[or-roots] Tiller Trail Highway

[CKlooster at aol.com]

Thought this might interest people with ancestors in the South Umpqua  Valley 
of Douglas County.  There are a few photos on the website which is  in the 
first stages of construction.
 
_http://spaces.msn.com/savetillertrailhwy/_ 
(http://spaces.msn.com/savetillertrailhwy/) 
 
This highway has been subject to several projects to widen the road over  the 
last seven or eight years.  A project is scheduled to reconstruct the  last 
section between Canyonville and Days Creek.  Local residents have  apparently 
formed a group to protest the project since it will mean the  destruction of 
some of the last (and best preserved) of the barns constructed by  Narcisse 
Gingras, a prominent figure in Oregon history.  Gingras is also  known for 
constructing a grist mill in the Frenchtown area; as well as several  dryers and 
barns in Douglas County. Born at Fort Okanogan on the Columbia  River, Gingras was 
last married to Cecile Dumont and settled in the South  Umpqua Valley. 
 
The barns still remaining on the Laurance property were built by Gingras  
working with some of his relatives (by marriage) of the Dumont and  Rondeau 
families who were among the earliest settlers in the area.  These  barns have been 
very well cared for by the Laurance family and are  frequently photographed by 
tourists simply because they are picturesque.   These barns have to be among 
the oldest buildings of Douglas County and are  historically significant.  I'm 
not sure that any kind of historical  inventory has been done of the project 
area.
 
The project will also remove the stretch of road known as the Avenue of  
Trees (or simply as "shady lane");  a short "lane" of large trees  whose branches 
form a leafy canopy over the road during the summer  months.  The project will 
also affect several other historic farms and  buildings.
 
If I seem to be waxing poetic over this stretch of road, it is  because I 
grew up along it and frankly felt sick when I learned that so  much history will 
be sacrificed for a project that is really not  needed.  I hope that the 
Douglas County Commissioners can be persuaded to  reconsider the this project but 
have no confidence that this will be  so. 
 
Carla
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/or-roots/attachments/20060130/9e671a62/attachment.html>