Crater Lake National Park Administrative History

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

When Crater Lake was placed under the administration of the National Park Service in 1916 construction and development of park facilities became the major components of the park program. During the first year that Crater Lake was under the Park Service three new trails were constructed, all of which radiated from Crater Lake Lodge--one to the boat landing, 1-1/4 miles, descending 900 feet on a relatively easy grade; one to Garfield Peak, 1-1/4 miles, ascending 1,000 feet and affording magnificent views of the lake and the surrounding country; and one to the Watchman, 4 miles, affording "extraordinary views" of the lake along a winding trail that was passable by horses. Whereas the old trail to the lake had been narrow, steep, and subject to washouts, the new trail was constructed "with the idea of making it possible for men, women, and children of all ages and conditions of health to get down from the rim of the crater to participate in the sports of boating and fishing on the lake itself." The trail, according to Mather, would "result in lengthening the stay of every visitor to Crater Lake Park."

Road construction and improvements in the park, which had been underway for several years, continued under the National Park Service. In 1917 Superintendent Sparrow reported:

A few years ago an appropriation was made by Congress for the survey of a comprehensive system of roads within the park, the main feature of which consisted in a road entirely around the lake, close to the rim whenever possible. This survey was made under the direction of the Secretary of War, two seasons being required to complete it, and a report thereon was submitted to Congress, estimating the total cost, including $65,000 for a sprinkling plant, at approximately $700,000, and recommending that it be placed under the continuing contract feature in a manner similar to certain harbors. Of this amount an appropriation was made of $50,000 for use during the season of 1913, $75,000 for 1914, $85,000 for 1915, $50,000 for 1916, $50,000 for 1917, and $50,000 for 1918, making a total to date of $360,000.

Under these appropriations grading has proceeded steadily, resulting in the reconstruction of old roads and the building of new ones, until at this time there are 51 miles of well-constructed dirt roads in use, leaving 6 miles of construction for the season of 1918, when the road around the rim will be complete, providing an excellent highway that will soon become famous throughout the world for its unsurpassed scenic beauty and grandeur.

Despite the progress in road development Mather felt that all roadwork at Crater Lake and other Park Service areas should be carried out under the direction of the Department of the Interior rather than the War Department. This would insure

that uniform policy in the improvement of all parks may be formulated and followed and for the further reason that it is most desirable to have all park roads maintained for the benefit of the tourist solely and with his interest constantly in mind.

In addition to the development of roads within the park, Mather devoted considerable attention to the problem of adequate approach roads to Crater Lake. In 1917, for instance, he reported:

The roads leading to the various gateways of the park from Medford, Klamath Falls, and Kirk, Oreg., have not been in good condition during the past season. The road from Medford to the park boundary, a total length of 72 miles, was not built as an automobile road in the beginning and must be largely reconstructed. Jackson County and the citizens of Medford have spent large sums of money in improving sections of this road, and their work is of such a permanent character that the surfacing of their improvements is all that now remains to finish them. It is a fact that Jackson County and its citizens have aided in the improvement of this road to the limit of their capacities, and the time has now come when the State of Oregon and the Federal Government must combine to permanently improve this main highway into the park. It is my understanding that the State of Oregon has already arranged to cooperate with the Federal Government and that the basis of Federal assistance under the good roads act is all that is necessary to be determined before improvement work is begun.

If a satisfactory basis can not be determined within a short time, it would seem that a new plan involving direct appropriations by the Federal Government and by the State for the purpose of rebuilding the approach roads, not only from Medford but from Klamath Falls, in connection with the intrapark system, should be devised. It must be understood that the counties of southern Oregon can not possibly build these approach roads or even keep them in repair. They can not raise sufficient funds by subscription or taxation--Jackson County, in which the Medford approach road lies, has already reached the limit of its authority to bond itself for road-building purposes. . . . A park tour, including a trip over both the Medford and Klamath Falls roads--that is, in one gateway and out the other--is and should be the favorite way of seeing this park. The road up the Rogue River Canyon on the Medford side is interesting on account of the volcanic origin of the canyon itself and beautiful because there is so much timber and so many vistas of far-scenery visible between the trees. On the other hand, the road down from Crater Lake to Klamath Falls through the Klamath Indian Reservation and along the shore of Klamath Lake is a scenic road of the highest order.

Utility systems in the park also received considerable attention by the National Park Service in 1917. Superintendent Sparrow described the operation and proposed changes in the telephone system to better serve park operations:

The National Park Service controls 20 miles and the United States Engineer Department controls 34 miles of telephone lines in the park. All service in the park is free. Government messages are transmitted free over 9 miles of commercial line to Fort Klamath, in exchange for 50 per cent of the revenue from private calls to or from the park. The revenue from this service is small and necessitates a switchboard at park headquarters. A movement, however, is under way to obviate the necessity of this switchboard. The United States Engineer Department also has 14 miles of line from the east entrance of the park to Kirk, at the end of the railroad. Considering the temporary construction of much of these lines, the service is very good.

Echoing the earlier recommendations of William G. Steel, Sparrow indicated the need for installation of a water system on the rim near the lodge "for the use of campers and for other purposes." This water supply was "of the utmost importance" because, according to the superintendent, only "through the generosity of the Crater Lake Co. in furnishing water to us were we enabled to establish a construction camp of 25 men on the rim instead of 1 mile distant from our trail work."

During 1917 two ranger cabins were constructed at the east and west entrances of the park to complement the existing cabin at the south entrance. The ranger cabins were formally styled log structures that bear a striking relationship to later, purposely rustic, park structures. A photograph of one of the cabins was included in the Annual Report of the Director of the National Park Service with the caption that the structure was illustrative of the type of ranger station adopted for the park. Although the highly stylized appearance of the two cabins suggests that either a landscape architect or an environmentally-sensitive architect played a role in the buildings' design, research has not been able to confirm this supposition. [1]

On May 13, 1918, Secretary of the Interior Lane sent a letter to NPS Director Mather, articulating a general policy statement to provide a sound basis for the administration and development of the National Park System. The policy statement detailed the parameters that would govern future construction and development in each unit, including Crater Lake, in the embryonic system. The statement emphasized the necessity of environmentally-sensitive construction, design, and development in the parks:

In the construction of roads, trails, buildings, and other improvements, particular attention must be devoted always to the harmonizing of these improvements with the landscape. This is a most important item in our programs of development and requires the employment of trained engineers who either possess a knowledge of landscape architecture or have a proper appreciation of the esthetic value of park lands. All improvements will be carried out in accordance with a preconceived plan developed in special reference to the preservation of the landscape, and comprehensive plans for future development of the national parks on an adequate scale will be prepared as funds are available for this purpose. [2]

Park development continued at Crater Lake in 1918 under the watchful eye of Mather and the immediate supervision of Sparrow. In his annual report that year Mather reported on the progress that had been made in improvements to roads, campgrounds, trails, and facilities in the park to enhance the qualities of the visitor's experience:

. . . Negotiations extending over a considerable period of time finally resulted, during the early spring of this year, in the approval by the Secretary of Agriculture of a cooperative agreement covering the development of these [approach] roads [from Medford and Klamath Falls]. The Federal funds to be made available will come from appropriations authorized in the Federal aid roads act for national forests. No reconstruction work will be done during the war, but the project is to be undertaken immediately upon the return of peace; in other words, the project is a preferred one. The rebuilding of these forest roads and the completion of the Rim Road by this Service will give Crater Lake National Park merited importance as an objective for motor travel.

Congress appropriated $50,000 for the completion of the grading of the Rim Road, but it is not likely that the work can be finished this year. Of the total of 35 miles, the 14 miles between Cloudcap and Watchman must be improved. Increased labor costs, difficulties experienced in securing men, and other obstructive influences have contributed to the situation. It will probably require $7,000 to complete the work. The Corps of Engineers of the Army will authorize its transfer to the National Park Service in the next sundry civil bill. It is clearly the intent of Congress that all work of maintaining the system shall be intrusted to this Bureau, and as there is little to be done to complete the Rim Road it seems hardly necessary to require the Corps of Engineers to organize another field party next year when the superintendent of the park can handily perform this work at much less expense. The economies attending the combination of engineering and administrative office forces, the establishment of single management et cetera should also be considered at this time.

The public camp grounds on the rim of the crater were greatly improved during the summer season. A large tank and pumping equipment have been purchased and will soon be installed for the purpose of supplying water to campers on the rim grounds which are located a short distance west of the hotel in a beautiful alpine park area commanding a wonderful view of the lake. Heretofore, water has been taken from the very inadequate hotel supply. The camp grounds will be equipped with shower baths if the water supply can be developed as expected. In this park, as in all others, special attention is constantly given to maintaining public camp grounds in a thoroughly sanitary condition.

The accessibility of the new Rim Road, and all of the new trails from this camping area on the rim of Crater Lake should make it one of the most popular camping grounds in the national park system, and should attract the pedestrian and horseman as well as the motorist.

The splendid new trail from Crater Lake Lodge to the shore of the lake, one of the important improvements of last year, has given pleasure and refreshment to thousands, and, as we expected, elderly people and visitors wholly unaccustomed to climbing availed themselves of the opportunity to make the delightful trip from the lodge to the edge of the lake, thence in motor boats around the lake to Wizard Island and the Phantom Ship, and to other points of interest. The new trails to Garfield Peak and the Watchman were also exceedingly popular during the past season. A trail to the summit of Union Peak is now under construction and will be finished before the park is closed for the winter. [3]

The unsurfaced 35-mile Rim Road was completed, with the exception of eight miles that required further widening and grading, and opened to the public on August 2, 1918. Later that month Mather made the trip around the lake, pronouncing it "a wonderful scenic tour" and the "most important feature in the development and administration" of the park during the year. Mather went on to state that the "road is one of the finest scenic highways of the world.'' Not only were the ''views of the marvelous lake superb and unique, but the glimpses of the surrounding region that falls away from the crater are only slightly less sensational." In order to provide the visitor with "even more thrilling views of Crater Lake or the adjacent mountain region than that afforded at the points where the Rim road overlooks cliffs of the crater," new trails had been built from the road to Sun Notch and Crater Peak.

By an Act of Congress of July 19, 1919, the road engineering work in Crater Lake National Park was transferred from the Corps of Engineers to the National Park Service. All property and equipment of the corps that had been purchased with park funds were delivered to the Park Service, and anticipating the transfer the corps placed the direction of the improvement work under Superintendent Sparrow at the beginning of the 1919 summer season. [4] With the transfer of this engineering work the National Park Service, according to Mather "gained complete control of the last national park in which authority was divided between it and the War Department."

With the completion of the Rim Road Mather focused his attention on two problems relating to roads both inside and outside the park. A permanent paving program was needed on park roads to prevent dust problems, insure more economical maintenance, and make them more durable. In this regard Mather observed:

Because of the nature of the soil in Crater Lake National Park, which in many places is either a volcanic ash or volcanic sand, in many stretches of the road natural surfaces are impossible to maintain. Where the road surface is a volcanic-ash soil it rapidly breaks up under automobile travel and becomes a finely pulverized and almost impalpable dust, which, when dry, flows much like Portland cement, filling the ruts and chuck holes so that to the eye they appear fairly smooth, yet offering no cushion to absorb the shock of the rut or chuck hole. Much of this dust is puffed into the air by the wheels of the automobile, where it remains in suspension for a long time, filling the eyes and nostrils of the occupants of automobiles, and often obscuring the view.

The sandy soil is of a very friable nature and impossible to pack or consolidate, and as a result many automobiles get stuck when these sandy stretches occur on hills, as is the usual case. That these conditions would exist was known in advance of the construction of the road system, for the roads at Crater Lake were built by the Engineer Corps in accordance with the scheme or project outlined in House Document No. 328, Sixty-second Congress, second session, in which provision was made for surfacing the entire system of roads with macadam, and the construction and maintenance of a sprinkling system to keep the macadam roads in repair and free from dust. During the first season of actual road construction short stretches of experimental road surfaces were laid, and it was developed that an oil-bound macadam, which was about as cheap as water-bound macadam, satisfactorily withstood travel demands, while the water-bound macadam did not.

Much of the 57 miles of road constructed is in material that with a reasonable fund for maintenance can be kept in a fair condition for travel, but perhaps half of this mileage is in need of permanent surfacing, which is the best and only economical method of maintaining it. Certain short sections of the road that are in most need of surfacing should be surfaced each season until all of the bad sections are thus improved, and in line with this idea I have included in the estimate for 1921 an item for surfacing 3 miles most in need of this treatment.

The other continuing concern of Mather was the deteriorating state of approach roads to the park. Now that World War I was over and federal and state funds were again available he wished to see the approach roads quickly rebuilt or repaired in order to develop Crater Lake "as a resort for motorists." Particularly disturbing to Mather was the poor condition of the state road leading to the park from Medford. He observed:

. . . The section around Prospect was the worst part of the highway. The State is now working in this region on an entirely new road, but little was done to keep the present road in anything approaching proper usable condition. With the very heavy travel of this year it became deeply rutted and terribly dusty.