PRINEVILLE, OR -- An effort to preserve a piece of Central Oregon history is underway just off Highway 26, between Prineville and Madras. The Rimrock Springs Wildlife Management Area Field House is getting restored, with help from HistoriCorps. "It's a chance for the volunteers to learn about woodworking and historic preservation, and get to go to a new place and learn about the history of that place," says Anne Dowd, Crooked River National Grasslands Forest Archaeologist, Heritage and Tribal Relations Program Manager, "It's cheaper, but it's also a little more fun. And it provides educational opportunities for partner organizations, which is of course important too."
Dowd says the 640-square foot building went up in the mid-1930s, as part of a Depression-era work camp for what was then called the Farm Security Administration. But the location has a rich cultural history, "American Indian tribes have used this area near the springs for many thousands of years. After the homesteading period, federal agency management activities were focused in this area." Most recently, the building was a machine shop for the Grasslands.

It's being converted into an office space. "But the building's going to stay very much the same, just in good repair," Dowd tells KBND News, "So, it'll still have big, broad doors you can open up, and a cement floor and you can bring a vehicle in if you need to work on it." Over the next couple of years, the Grasslands will take additional steps to convert the area into a wild horse adoption center, "Creating good access to the property, and the different facilities such as corrals, and a place for a caretaker, some utilities work, to make it functioning for being able to bring horse trailers in and out."

Work on the restoration project is expected to wrap up this week. 

Photos courtesy of the Crooked River National Grasslands