Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area

Chester H. Armstrong, History of the Oregon State Parks: 1917-1963

Emigrant Springs State Park is located on what is seemingly the south side but actually the west side of the Old Oregon Trail, Interstate 80N, near the midway point between Pendleton and La Grande in Umatilla County.

The original tract of 14.10 acres was acquired by condemnation. The suit was instituted by Umatilla County Court and paid by the Highway Commission. The Court's award was $2,500. This action was completed in October, 1924. Deed dated July 1, 1925, was from the Umatilla County Court.

A small additional area of 0.12 of an acre was purchased from L. L. Mann of Pendleton on May 22, 1926. This brought the total acreage in the park to 14.22 acres at the close of 1963.

Many park-minded people of the early twenties felt that this particular area on the Old Oregon Trail at the summit of the beautiful Blue Mountains should be in public ownership so that preservation of its historical and aesthetic values might be assured.

On March 27, 1925, the Highway Commission approved the request of Colonel F. V. Holman, President of Oregon Historical Society and a representative of the Sons and Daughters of the Oregon Pioneers, that the park be named Emigrant Springs. It was their feeling that this was an appropriate name for the historical place on the route of the Old Oregon Trail so popular as a watering and camping place for the many westward-bound wagon trains.

The area in general is covered with a good stand of yellow, ponderosa and lodgepole pine with the usual undergrowth of brush, etc. The abundance of rainfall in these mountains makes it possible to grow large green forest trees and many of the lesser varieties of natural cover. It is the first forest of evergreen trees seen by the early-day emigrants on their westward-bound trek. The color of this forest from a distance has a bluish cast, thereby suggesting Blue Mountains as a fitting name.

Two unsuccessful attempts were made by concessionaires to operate a store and lodging facility on this property during the initial years of state ownership. The park lodge, built in 1927 at a cost of $19,314, burned in October, 1929. A replacement was constructed in 1930 at a cost of $3,920.

The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed a camp in the park in 1934 and made some improvements. This work included constructing camp buildings, clearing away unnecessary brush, constructing park roads, trails and car parking areas, drilling a 6-inch well 370 feet deep, and constructing a day use area with three latrines, water system and sanitary disposal tanks.

After the Civilian Conservation Corps abandoned the camp, the buildings were used by the public for community activities and large picnic gatherings. One small building which had been used as an office was given to the Boy Scouts of Walla Walla. After a few years use it was abandoned and later removed.

New construction by the Parks and Recreation Division is a 50-unit overnight camp with 18 trailer sites and 32 tent sites. Up-to-date facilities were constructed and a new 8-inch well 295 feet deep was drilled. Additional facilities include coin-operated electric stoves with water heaters, covered with sturdy shelters. A new standard latrine was built in 1952. Public use of the sanitary facility in the park cottage was discontinued and that building was converted into a residence for the park ranger.

Day use at Emigrant Springs during 1963 totaled 136,920 visitors and overnight use totaled 14,915 campers.

The following permits and water rights affect this park:

• 4472 10-5-54 Eastern Oregon Elec Co-op—power line Indefinite

• 4543 1-20-55 Eastern Oregon Elec Co-op—power line "

• 7752 12-31-26 Water right—0.01 c.f.s. Three small springs

• Gr 2195 7-14-58 Water right—28 gal. per min. 6" well 370' deep

• G 1847 6-6-60 & 8-18-60 Water right—60 gal. per min. 8" well 295' deep

Oregon State Parks: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area

Near the summit of the Blue Mountains, Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area preserves a site where travelers on the Oregon Trail once replenished their water supplies. Now visitors find a refreshing place to camp in a mature forest between Pendleton and La Grande.

Explore the Oregon Trail

Learn about the adventures of early settlers from the park’s Oregon Trail interpretive shelter and covered wagon display. Emigrant Springs is near an original section of the trail. Wagon trains camped in the vicinity for several days and replenished their water barrels from the spring.

Oregon Trail wagon ruts can be seen at Deadman’s Pass Rest Area seven miles northwest of Emigrant Springs, on I-84, and at the U.S. Forest Service Oregon Trail Interpretive Park. Continue your exploration at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City.

Nearby Attractions

Pendleton is the home of the famous Pendleton Round-Up. Other local attractions include the Pendleton Underground Tours, the Pendleton Woolen Mills, and the nearby Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, a museum focused on the tribes that inhabited this area.

Explore hundreds of miles of trails in two national forests: Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman.

History

This park was acquired from private owners between 1925 and 1970. Extensive day-use developments were made in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. In the early 1950s, overnight camp facilities were added.

In January 1812, trappers and traders of the Astor overland expedition, under the leadership of Wilson Price Hunt, crossed the Blue Mountains in this vicinity, thus establishing the route later used by Oregon Trail emigrants. In the 1880s, the trail was replaced by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company (now Union Pacific) railroad, which reaches the mountain summit of Meacham a few miles to the south of the park. During the construction of I-84 in the 1950s, one could still find artifacts on the Oregon Trail in the gulch south of the park.

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the Old Oregon Trail Highway