[OR_Archaeology] ROPE-CUTTING CEREMONY PLANNED AT FORT UMPQUA CEREMONY

[Susan White]

ROPE-CUTTING CEREMONY PLANNED AT FORT UMPQUA CEREMONY

Fort Umpqua Days is a two-day celebration held Sept. 5-6 in Elkton. In 2009, the celebration will feature Fort Umpqua as well as the Oregon Sesquicentennial commemorating the 150th year of statehood.  

The replication of the Fort Umpqua complex at the Elkton Community Education Center in the town's west end is a work in progress.  The complete project plans, which are based upon several historic records of the original 1836 fort, have been drawn and approved by the Douglas County Planning Department and the Douglas County Building Department. As of last month, the stockade, bastions and gate are up and ready for a special dedication ceremony at Fort Umpqua Days at 1 p.m. Sept. 6.

The three buildings inside the fort will be the next major project at this site.  The original fort was located one mile upstream from the center's site, but fire and flood destroyed it.  For more information,
visit www.elktoncommunityeducationcenter.org or phone 541-584-2692.