Note: for Properties 35 Years Old and Newer, Starred (*) Sections Are the Only Required Fields

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

Note: For properties 35 years old and newer, starred (*) sections are the only required fields.

*County: Clackamas

*Street Address: *City Situs Address 16500 S. Old River Road Lake Oswego

USGS Quad Name: GPS Reading, UTM Format (Universal Transverse Mercator): Lake Oswego Longitude: 122°39'21.18"W Latitude: 45°24'28.20"N

Township: Range: Section: Block/Lot: Tax Lot #: 2S 1E 11CB N/A 790

Historic Name: Grouping or Cluster Name: The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station

*Date of Construction: Other Name: ca. 1915 Log Hoist

Historic Use or Function: *Current Use: Associated Archaeological Site: Industrial Abandoned Unknown

Architectural Classification(s): Plan Type/Shape: Number of stories: Structure Rectangular N/A

Foundation Material: Structural Framing: Moved? Concrete Concrete No

Roof Type/Material: Window Type/Material: N/A N/A

Exterior Surface Materials Primary: Secondary: Decorative: Concrete N/A

Exterior Alterations or Additions, Approximate Date: One Story addition w/band of windows across façade added to top of structure when converted to residential use (date unknown, but possibly around 1978) Number and Type of Associated Resources: None

Integrity: Condition: Local Eligibility National Register Listed? Good Fair On LDL Yes No Unknown Preliminary National Register Findings:air

Potentially Eligible: Individually or As a contributing resource in a District

Not Eligible: Intact but lacks distinction or Not 50 years old or Altered - Choose one: Reversible/ potentially eligible individually or in a District Reversible/ ineligible, lacks distinction Irretrievable lack of integrity *Researcher/ Organization: Date Recorded: L. Radwanski/E. Heideman/A. Boyd/ SWCA-1220 SW Morrison St, Portland, OR 97205 August 2014 City of Lake Oswego, 380 “A” Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 Additional research and review by Erin O’Rourke-Meadors SHPO #:

Survey Form Page 1 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: City: Situs Address 16500 S. Old River Road Lake Oswego

Description of Physical and or Landscape Features

The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station is located on the south bank of the Willamette River off Old River Road. The station sits approximately 250 feet (79 meters) to the northeast of the Crown Willamette Paper Company House (known for many years as The Tug Master’s House). The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station is now located on a 0.36-acre parcel in a neighborhood with homes on large irregular lots that were developed primarily after World War II.

The loading station is directly surrounded by foliage and is partially located in the Willamette River. Historically an electric winch with a crane sat on top of the foundation. The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station is essentially a massive concrete foundation that supported an electric lift to hoist logs. The concrete foundation that remains measures approximately 50 feet (15 meters) across at the top and is roughly square with some projections. The foundation is slightly wider at the base and angles in slightly at the top. There is a narrow projection on the west side, projecting south.

A 1947 photo, obtained courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Library, shows the building without its windowed story. Currently the foundation rises to its historical point (as noted by the color of the concrete) and then a single-story addition is evident. This alteration happened at some time after 1947. On the north (river-facing) façade is a bank of concrete framed window openings capped with a large wood beam. One window from this bank wraps around the north and east façades. There are two window openings on the south portion of the west façade (one roughly centered and one on the south side of the façade). On the east façade there is a single window opening on the south side of the façade. The roof appears to be caving in in some or most areas.

*Researcher/ Organization: Date Recorded: L. Radwanski/E. Heideman/A. Boyd/ SWCA-1220 SW Morrison St, Portland, OR 97205 August 2014 City of Lake Oswego, 380 “A” Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 Additional research and review by Erin O’Rourke-Meadors SHPO #:

Survey Form Page 2 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Statement of Significance

The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station, sometimes referred to as the Oswego Log Loading Station and located at 16500 Old River Road on the east bank of the lower Willamette River in Lake Oswego, just below George Rogers Park, is historically significant as an important surviving link to Lake Oswego’s industrial past and as Lake Oswego’s direct link to the Crown Willamette Paper Company on the Willamette River. It was built to hoist logs out of the Willamette to avoid treacherous passage through the Willamette Falls Locks. The logs were hoisted onto rail cars at Oswego and transported above the falls.

The Oregonian published an article on January 16, 1910, entitled New Line to Begin; Oswego is to be connected to Oregon City. The intention of the rail line was to carry logs from Oswego to the paper mills in Oregon City. At least three mills were operating at this time in Oregon City—“The Willamette Pulp & Paper Company, the Crown-Columbia Pulp & Paper Company, and the Hawley Pulp & Paper Company” (The Oregonian 1910). This was an effort to “relieve the present situation” of transporting the logs from the lower to upper river. Prior to this time the paper companies brought their logs up through the river during the summer months (the only period when the Willamette River could carry the cargo). The logs were taken “through the canal and locks and boomed along the banks of the upper river” (The Oregonian 1910). The new railway was to be electric.

The log loading station was constructed by the Crown Willamette Paper Company in ca. 1915 and operated from ca. 1915 until 1933, when the Southern Pacific Railroad abandoned the operation (Colver 2012). The Crown Willamette Paper Company was created in 1914 with the merger of the Crown Columbia Pulp and Paper Company and the Willamette Pulp and Paper Company (Crown Zellerbach Corporation Records 2014).

Located not far from the log hoist and perched on a hill overlooking the Willamette and the hoist is the Crown Willamette Paper Company House, located at 107 Burnham Road. The Crown Willamette Paper Company built the house in ca. 1915 (at approximately the same time that the hoist was being constructed) for Reuben Warren Confer and Pearl A. Confer (nee James) (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1910; U.S. Selective Service System 1942). Reuben Confer was the hoist’s manager for most, if not all, of the log hoist’s duration of use. An article in The Oregonian confirms that Confer was still superintendent of the log hoist and living in the house as of July 29, 1928 (The Oregonian 1928).

The Public Service Commission’s 1921 Annual Report of Oregon described the log hoist Reuben Confer operated while living in the house:

There are no existing booms on Oswego Lake at present; nor are there any in the Willamette River at or near the point where we expect to operate, with the exception of the boom of the Crown Willamette Paper Company, one-fourth of a mile south of our proposed rafting ground. This boom is operated by means of a derrick where logs are loaded upon cars and hauled thence to the Crown Willamette Paper Company’s mill at Oregon City. (Oregon Public Service Commission 1921:28)

Survey Form Page 3 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

In September 1918, the Crown Willamette Paper Company’s newsletter, Makin’ Paper, contained an article entitled Getting the Logs to the Mill, which was paraphrased by historian Marylou Colver:

A powerful electric hoist mounted on heavy concrete foundations hoisted logs from the river. The hoist could accommodate hundreds of thousands of feet of hemlock and spruce logs. Two pairs of grab hooks, suspended from a heavy pulley block, were fastened to a log. At the signal to hoist, the derrick cable quickly raised the log to the elevation over the rail cars. About five logs were loaded onto each car and secured with a chain. The final or “top log” was swung on top of the chained logs, to draw the chains tighter and bind the load to the car. Typically about five railcars were loaded and hauled by an electric train to the log unloading station for the West Linn mill. The logs were unloaded in the upper river so they would not have to travel through the locks. The log train ran on a trestle over the log pond and, with the help of a derrick boom and donkey engine, the logs were rolled off the cars into the river. The logs were again rafted into booms and scaled, awaiting milling. (Colver 2011)

After the historic period the property was altered into a living space. The tax map of the area shows a “house on pillar” at the location of log loading station. It is unclear what year this map was printed. Tax Assessor records show the building date for this parcel as 1978, suggesting this is when the foundation was converted to a living space. The alterations associated with this transformation have deteriorated and do not seriously diminish the log stations significance. In addition to its historical significance for its association with the Crown Willamette Paper Company’s industry on the Willamette River, the log hoist remains as one of the only physical links to Lake Oswego’s industrial past. The Crown Willamette Log Loading Station is a valuable contribution to the historic landscape of Lake Oswego.

Survey Form Page 4 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Attach Appropriate Map(s)

Figure 1. Tax map with property outlined.

Figure 2. Site plan, provided by the City of Lake Oswego

Survey Form Page 5 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM *County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Figure 3. Looking south at the north façade. Note the living space addition has not been added. 1947. Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Library. Photo ID:2377

Figure 4. Looking south at the north façade. Note the living space addition has not been added. Date unknown. Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Library. Photo ID: HRAB224

Survey Form Page 6 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM *Researcher/ Organization: Date Recorded: L. Radwanski/E. Heideman/A. Boyd/ SWCA-1220 SW Morrison St, Portland, OR 97205 August 2014 City of Lake Oswego, 380 “A” Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 Additional research and review by Erin O’Rourke-Meadors *Photo Roll #: *Frame #(s): Local Designation #: SHPO #:

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Figure 5. Looking north at the south façade (with addition). March 2014.

Survey Form Page 7 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Figure 6. Looking south at the north façade (with addition). Photo taken and provided by Susana Kuo.

Survey Form Page 8 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM *County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address Lake Oswego

Figure 7. Looking north at the south façade. Photo taken and provided by Susana Kuo.

Note: This page of the survey form is required only for Intensive Level Survey

Survey Form Page 9 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM *County: Clackamas

Street Address: City: Situs Address 16500 S. Old River Road Lake Oswego

Architect and / or Builder(s): Owner Type: Unknown Private Local State Federal Mixed

Owner Name(s):

Didzun, Robert C.

Address: Addition or Subdivision Name:

N/A PO Box 544

City, State, Zip:

Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Phone Number(s): Area(s) of Significance: Industry

Property Category:

Building Structure Site Object District Documentation Research Sources: Local Library (specify): Title/ Deed Records Building Permits Lake Oswego Public Library

Sanborn Maps Tax Records University Library (specify): Obituary Index SHPO Files

City Directories State Archives Historical Society (specify):

Census Records State Library

Biographical Encyclopedias Local Histories Other (specify):

Newspapers Personal Interviews

Historic Photographs

Survey Form Page 10 of 11 Revised 12/02

OREGON INVENTORY OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY FORM

*County: Clackamas

Street Address: 16500 S. Old River Road City: Situs Address: Lake Oswego

Bibliographic References (Books, articles, interviews, etc.)

Colver, Marylou 2011 Crown Willamette Log Loading Station. In Willamette Falls Heritage Area Coalition: The Story of the Falls: Narrative Collection. On file with the City of Lake Oswego, Oregon. 2012 Lake Oswego Vignettes: Illiterate Cows to College-educated Cabbage. The History Press, Charleston, South Carolina. Crown Zellerbach Corporation Records 2014 BANC MSS 88/215 cp. Volumes 126 and 127. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Available at: www.oaccdlib.org. Accessed April 2014. Oregon Public Service Commission 1921 Seventeenth Annual Report of the Public Service Commission of Oregon. Oregon Public Service Commission, Salem. The Oregonian 1910 New Line to Begin. The Oregonian 16 January:7. Portland, Oregon. 1928 Fighters Are Satisfied: Neither Party to Recent Fracas Cares to Prosecute. The Oregonian 29 July:6. Portland, Oregon. U.S. Bureau of the Census 1910 Thirteenth Census of the United States. Canemah, Clackamas, Oregon. Available at: www.ancestry.com. Accessed July 2014. U.S. Selective Service System 1942 World War II Selective Service System Draft, Registration Cards. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Available at: www.ancestry.com. Accessed May 2014.

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