Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests
Crooked River National Grassland

History - 1950 to 1959

1950

• Grading for new two-lane road completed to Dutchman Flat.
• July 1950 - Paved road to top of Lava Butte completed.
• September 2, 1950 - Shevlin-Hixon Picnic held at Shevlin Park with 1200 to 1500 people in attendance. First Shevlin-Hixon picnic since 1930.
• November 21, 1950 - Shevlin-Hixon sells out to Brooks-Scanlon.

1951

• October 1951 - Section of Cascade Lakes Highway from Dutchman Flat to Todd Lake under construction.

1952

• W.F. Libby, the developer of the C14 dating method, dates charcoal from the Paulina Lake Ash Flow.
• Logging town of Shevlin makes final move from south of Chemult to the Timbers area seven miles north of Gilchrist.
• June 1952 - A cave-in, 560 feet from entrance, closes Lava River Cave until it can be examined for safety.
• September 1952 - East Lake Lodge boat house burns.
• Fall 1952 - The entire Deschutes Game Refuge opened for hunting for first time.

1953

• Paved road to Newberry Crater completed.
• Red Crater Cinder Pit opened for maintenance work on Cascade Lakes Road. End of pavement still at Big Springs.

1954

• U.S. Highway 97 completed in current location.
• New two-lane road grade and alignment completed from Devils Lake to Elk Lake. Newspaper editorial on the fact that Century Drive no longer truly exists, due to reconstruction of the Cascade Lakes Highway which has shortened route so that there is no longer a 100 mile loop. One significant shortening was the recent completion of the new road grade from Devils Lake to Elk Lake.

1955

• End of pavement on Cascade Lakes Highway at Dutchman Flat.
• May 1955 - Fort Benham built for filming of the movie "The Indian Fighter". Most filming was done in the Benham area.
• November 1955 - Plans for a 78,000 acre foot reservoir above Benham Falls are released, but opposition by sportsmen and state game commission eventually defeats the project.

1956

• James A. Egan becomes Supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest (1956 - 1958)
• November 1956 - Newspaper editorial on shrinking Sparks Lake. Notes that even after several wet years Sparks Lake has not recovered like other lakes in the High Cascades.
• December 1956 - Brooks-Scanlon end railroad logging and sells all railroad rails to India for power line poles. A few years later most of its engines are sold for scrap in Portland.

1957

• March 1957 - Plans dropped for diversion of Waldo Lake water to Willamette drainage.
• Movie "Oregon Passage" filmed on Deschutes N.F. at sites including Todd Lake, Dodd Meadow, Devil's Garden, and Fort Benham.

1958

• Ashley A. Poust becomes Supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest (1958 - 1969)
• Mt. Bachelor Ski Area opens.
• June 1958 - The movie "Tonka" filmed in Central Oregon and used Fort Benham.
• Summer 1958 - Road to top of Paulina Peak built to allow construction of a U.S. Air Force gap filler radar station. Radar tower blew down during winter of 58-59 and station was abandoned. The building remained until 1987 when the National Guard removed it as a training exercise.

1959

• June 1959 - A national conference of university geology instructors visits Lava Butte, Lava River Cave, and Newberry Crater.
• June 1959 - Newberry Crater designated as game refuge.
• July 1959 - The 21,000 acre Aspen Flat fire resulted in the discovery of Lavacicle Cave.
• September 1959 - A private dam on Paulina Creek at Paulina Prairie is proposed.