EARLY ROADS TO AND WITHIN RIM VILLAGE
Arant’s Road (Ca 1902-1914)
In October of 1902, Superintendent Arant employed a surveyor and hired laborers to locate and stake-out a road from “the base of the mountain” to the rim. The route selected generally followed the route of the wagon trail blazed in 1869 by the Sutton party, terminating at the rim east of the lodge. (The original road to the rim followed the north side of a ridge running generally southwesterly from the summit. The new road followed the same ridge but was located on the south side of the ridge). The following spring, construction of the new road began. A bridge was built across Anna Creek, grades were improved and surfaces leveled. By the end of August 1903, 2 miles of the road were completed leading north from the new park headquarters at the head of Anna Creek, and by the end of the work season in October, the road was completed to within 1 mile of the lake. Progress was made in the following year and in 1905, the new road from headquarters to the rim was open to the public. The road was described as a “comfortable one,” as straight as it was “practicable to make it.” The steepest grade was a reported 10 percent, far less than the 33 percent along most of the existing road, which was, by this time, virtually abandoned. The following year the road to the rim was reported in good condition, requiring only “smoothing out” and widening in places. In spite of this positive report, maintaining the road was a significant issue. Spring rains and runoff routinely caused washouts and deep ruts in the tread, requiring constant rebuilding and repair. Dust from the pumice tread was such a nuisance that at one point, Arant suggested the use of sprinklers to keep dust and ash at a minimum. By 1910, a new road to the rim was under consideration as part of a comprehensive system of park roads and trails.
Army Corps of Engineers Road (1914-1926)
The new road from headquarters to the rim was surveyed and located by the Corps of Engineers in 1910-1911. Located west of the existing road it was completed in 1914. The road was 5 miles long with steep grades (reported at 11 percent), hazardous turns and a dirt and pumice surface that made travel a dirty and somewhat risky business. In 1919, road engineering for Crater Lake was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS), and in 1926, NPS engineers, revised the road system for the park in coordination with the Bureau of Public Roads, regrading, resurfacing, and in some cases, realigning the roads designed by the army engineers.
19. National Park Service, “Park Development Program, Crater Lake National Park,” January 1928, Records of the National Park Service, Crater Lake National Park, RG 79, #67A614, Box 1, Federal Archives and Records Center, Seattle, WA.
20. Merel S. Sager, “Report on Naturalization in the Rim Area, Crater Lake National Park,” November 18, 1932, National Park Service Records, RG 79, Landscape Architects’ Reports to the Chief Architect through Superintendent, Box 1, File “Crater Lake 1929-34,” National Archives and Records Center, San Bruno, CA.
21. Unrau, 477.
22. Ansel F. Hall to the Director of the NPS, 5 December 1929, RG 79, 67A618, Box 4499, File 620-77, Sinnott Memorial, Federal Archives and Records Center, Seattle, WA.
23. Thomas C. Vint to the Director of the NPS, 6 February 1930, RG 79, 67A618, Box 4499, File 620-77, Sinnott Memorial, Federal Archives and Records Center, Seattle, WA; Merel S. Sager to Dr. J.C. Merriam,, 25 July 1930, RG 79, 67A618, Box 4499, File 620-77, Sinnott Memorial, Federal Archives and Records Center, Seattle, WA.
24. Merel S. Sager to the Chief Architect, July 4-August 1, 1930, National Park Service Records, RG 79, Landscape Architects’ Reports to the Chief Architect through the Superintendent, Box 1, “Crater Lake National Park 1929-34,” National Archives and Records Center, San Bruno, CA.
