Fish Lake

The rustic-style buildings at the Fish Lake Guard Station have been recognized as representative examples of federal administrative architecture made with local, natural materials that blend with the surrounding landscape. Built by the U.S. Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps for the Santiam National Forest (later Willamette National Forest) between 1906 and 1934, the centrally-located Fish Lake Guard Station provided fire crews and Forest staff with an administrative base and pack animal remount station for conservation manage-ment for the forest and fire protection.

Later, the Fish Lake Guard Station served as an essential catalyst in managing designated wilderness areas near the Willamette National Forest after the passage of the Wilderness Act.

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation recommended the district’s nomination in their June 2013 meeting. Over 900 properties in Linn County are now listed in the National Register, which is maintained by the National Park Service.

Image above: Volunteer crews in recent years have done extensive work on the buildings of the Fish Lake Remount Station.