Camp Abbot was a
military training
Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...
center in the
northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, located in
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
south of
Bend. Active for less than sixteen months, the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
camp was used to train
combat engineer
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare ta ...
s during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and was named for
Henry Larcom Abbot
Henry Larcom Abbot (August 13, 1831 – October 1, 1927) was a military engineer and career officer in the United States Army. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers fo ...
.
A large part of site is now
Sunriver Resort
Sunriver Resort is a luxury resort and residential community in central Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The resort is located at the edge of the high desert, just east of the Cascade Range, in Sunriver, Oregon, Sunr ...
, and the rest has been incorporated into the
Deschutes National Forest
The Deschutes National Forest is a United States National Forest located in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties in central Oregon. It comprises along the east side of the Cascade Range. In 1908, the Deschutes National ...
. The only remaining structure from Camp Abbot is the officers'
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
hall; now part of the resort and known as the ''Great Hall'', it is used for large conferences and special events.
Site history
In 1855,
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
dispatched an
Army Corps of Topographical Engineers survey party to look for a railroad route from the
Sacramento Valley
, photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg
, photo_caption= Sacramento
, map_image=Map california central valley.jpg
, map_caption= The Central Valley of California
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
in the
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...
. This required the party to survey the
Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to:
*Deschutes River (Oregon)
The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...
area in central Oregon. The survey party was led by two lieutenants,
Robert Stockton Williamson
Robert Stockton Williamson (January 21, 1825 – November 10, 1882) was an American soldier and engineer, noted for conducting surveys for the transcontinental railroad in California and Oregon. Inducted into the Army Corps of Engineers in 186 ...
and
Henry Larcom Abbot
Henry Larcom Abbot (August 13, 1831 – October 1, 1927) was a military engineer and career officer in the United States Army. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers fo ...
.
[Abbot, Charles Greeley]
''Biographical Memoir of Henry Larcom Abbot''
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1929.[Jette, Melinda]
"Mount Jefferson and Black Butte"
Oregon History Project, Oregon Historical Society, 2003.
The Williamson-Abbot survey party included a
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
-
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
, a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
-
naturalist, several assistant engineers, a computation specialist, a pack master, and eighteen mule packers. At Fort Reading, a military escort of eighty infantrymen and twenty cavalry troopers joined the party. The escort was commanded by Lieutenant H. G. Gibson with Lieutenants
George Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
and
Philip H. Sheridan
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
leading elements of the detachment.
While in central Oregon, illness forced Williamson to return to California, which left Abbot in charge of the expedition. On 4 September 1855, Abbot and a detachment of the survey party camped along the Deschutes River, near the site of the future Camp Abbot. He completed the survey of central Oregon, crossed the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
into the
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
, and then returned to Fort Reading, arriving in mid-November 1855. The Army published Abbot's thorough 499-page report in 1857 under the title ''Report of Lieut. Henry L. Abbot Upon Explorations for a Railroad Route from Sacramento Valley to the Columbia River''.
[McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, ''Oregon Geographic Names'' (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 140.]
World War II
During World War II, the Army needed to rapidly expand its combat engineer training. On 4 December 1942, the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
established a combat engineer replacement and training center in central Oregon, along the Deschutes River south of Bend. It was named in honor of Brigadier General
Henry Larcom Abbot
Henry Larcom Abbot (August 13, 1831 – October 1, 1927) was a military engineer and career officer in the United States Army. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers fo ...
, who had led a survey party through the area in 1855.
The first trainees arrived at Camp Abbot in March 1943, even before the camp was formally dedicated on 2 September 1943.
["Here Come the Servicemen: Oregon Military Facilities"](_blank)
''Life on the Home Front Oregon Responds to World War II'', online exhibit, Oregon State Archives, Oregon Secretary of State, Salem, Oregon, 2008. At that time, it was one of only three combat engineer training centers in the country, along with
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...
(Virginia) and
Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...
(Missouri).
Approximately 10,000 soldiers were trained during each 17-week cycle, with training conducted in three phases. The first part of the course focused on rifle
marksmanship
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than- ...
and other basic combat skills. The first phase also included special training on
hand grenades
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...
,
anti-tank mine
An anti-tank mine (abbreviated to "AT mine") is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive c ...
s, and other combat engineering tasks. The second phase was
demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
training. During that phase, trainees learned how to build and destroy bridges and other structures. The final phase was three weeks of field maneuvers carried out under combat conditions.
Over 90,000 combat engineers were trained at Camp Abbot before the center was closed in June 1944, shortly after the
D-Day landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
. Most of the camp structures were demolished shortly after the training center closed.
Post-war development
In the years following the war, a portion of the camp property was returned to the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
, but approximately were sold as private land. That property changed hands a number of times, until it was purchased by John Gray in 1965. Gray began development of Sunriver Resort, selling the first residential lots in 1968.
Today, Sunriver is a luxury resort with a 250-room lodge, four golf courses, six restaurants, and an executive airport. There are approximately 4,000 homes on the adjacent Sunriver property along with a small commercial district that supports the shopping needs of the community.
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
is nearby at
Mount Bachelor
Mount Bachelor, formerly named Bachelor Butte, is a dormant stratovolcano atop a shield volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range of central Oregon. Named Mount Bachelor because it stands apart from the nearby Three Sisters, it ...
.
Original structures
![Camp Abbot Officers Mess 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Camp_Abbot_Officers_Mess_08.jpg)
Today, only one original Camp Abbot building remains. The officers' mess hall was built in 1943 by the
Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Captain John V. Banks. It remains at its original location as Sunriver Resort's ''Great Hall'', used for large conferences and special events, such as banquets and weddings.
![General Patch Bridge, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/General_Patch_Bridge%2C_Deschutes_National_Forest%2C_Oregon.png)
The historic Great Hall is an impressive log structure measuring , constructed with native stone and logs cut near the building site. It has a high ceiling with exposed beams, a large stone fireplace, and a balcony overlooking the main floor. There are also small side rooms including an intimate fireside room and a number of conference rooms. In 1993, Sunriver Resort completed a major renovation of the historic Great Hall, and it is now a modern facility with unique architectural character.
The only other major Camp Abbot structure to survive for an extended period was the General Patch Bridge which was constructed in 1943 by Army engineers during the
Oregon Maneuver. The Oregon Maneuver was the largest military field exercise ever conducted in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
. Named for General
Alexander M. Patch, who led it,
the maneuver involved over 100,000 army troops, many of them combat engineers based at Camp Abbot. The maneuver extended across six eastern Oregon counties. Camp Abbot was used as the exercise headquarters because of its central location and military infrastructure.
[McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, ''Oregon Geographic Names'' (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 398.]["General Patch Bridge Removal"](_blank)
''Environmental Assessment'', Deschutes National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Bend, Oregon, June 2008, p. 3.
The General Patch Bridge was located on Deschutes National Forest land within the boundaries of old Camp Abbott. It was demolished by the Forest Service in 2008 because the structure was unsafe.
"Patch Bridge Removal"
''contract solicitation'', Deschutes National Forest, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Hermiston, Oregon, 29 July 2008.
Other structures, such as the barracks, were auctioned off by the Army as surplus. Two such barracks were bought by J.H. Gibbons, a Texas rancher, and converted to use as a hunting and fishing lodge, which was completed in 1948 and remains in use today on the Gibbons Ranch in San Saba County, Texas
San Saba County is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in western Central Texas, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 5,730. Its county seat is San Saba, Texas, San Saba. ...
.
References
{{reflist, 2
External links
Deschutes National Forest
Sunriver Resort
Buildings and structures in Deschutes County, Oregon
Military in Oregon
Military history of Oregon
Military installations in Oregon
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
1942 establishments in Oregon
Closed installations of the United States Army
Rustic architecture in Oregon
1944 disestablishments in Oregon
Military installations established in 1942
Military installations closed in 1944