Santiam Pass Ski Lodge makes National Historic Register
The Santiam Pass Ski Lodge in Linn County is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Tuesday.
The USDA Forest Service prepared and nominated this property to the National Register and Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation supported the listing of this nomination. The National Park Service — which maintains the National Register — accepted the nomination on Oct. 18.
The Santiam Pass Ski Lodge is representative of an important period of development that shaped public lands to facilitate access and usage for outdoor recreation for the general public. The lodge was constructed between July 1939 and February 1940 and was the result of collaborative efforts by the USDA Forest Service with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor.
Located on the Santiam Pass on Highway 20 in the McKenzie River Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest, the Santiam Lodge was instrumental in creating a place for citizens to sleep and get meals in the mountains at a reasonable cost while they participated in winter sports activities around the area. It was operated in the capacity of winter ski lodge from 1939 until 1958.
This property is one of the few remaining extant Rustic ski lodge facilities built by the Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest during the intensive building program between 1939 and 1941. The Santiam Lodge building was built in the Rustic style, an architectural style known for embracing a philosophy that is cohesive with the surrounding environment by using materials derived from local sources with a simple or natural finish.
On May 10, the Willamette National Forest signed the operating plan and special use permit for the restoration of the Santiam Pass Ski Lodge. The new permittees, Susan and Dwight Sheets, will be working with community members and foundations to renovate the CCC-built Lodge to its former condition. You can learn more about the work they are doing by visiting their website www.santiampassskilodge.org.
The Santiam Pass Ski Lodge is one of 67 individually listed historic properties in Linn County. The National Register of Historic Places was established as part of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
The Forest Service Heritage Program seeks to preserve, protect and educate the public about historic sites. The Santiam Pass Ski Lodge, and many other Forest Service historic sites, reflect the agency’s commitment to working with partners, state agencies, and local communities to preserve the past. Learn more about the Forest Service Heritage Program at www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/heritage
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon lists is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on “National Register” at left of page).
