Last updated: August 23, 2023
Place
Silver Creek Youth Camp - Silver Falls State Park
Courtesy of the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
20024 Silver Falls Hwy., Sublimity, Oregon
Significance:
Conservation, Entertainment/Recreation, Landscape Architecture, Social History
Designation:
Listed in the National Register - Reference number 02000673
MANAGED BY:
The Silver Creek Youth Camp in Sublimity, Oregon was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The camp is significant both for its association with New Deal-era programs, as well as being an example of the parks planning principles used by the National Park Service during the 1930s.
The origins of the camp are tied to the assistance programs of the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which recruited laborers to work for the Departments of Agriculture and Interior. Under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS), members of the CCC assisted with the development of state and county park systems. In Oregon, the CCC helped develop Silver Falls State Park.
In 1934, the NPS set up the Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) program, which sought to further build out the country's recreational infrastructure. The area surrounding Silver Falls State Park was selected for further recreational development as an RDA, and an advisory committee determined that the creation of youth camping facilities would be the best expenditure of public funds. Architects Keith R. Maguire and David. E. Thompson were tapped to design the camp in the National Park Service Rustic style, which emphasized harmonizing construction with the natural environment.
Once construction on the project was complete in 1938, the camp was occupied by the Salem YMCA, who has held the permit for use of the camp ever since.
The origins of the camp are tied to the assistance programs of the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which recruited laborers to work for the Departments of Agriculture and Interior. Under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS), members of the CCC assisted with the development of state and county park systems. In Oregon, the CCC helped develop Silver Falls State Park.
In 1934, the NPS set up the Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) program, which sought to further build out the country's recreational infrastructure. The area surrounding Silver Falls State Park was selected for further recreational development as an RDA, and an advisory committee determined that the creation of youth camping facilities would be the best expenditure of public funds. Architects Keith R. Maguire and David. E. Thompson were tapped to design the camp in the National Park Service Rustic style, which emphasized harmonizing construction with the natural environment.
Once construction on the project was complete in 1938, the camp was occupied by the Salem YMCA, who has held the permit for use of the camp ever since.