McCredie Springs

McCredie Springs are hot springs and a former resort in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located near Oregon Route 58 (OR 58), 10.7 miles (17.2 km) east of Oakridge, and 50.7 miles (81.6 km) east of Eugene, within the Willamette National Forest.[2] It is known for the nearby natural hot springs along Salt Creek.

McCredie Springs
McCredie Springs Resort and sawmill in 1910
McCredie Springs Resort and sawmill in 1910
McCredie Springs is located in Oregon
McCredie Springs
McCredie Springs
Location within the state of Oregon
McCredie Springs is located in the United States
McCredie Springs
McCredie Springs
McCredie Springs (the United States)
Coordinates: 43.7098454°N 122.2889296°W / 43.7098454; -122.2889296
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLane
Elevation
2,064 ft (629 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97463
Area code(s)458 and 541
GNIS feature ID114953[1]

History

Frank Warner, a trapper, came upon a series of hot springs along Salt Creek and settled near them in 1878.[3][4] He lived in the cabin he built there until he was evicted by the newly formed United States Forest Service (USFS) in the early 1900s.[3] In 1911, John Hardin filed a mineral claim on the land, ostensibly because of the salt found there, but he actually wanted to build a resort on the land leased from the USFS.[3] He named the place Winino Springs and opened a hotel in 1914.[4] William Wallace McCredie known as "Judge", bought the lease from Hardin to build a springs resort in 1916,[3] and established a training quarters for his Portland baseball club, the Portland Beavers.[5]

A post office named Winino was established near Salt Creek on July 8, 1924.[5] The compiler of Oregon Geographic Names believed the name was of Native American origin, but could not find a definition.[5] The office was closed during the time the Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) Cascade Line was being built, on December 31, 1925, with mail going to Railhead.[5] The resort came be known as McCredie Springs.[4] McCredie Springs post office operated intermittently from September 14, 1926, until October 2, 1953.[5]

The Southern Pacific railroad servicing the area was built in 1923. During its heyday in the 1930s, the resort was served by five Southern Pacific passenger trains each day which increased its poularity.[3] In 1940, the resort community had a population of 19, cabins, a hotel, and a store.[6] However by the later years of the 1940s a new owner converted the hotel and resort into a brothel, thus diminishing its reputation at the time.[3]

The hotel burned to the ground in 1958 and the Christmas flood of 1964 destroyed the bridge that provided access to the springs and damaged the swimming pool.[3] The Forest Service cancelled the lease and razed the remaining buildings. Today, the site remains mostly natural.[4] No services remain onsite, however there is a toilet in a nearby parking lot.[3]

Hot springs

McCredie Hot Springs are hot springs located at 43°42′14″N 122°17′14″W, across OR 58 from the community, by the banks of Salt Creek.[7]

Water profile

The geothermally heated mineral water emerges from the ground at 20 US gallons (76 L) per minute at a temperature of 163 °F (73 °C).[8][9] The mineral content includes: sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum, silicon dioxide, boron, lithium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chlorine, fluorine.[9]

Further reading
  • Birkby, Jeff (2002). Touring Washington and Oregon Hot Springs. ISBN 0762711337.

See also

References
  1. "McCredie Springs". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  2. Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 43. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
  3. "McCredie Hot Springs, Cascade Mountains". Oregon Discovery. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  4. "The Hotel McCredie Springs". November 26, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 623, 1052. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  6. Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Oregon (1940). Oregon: End of the Trail. American Guide Series. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort. p. 412. OCLC 4874569.
  7. "McCredie Hot Springs". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. May 22, 1986. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  8. Berry, George W.; Grim, Paul J.; Ikelman, Joy A. (1980). Thermal Springs List for the United States. Boulder, Colorado: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 39.
  9. Niewendorp, Clark. "Geothermal Information Layer for Oregon: McCredie Hot Springs" (PDF). Oregon Geology. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
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