in Northwestern rustic style using large timbers and local stone, with a striking central "headhouse" built in a hexagon around a 90-foot stone chimney with large fireplaces on all sides. The interior is a marvel of decorative elements designed to feature Northwestern native and pioneer styles in wood carving, furniture, textiles, metal work, light fixtures, stone work and paintings. The interior decor...

The Tollgate Campground lies on Highway 26 in the Mount Hood National Forest, close to the village of Rhododendron OR.  It was built by Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) workers from the Zigzag CCC camp – one of many recreational facilities created by the CCC around Mount Hood during the New Deal, chiefly to serve the Portland area. This relatively small, day-use campground features a classic CCC picnic shelter and unusual stone fireplaces.    

The US Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) built the Toothrock Tunnel No. 4555  on the Columbia Gorge Highway near Bonneville, Oregon. Heading east on Interstate-84, as one approaches the Bonneville Dam, vehicles pass through an 837-foot, semicircular bore into Tooth Rock. Today, Toothrock Tunnel's artful design of basalt rockwork and concrete construction can be appreciated for its rustic, historic appearance as well as its 'natural' fit with the mountainous characteristics of the area. When plans were unveiled for it in 1935, however, it represented major improvements in modern highway design with its "skewed arch portals" fitting topographic conditions and a state-or-the-art lighting...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built many trails in the Umpqua National Forest, working under the US Forest Service out of several CCC camps (e.g., Steamboat, Illahee). Mention is made of these trails in some information panels around the national forest, but the only one definitely identified is a portion of the North Umpqua River trail between Steamboat and Panther Creek. We will add more information on these trails as it is uncovered.

Once the site of CCC Camp Trask, the Trask River County Campground provides day and camping facilities on the northern bank of the Trask River. Tillamook County currently manages this recreational land, located approximately fifteen miles east of the City of Tillamook. The campground was cleared for use as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp in 1937. CCC enrollees residing at the site also improved the campground by laying out picnic facilities and recreation trails. Additional CCC enrollees' improvements included tree planting, and road and bridge development in the area.

Built in 1940-41 to serve as a multi-purpose community center for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, this tribal hall is the last known intact New Deal Indian Community Building left in Oregon. Its funding came through the Works Projects Administration (WPA), the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA), and the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC-ID). The hall was designed to support what was then an unorganized group of Indians in southwestern Oregon in addressing economic, social, health and political needs. The functional building provided an auditorium to seat 300, a kitchen for canning...

With Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the Oregon Highway Department constructed Umatilla Bridge #2117, also known as the Ballpark Bridge, in 1935. Part of Highway #30 in Pendleton when constructed, Oregon's state bridge designer Conde B. McCullough drew art deco and classical design features together for the small structure. More recently, the bridge has been bypassed by the highway system. Now it provides pedestrian access to park and athletic facilities. As described by Sarah Munro, members of the public continue to view the "art deco inspired-pylons, ornate bridge railings, cantilevered sidewalks, and architectural treatment of the substructure."

The bridge at the mouth of the Umpqua River at Reedsport OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges across major rivers that completed the Oregon Coast Highway, four of which still stand. The coast highway had been developed since 1914 by the state and coastal counties, but money ran out in the Great Depression, until the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan of $4.2 million (replaced by a state bond issue). (HAER 1992, p 2-4). The Umpqua River bridge is over 2,200 feet long and includes a...

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s. The United States Forest Service (USFS)  began planning the recreational development of Union Creek in the 1920s, as outdoor recreation by automobile expanded rapidly. Subsequent development of the area followed forest service plans and the USFS has maintained the integrity of the district for the last century. There are almost one hundred...

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Union High School in Junction City OR. Excerpt from "A History of Junction City High School": "In 1934 because the Federal Government was offering Public Works Administration (PWA) grants for consolidation of school districts, the timing was good to merge. In Junction City’s circumstance, the PWA grant would pay for 45% of the $50,000 needed for a new high school. The board organized a bond election on August 10, 1936 to raise funds for the remaining money needed to build and equip the high school. In the fall of 1937, Junction City...

Located on the University of Oregon campus. Work on the ornamental Dads' Gates began in August 1940. They were formally dedicated on February 8, 1941, as part of the 14th annual Dad's Day celebration weekend. The UO Dads Club was the sponsor and underwriter of the project. The Dads Club was a patron-parent organization established in 1927. The concept for the gates began in 1938 and was supported with funding from the Dads Club with additional support from a PWA program. Abbot Lawrence, a UO architecture graduate and son of Ellis Lawrence, created the design that was executed by metal...

In 1935 when a baseball park was constructed near McArthur Court, plans got under way to create formal gates and entrances. The park was named Howe Field for Herbert Crombie Howe, an English professor and athletics supporter. Early on, Fred Cuthbert, UO's landscape architect, and Orion B. Dawson, blacksmith, were involved in the designs. Dawson was concurrently working on iron projects at Timberline Lodge. Funding for the project came from the Works Projects Administration, several UO classes, the Soldiers' Memorial Fund, and the Associated Students of the University of Oregon. The gates, sometimes known as the Soldiers' Memorial Gates, also...

"By the mid-1920s, the "Old Libe" (now Fenton Hall) had inadequate space to hold library materials even with its 1916 addition. Library collections were stored in several campus locations, including the second floor of Condon Hall. As a consequence of the Depression, Librarian Matthew Douglass with the strong support of Senator Fred Steiwer as able to obtain funding for a new library as a Public Works Administration project. The cost of the library, approximately $460,000, was paid through US gifts and loans and support from alumni and friends -- no state funds were expended for construction. Construction began on September...

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.   There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942.   CCC enrollees worked during summer...

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.  There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942, working out of the Upper...