Smullin Visitor Center Signs - Josephine County, Oregon - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Sign 1 Name: From Tents to Tenants
Sign 1 Text: Imagine moving to the beautiful and rugged Rogue River canyon in 1909 for a brand new job. That’s what Jesse Dewitt did when he arrived as the first Galice District Ranger of the newly created Siskiyou National Forest.
Eight Years . . . . in a Tent!
Employee housing left a lot to be desired. Jesse and his family lived in a tent while awaiting permission to build a house from the Almeda Consolidated Mines Company. In 1916, Ranger Dewitt wrote Forest Supervisor Nelson MacDuff: ”. . . The present ranger headquarters . . . do not provide any conveniences for the proper handling of the work and my family is forced to live in cramped and unsanitary quarters . . . If I had the necessary funds I would go ahead and construct quarters at my own expense . . . Real live action is needed more than anything else . . . I have lived here for the past eight years under adverse conditions . . . The land is simply lying there unused and there is no apparent reason why I should put up with temporary quarters indefinitely.”
Cheap Rent
At last, in 1916, the Almeda Consolidated Mines Company rented a small parcel of land to the Forest Service for 10 years at the cost of one dollar per year. In 1917 construction began on frame buildings for the Rand Ranger Station, including a home, a barn and an office. In 1932, the mining claim lapsed and the Forest Service permanently occupied the site.
All in a Days Work
Early in the 20th century, Forest Rangers worked on trail construction, timber harvest, telephone line construction, firefighting and fire lookout construction. By 1914, the Siskiyou National Forest had 156 miles of telephone line between the lookouts and ranger stations.

Sign 2 Name: The Arrival of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Sign 2 Text: The 1930s and the Great Depression brought hard times to the nation. To create jobs and enhance public lands, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In September 1933, the first enrollees at Rand came from Illinois and belonged to the CCC Company No. 1650. CCC enrollees came from urban and rural areas and many had never seen a National Forest.
Work Begins
Crews built barracks to house over 200 CCC enrollees. The Forest Ranger Station was expanded and remodeled. They built a garage, woodshed, fire warehouse, barn, blacksmith shop, gas house, and rock walls at the Ranger Station. According to Forest Ranger L.J. Cooper, the work the CCC did on Almeda Road No. 340 was “pronounced by some as being the hardest construction job carried on by the Forest Service in the West.”
Tough Times, Tougher Men
It seemed CCC enrollees could do anything! The men chipped away rock-hard canyon walls to build and improve the first roads into the area. During the summer and fall, they battled wildfires on the rugged canyon slopes. Crews constructed a 344-foot long cable suspension bridge across the Rogue River at Grave Creek.

Sign 3 Name: Pathways to the Future
Sign 3 Text: The focus of Rand shifted over time. By August 1941, World War II loomed. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees quickly left Camp Rand as military and war-related industries beckoned. Officials disbanded Camp Rand and development slowed as America turned its attention to war.
From Tools to Toys
After World War II, the U.S. experienced economic prosperity. Interest in outdoor recreation grew as people discovered they had the time and money to spend in leisure activity. Many of the roads built by the Civilian Conservation Corps allowed tourist to experience the back country of southern Oregon.
The River Beckons
Anglers, hikers and boaters flocked to the Rogue River canyon. In 1963, the Siskiyou National Forest moved the Galice Ranger District headquarters to Grants Pass and river recreation became the focus at Rand. In 1968, the Rogue River became one of the eight original Wild and Scenic Rivers, under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Bureau of Land Management acquired the Rand site in 1970 and continues to manage it today, primarily for river recreation.
Rand Makes History
In 1999, the Rand site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With its rich history, Rand provides present and future generations a glimpse into the past.

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