Wyeth, Oregon

Wyeth is an unincorporated locale in Hood River County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is the site of a campground area in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area off Interstate 84 (I-84).

It was a railway station and had a post office between 1901 and 1936.[2] It was named after explorer Nathaniel J. Wyeth, builder of Fort Hall (today's Pocatello, Idaho) and the Fort William trading post on Sauvie Island.[2] The area is now home to the Wyeth State Recreation Area.[3][4]

Wyeth is located 51 miles east of Portland at exit #51 of I-84, and 1/4 mile west on Herman Creek Road. It is a trailhead for Wyeth Trail #411, the Gorge Trail #400, and Gorton Creek Falls.[4]

History

Wyeth was an early settlement site. It became the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the 1930s. In the 1940s, it was the site of Camp 21, a Civilian Public Service camp for Conscientious Objectors that took over the abandoned CCC facility during World War II.[4][5][6] Residents of the camp included architect Kemper Nomland, actor Lew Ayres, politician George Brown, Jr., and actor, director and playwright Kermit Sheets.

References

  1. ^ "Wyeth". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved February 25, 2010. (Dead link - no longer supported by GNIS)
  2. ^ a b McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 1060–1061. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  3. ^ Wyeth[usurped] Columbia River Images
  4. ^ a b c Wyeth Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
  5. ^ Charles Davis and Jeffrey Kovac Confrontation at the Locks; A Protest of Japanese Removal and Incarceration during World War II, Oregon Historical Quarterly
  6. ^ Jeffrey Kovac, Refusing War, Affirming Peace: A History of Civilian Public Service Camp #21 at Cascade Locks, Oregon State University Press, 2009

45°41′26″N 121°46′11″W / 45.690673°N 121.769798°W / 45.690673; -121.769798