Camp Adair

Paul M. Dunn: and arrow hunting, and antler deer and doe deer seasons. A sizable number of deer have been taken out of that area in the last ten or fifteen years. I think a record is kept because it's supervised by the Forestry School and by the Fish and Game Department on campus and the Fish and Game Department of the State. It's under good control.

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: Maybe we can go ahead now and talk about the acquisition of the Adair Tract and your role in that.

Paul M. Dunn: All right. If you recall in 1941 after Pearl Harbor, the government became active in the establishment of armed services training areas and camps, throughout the United States. The decision was made to have one in the Adair area. It was under construction when I came in 1942. The government came in, and purchased about 90,000 acres in the area that is 10 to 15 miles north of Corvallis, extending on both sides of 99W for some distance. The camp was constructed, and three Army divisions were trained there; approximately a hundred thousand men.

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: Was this the U.S. Army?

Paul M. Dunn: Yes, all Army.

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: Why was this site selected to begin with? Why was it attractive to the government, do you know?

Paul M. Dunn: The selection was like many others, partly political. I believe most every state had one or more camps. Distribution of the wealth, so called, of business and revenue for the communities. These decisions were made with a fair amount of planning. Many were questioned as to location. Adair was justified due to topographical, soil, and climatic conditions. In 1945, following the War, it was evident that many of the camps would be abandoned. They would no longer be needed as a part of the U.S. Defense Program, so for economic reasons they were disposed of. I think it was 1946 when I first heard that Camp Adair was slated for disposal. I contacted the agency that was in charge of the war assets and got information that the program would be proceeding, subject to certain rules that would need to be followed. The land had been acquired primarily from private citizens and with some from timber companies.

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: You mean the original purchase by the government?

Paul M. Dunn: Yes. The area was in Benton County and Polk County. Earlier it was thought that it would revert to former owners. However, nearly eight years, at least, had elapsed and many of the former owners had taken their money and moved away, so that changed the pattern of disposal. We learned later that educational institutions would have a rather high priority in being granted the right to buy the land. We were interested particularly in the forest tract. I think it was in early 1947 that I contacted Senator Guy Cordon who was the Oregon U.S. Senator at that time. He was a personal friend of mine, and a good friend of the forest industry. He, of course, expressed interest, and soon we learned that the land might be available at no cost. In any event, we expressed an interest in it. There was a value set on that piece of property of a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Whatever it was, we, of course, saw some future benefit. There were some views from the faculty and even the president, that the School didn't need it "as it had enough land."

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: Was Strand the President at that time?

Paul M. Dunn: Yes. As we moved along, it became evident that educational institutions would have number one priority for definite programs relating to education and research use. Former owners or World War II veterans would have second priority, while some former owners would have third priority. We determined what the procedure would be, and what we needed to do, and what sort of information we would have to provide.

Royal Jackson / Jennifer Lee: When you say "we," was that someone in your staff helping you?

Paul M. Dunn: Yes. Let's say that I carried the ball on that, but I needed to assemble certain information. We knew the property. It had been appraised by two of our former graduates who were then with the State Board of Forestry. They gave us information as to the quality of the timber in the area. We could estimate what the value might be. We proceeded on that basis and presented our request to the Federal Land Bank of Spokane, who had the responsibility for disposal. We dealt with them over a period of time. Basically with the help of Senator Cordon, we were granted 6,200 acres, because it, as a block, fitted into the overall disposal program. Some of it was low grade agricultural land, and some was forest land, while the rest of the 90,000 acres was farm land. They were all handled differently. The area north of Camp