Samuel Christopher Lancaster (1864 – March 4, 1941) was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

, known for his work on the Columbia River Highway.

Biography

Samuel_C_Lancaster_Plaque_Crown_Point_Oregon

Samuel Lancaster was born in

Magnolia, Mississippi Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Magnolia was founded in 1856 by Ansel H. Prewett, ...

in 1864, and grew up in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

. He came to

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 ...

in 1908 and was hired by Sam Hill to design his experimental roads at

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

in 1909. He did a plan for the campus of

Linfield College Linfield University is a private university with campuses in McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participates in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Linfield reported a combined 1,755 students after the fall ...

before beginning supervision of the Columbia River Highway in 1913. He also promoted Crown Point as the site of an observatory. Lancaster was instrumental in the building of the 7-mile Larch Mountain Trail, which begins at the

Multnomah Falls Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84 ...

Lodge and climbs to the summit of Larch Mountain. The trail was completed in September 1915. In October 1915, he founded the Trails Club of Oregon and became its first president. He died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

at his home in Portland on March 4, 1941.

References

External links

* American landscape architects American engineers Historic Columbia River Highway 1864 births 1941 deaths Artists from Oregon People from Magnolia, Mississippi {{US-engineer-stub