CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Construction, Development, And Planning Activities In Crater Lake National Park: 1916-Present

(2) Construction of three employees cottages, bringing total number of houses in employees’ cabin area to ten

(3) Construction of 40-car parking area near utility area at park headquarters

(4) Landscaping at park headquarters and in rim area, including planting of 2,200 shrubs, plants, and trees at the former and 850 at the latter

(5) Obliteration of abandoned roads at park headquarters and some six miles of old Rim Road

(6) Signs and markers for buildings at park headquarters

(7) Construction of comfort station in rim area

(8) Construction of 30 individual camping sites and 20 fireplaces at Rim Campground

(9) Placement of 50 table and bench combinations in rim area

(10) Construction of 20 heavy log seats along Garfield and Lake trails

(11) Erection of small blacksmith shop at Annie Spring

(12) Construction of twenty table and seat combinations at Annie Spring Campground

(13) Construction of fifteen log table and bench combinations in Lost Creek Campground

(14) Construction of ten log table and fireplace combinations, cleanup, and layout of pathways in Cold Spring Campground

(15) Bank sloping of eight miles of roadway from the park’s west boundary to Annie Spring

(16) Obliteration and replanting of several dangerous parking overlook areas between park headquarters and the rim

(17) Erection of fences at the entrance of all park motorways to prohibit tourist travel

(18) Construction of fire protection truck trail from Union Peak Spur to Annie Spring

(19) Treatment of 1,200 acres of forest in vicinity of Cloudcap for blister rust disease

(20) Construction of two heavy stone motifs at the north and east entrances

A CCC “side camp” was maintained in the park during the winter of 1937-38, the enrollees engaging in snow removal from trails, roads, and buildings, interior building maintenance, and general assistance in park work.

During 1937 considerable work was conducted on the Rim Road

construction project with PWA funding under the direction of the Bureau of Public Roads. In his annual report for 1937 Superintendent Canfield described the road construction projects then underway:

Two contracts for the grading of 4.9 miles of new Rim Road were underway at the end of the year. These two units extend from Kerr Notch over the higher slopes of Dutton Ridge through Sun Notch to a point near Vidae Falls. This mileage covers a new high line route six to seven hundred feet higher than an old road in use for the past 17 years. The higher elevation opens up scenic areas of the park hitherto inaccessible and provides motorists with much wider panoramas of park and adjoining forest lands. An idea of the difficulty of the project is a rock cut 145 feet from the road gutter to the crest of the bank. Over 70% of the first two mile unit is composed of rock work and is not expected to be completed until the autumn of 1938.

A 12.3 mile unit of the Rim Road from the North Entrance to Cloudcap was rock surfaced during the year and was ready for oil treatment at the end of the year. Two units totaling 3.9 miles from Cloudcap to Kerr Notch were graded and at the end of the period were ready for rock surfacing. Invitations to bid on this job were advertised in June. A contract was to be awarded in July of the new fiscal year. With the present work underway and completed, only a unit of 3.3 miles remained at the end of the year untouched. It leads from Vidae Falls to Park Headquarters. Plans were carried forward to have this unit under contract before the end of the 1937 summer season. It is expected to have the entire rim road completed during the summer of 1939. [35]

In his annual report for 1938 Superintendent Leavitt discussed the beneficial aspects of the public works projects to park development. In particular, he singled out the contributions of the CCC, stating that much “of the work accomplished by CCC labor could otherwise not have been accomplished, or at least not for several years.” Of special interest to Leavitt were the cottages that had been built in the Sleepy Hollow employees’ cabin area. The cabins, according to Leavitt, eliminated “the use of tents and make it possible for employees to move their families in earlier in the spring than was previously possible when dependent on tents for housing.” [36]