The State Advisory Commission for Historic Preservation voted in favor of listing a section of the Pilot Butte Canal on the National Park Service’s Historic Register. The nomination is the first ever for a canal in Deschutes County and will now be forwarded to Washington D.C. for final approval.
The nominated section of the Pilot Butte Canal, constructed at the turn of the last century, was recognized today for its critical role in the settlement of Central Oregon. At the hearing in Eugene, Central Oregon Irrigation District confirmed the historical significance and integrity of this section of the canal. The irrigation district is currently preparing a Multiple Property Documentation (MPD) that would create the framework for additional sections of the Pilot Butte Canal and other canals to be nominated in the near future.
In 1900, when Alexander Drake arrived in covered wagon, the population of what would later become Bend was 21 people. Drake gathered funding and began construction of the Pilot Butte Canal in 1903, a year before Bend was founded. The city of Redmond was later founded along the banks of the canal a few years after it was completed in 1905.
The nominated section of canal is one of the last stretches that is in its original alignment, and openly displays its historic construction methods through the hard basalt rock in the Bend area.
Historian Pat Kliewer stated, “This is a long overdue nomination of a remarkable structure. We have all taken for granted that the canals would last forever. Now finally the process has started to permanently protect them.”
Neighbors who live along the canal and own the property through which the canal flows unanimously supported the historic nomination. Neighbor Curtis Pell said, “The canal has continued to convey water for more than 100 years. It is an example of living, tangible, accessible history right here in our backyards for all Oregonians to share.”
Preservation of this section of the canal is a key step in creating a regional trail section that would connect Bend and Redmond, and eventually extend to Smith Rocks. The Bend Area General Plan has long recognized the nominated reach as part of the trail system, and states:
“The City, County, State, Forest Service, Park District and public agencies shall work together to acquire, develop and maintain a series of trails along the Deschutes River, Tumalo Creek, and the canal system so that these features can be retained as a community asset.”
The nomination was written and shepherded through the process by local historians, Pat Kliewer and Michael Hall. The nomination should be finalized sometime this summer.
Jeff Perreault
Pilot Butte Canal Preservation Alliance
www.pilotbuttecanal.org
541-639-7448
