Farewell Bend State Park

Farewell Bend State Park features year round recreational opportunities and access to the Snake River’s Brownlee Reservoir which offers excellent bass and catfish angling.  The Oregon State Parks Foundation helped raise money to build an ADA accessible fishing dock so that visitors of all abilities can enjoy the outstanding fishing opportunities in this park.

Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum

This 140-year-old structure provides an unparalleled glimpse into the life and culture of the early Chinese community in Oregon. Constructed in 1876 as a trading post, the building evolved over the years to become the social, medical, and religious center for the Chinese community in eastern Oregon. Housed in the original building, the Museum contains a vast collection of artifacts, including business and financial records, supplies, and ancient Chinese herbs and medicines, some dating back to the 1800s.

Oregon State Parks Foundation successfully led the campaign to raise over $1.5 million to help preserve and restore this critical site. The fundraising drive, chaired by Oregon First Lady Mary Oberst, received contributions from 377 individuals, businesses, foundations, and agencies totaling $1,504,816, bringing the campaign to a successful completion three years ahead of schedule.

“The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum tells an important story—about the Chinese in Oregon and about Doc Hay and Lung On, the men who lived there,” Oberst said, “Thanks to the many contributors to this fundraising effort, we now have the resources to preserve that story, and to delve even deeper into the artifacts and documents at the museum to learn more.”

The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum project is a united victory for the four lead partners: the city of John Day, the local Friends of Kam Wah Chung, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and Oregon State Parks Foundation.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department owns and operates Kam Wah Chung as a State Heritage Site and park.  The Kam Wah Chung & Co. building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark designation.

“Kam Wah Chung is a park for today and the future,” said OPRD Director Tim Wood. “The Trust’s successful fundraising shows us how local pride in an important landmark can attract statewide — and nationwide — support.”

Peter French Round Barn

Oregon State Parks Foundation helped to raise and distribute $28,000 to preserve the historic integrity of the Pete French Round Barn, help improve the fencing around the structure, make it ADA accessible and develop an interpretive plan for the many visitors.

n State Parks Foundation helped to raise and distribute $28,000 to preserve the historic integrity of the Pete French Round Barn, help improve the fencing around the structure, make it ADA accessible and develop an interpretive plan for the many visitors.

Cattleman Peter French designed and constructed this unusual barn around 1880.  It was built to break wild horses during the long, harsh eastern Oregon winters. The circular design is perfectly suited for its purpose. It is 100 feet in diameter and includes a 60-foot round stone corral, built for foaling.  The barn is on the national Register of Historic places and is open to the public year round.

Sumpter Valley Dredge

Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area hosts 80,000 visitors each year and is a popular Baker County destination for the 1/3 of Oregon tourists who include heritage sites in their vacation plans.

Visitors to the dredge will soon be able to experience the original communication system used by dredge workers.  This is thanks, in part, to an $8,000 grant from Trust Management Services.  The bell system allowed dredge workers to communicate crucial messages over the enormous noise of the earth-moving dredge.  These messages were necessary to ensure safety and prevent accidents or damage to the dredge.  Over time the bell system had deteriorated and was no longer operational, but restoration work is underway!  Soon park visitors will be able to enjoy an even more realistic glimpse of the historical story the dredge tells.

The Oregon State Parks Foundation also helped raise funds to restore the lighting of the dredge in an historically accurate fashion and add interpretive themes to this fascinating site.

For information about visiting the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area, click here.