Union Creek Historic District near the upper Rogue River

Rogue River (Oregon)

The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...

 in Union Creek, Oregon

Union Creek, Oregon

Union Creek is an unincorporated community in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located along Union Creek and Oregon Route 62 , about from Crater Lake National Park. The community is home to the Union Creek Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of...

, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 for rustic structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...

 (CCC) in the 1930s. The site lies along Oregon Route 62 and the upper Rogue River

Rogue River, Oregon

Rogue River is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,131.-History:The settlement was known as Woodville for many years, but was changed to Rogue River about 1912...

, about 12 miles (19.3 km) north of Prospect

Prospect, Oregon

Prospect is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It is located along Oregon Route 62 on the Rogue River, in the Rogue River National Forest.- History :...

 and about 20 miles (32.2 km) west of Crater Lake

Crater Lake

Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years agoby the...

.

Buildings in the district include a CCC picnic shelter and amphitheater

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

, the Union Creek Resort lodge, a grocery store, cabins, restaurant, and an ice cream shop; all retain an early 20th-century appearance. Activities in the area include hiking, fishing, and horseback riding, as well as snow-tubing

Tubing (recreation)

Tubing is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donuts" or "biscuits" due to their shape.-Water:Tubing on water generally consists of two forms: towed and free-floating, also...

 and sledding in the winter.

According to a short essay included on the back of the menu at Beckie's Cafe, one of the buildings at Union Creek, the site was a popular camping spot in the early 1900s. It lay along the wagon road between the Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

The Rogue Valley is a farming and timber-producing region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon near the California border. The...

 further downstream and Crater Lake and points east. By the 1920s, the Union Creek Resort, which had a central lodge and guest cabins, had been built on the site. The original lodge burned down in 1937 and was replaced a year later by the one still in use in 2010.

The community took its name from a local stream, Union Creek

Union Creek (Rogue River)

Union Creek is a tributary, about long, of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning west of Union Peak in the Cascade Range, it flows through the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest to meet the Rogue at Union Creek and the Union Creek Historic District.The creek begins near...

. The creek was named after Union Peak

Union Peak

Union Peak is a heavily eroded shield volcano in the Cascade Range of central Oregon, located along the Cascade Crest less than southwest of the rim of Crater Lake. Ice Age glaciers eroded away most of the flanks of the volcano, leaving numerous deep cirques surrounding a central glacial horn...

 in Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake National Park is the sixth oldest national park in the United States and the only one in the state of Oregon...

.

Works cited

• McArthur, Lewis A., and McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names, 7th ed. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.