[Hist_Pres] Recent Listings in the National Register of Historic Places

[Cara Kaser]

The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce the
recent listings of the Owyhee Dam Historic District and Santiam Wagon
Road in the National Register of Historic Places.

Owyhee Dam Historic District
Adrian vcty, Malheur Co.
NR# 10000791
LISTED, 09/23/2010

Designed and constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation beginning in
1927, the Owyhee Dam Historic District consists of the Owyhee Dam and
several dozen buildings and structures associated with the dam. These
resources include a residential camp, industrial buildings, and other
features that date from between the period 1927 and 1939. The district
was listed in the National Register for its important and historic
association with irrigated agriculture in eastern Oregon and western
Idaho as part of the larger Owyhee Project. The district was also listed
for its national significance for the design and construction of the
Owyhee Dam, which served as a testing grounds for new dam technology and
engineering. New technology first used in the Owyhee Dam later served in
other Bureau of Reclamation projects, including Hoover Dam.

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation
recommended the Owyhee Dam Historic District nomination in June 2010.
Seventeen historic properties in Malheur County are now listed in the
National Register, which is maintained by the National Park Service
under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. 

Santiam Wagon Road
Rural Linn & Deschutes Cos.
NR# 10000795
LISTED, 09/23/2010

Officially opened in 1866, the Santiam Wagon Road was listed in the
National Register for its role in helping to connect Oregon’s two
disparate sections, the Willamette Valley in the west and the Deschutes
River Basin in the east, by providing a primary means of transportation
across the central Cascade Mountains from the mid-nineteenth through
early twentieth centuries. The Santiam Wagon Road helped contribute to
the economic development on both the east and west sides of the Cascade
Mountains by providing a more reliable route to facilitate trade,
commerce, and communication. The road also helped shape the settlement
patterns of central Oregon, as former Willamette Valley residents made
the journey east to establish new homes, ranches, farms, and businesses.
The Santiam Wagon Road served as an important transportation link in
Oregon for over 50 years before becoming largely obsolete with the
completion and opening of the modern McKenzie Highway (OR 242) in 1920.

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation
recommended the Santiam Wagon Road nomination in October 2009. The road
joins three other wagon roads in Oregon listed in the National Register,
which is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. 

More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings
is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on “State Historic
Preservation Office” at left of page and then “National
Register”). 

--
Cara Kaser
Architectural Historian
State Historic Preservation Office
Oregon Parks & Recreation Department
Phone: (503) 986-0784
Fax: (503) 986-0793
cara.kaser at state.or.us