Camp Abbot
Camp Abbot | |
---|---|
cantonments | |
Site information | |
Owner | U.S. Forest Service - public; Sunriver Resort Limited Partnership - private |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
Built by | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
In use | March 1943 - June 1944 |
Demolished | ca. 1945 |
Camp Abbot was a military training center in the northwest United States, located in central Oregon south of Bend. Active for less than sixteen months, the U.S. Army camp was used to train combat engineers during World War II and was named for Henry Larcom Abbot.
A large part of site is now the residential and Resort community of Sunriver, and the rest has been incorporated into the Deschutes National Forest. The only remaining structure from Camp Abbot is the officers' mess hall; now part of the resort and known as the Great Hall, it is used for large conferences and special events.
Site history
In 1855,
The Williamson-Abbot survey party included a
While in central Oregon, illness forced Williamson to return to California, which left Abbot in charge of the expedition. On 4 September 1855, Abbot and a detachment of the survey party camped along the Deschutes River, near the site of the future Camp Abbot. He completed the survey of central Oregon, crossed the
World War II
During World War II, the Army needed to rapidly expand its combat engineer training. On 4 December 1942, the War Department established a 5,500-acre (8.6 sq mi; 22 km2) combat engineer replacement and training center in central Oregon, along the Deschutes River south of Bend. It was named in honor of Brigadier General Henry Larcom Abbot, who had led a survey party through the area in 1855.
The first trainees arrived at Camp Abbot in March 1943, even before the camp was formally dedicated on 2 September 1943.
Approximately 10,000 soldiers were trained during each 17-week cycle, with training conducted in three phases. The first part of the course focused on rifle
Over 90,000 combat engineers were trained at Camp Abbot before the center was closed in June 1944, shortly after the D-Day landings. Most of the camp structures were demolished shortly after the training center closed.[4][7]
Post-war development
In the years following the war, a portion of the camp property was returned to the U.S. Forest Service, but approximately 3,800 acres (6 sq mi; 15 km2) were sold as private land. That property changed hands a number of times, until it was purchased by John Gray in 1965. Gray began development of Sunriver Resort, selling the first residential lots in 1968.
Today, Sunriver is a residential community along with a luxury resort with a 250-room lodge, golf courses, restaurants, and an executive airport. There are approximately 4,000 homes along with a small commercial district that supports the shopping needs of the community.[8][9][10] Alpine skiing is nearby at Mount Bachelor.
Original structures
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Camp_Abbot_Officers_Mess_08.jpg/220px-Camp_Abbot_Officers_Mess_08.jpg)
at Sunriver Resort (shown in 2007)
Today, only one original Camp Abbot building remains. The officers' mess hall was built in 1943 by the Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Captain John V. Banks. It remains at its original location as Sunriver Resort's Great Hall, used for large conferences and special events, such as banquets and weddings.[9]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/General_Patch_Bridge%2C_Deschutes_National_Forest%2C_Oregon.png/180px-General_Patch_Bridge%2C_Deschutes_National_Forest%2C_Oregon.png)
The historic Great Hall is an impressive log structure measuring 50 by 96 feet (15 by 29 m), constructed with native stone and logs cut near the building site. It has a high ceiling with exposed beams, a large stone fireplace, and a balcony overlooking the main floor. There are also small side rooms including an intimate fireside room and a number of conference rooms. In 1993, Sunriver Resort completed a major renovation of the historic Great Hall, and it is now a modern facility with unique architectural character.[8][9]
The only other major Camp Abbot structure to survive for an extended period was the General Patch Bridge which was constructed in 1943 by Army engineers during the
The General Patch Bridge was located on Deschutes National Forest land within the boundaries of old Camp Abbott. It was demolished by the Forest Service in 2008 because the structure was unsafe.[14]
Other structures, such as the barracks, were auctioned off by the Army as surplus. Two such barracks were bought by J.H. Gibbons, a Texas rancher, and converted to use as a hunting and fishing lodge, which was completed in 1948 and remains in use today on the Gibbons Ranch in San Saba County, Texas.
References
- ^ a b c Abbot, Charles Greeley, Biographical Memoir of Henry Larcom Abbot, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1929.
- ^ a b c Jette, Melinda, "Mount Jefferson and Black Butte", Oregon History Project, Oregon Historical Society, 2003.
- ^ a b McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 140.
- ^ a b "Here Come the Servicemen: Oregon Military Facilities", Life on the Home Front Oregon Responds to World War II, online exhibit, Oregon State Archives, Oregon Secretary of State, Salem, Oregon, 2008.
- ^ "History" Archived 2008-10-05 at the Wayback Machine, Sunriver Visitor Guide, Sunriver Publishing, Bend, Oregon, 10 May 2009.
- ^ Person, Gus (Installation historian), "Old replacements training center transformed Soldiers to engineers" Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, Belvoir Eagle, Installation Public Affairs Office (in cooperation with Media General Operations Inc., Woodbridge, Virginia), Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 14 April 2008.
- ^ "Sunriver History" Archived 2009-06-13 at the Wayback Machine, Deschutes County Government, www.co.deschutes.or.us, Bend, Oregon, 10 May 2009.
- ^ a b Anderson, John Gottberg (February 1, 2009). "A Sunriver 'stay-cation' - Making the road close to home a little more traveled". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon).
- ^ a b c "Camp Abbot Officers Club". Deschutes County Landmarks. (Bend, Oregon): Deschutes County Government. 17 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ^ "The Resort", Sunriver Resort, www.sunriver-resort.com, Sunriver, Oregon, 10 May 2009.
- ^ a b McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 398.
- ^ "General Patch Bridge Removal", Environmental Assessment, Deschutes National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Bend, Oregon, June 2008, p. 3.
- ^ "Senate Bill 449" Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, 75th Oregon Legislative Assembly, Salem, Oregon, 2009.
- ^ "Patch Bridge Removal", contract solicitation, Deschutes National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Hermiston, Oregon, 29 July 2008.