Dyer State Wayside
Dyer State Wayside
Map showing the location of Dyer State Wayside
Map showing the location of Dyer State Wayside
Location of Dyer State Wayside in Oregon
LocationGilliam, Oregon, United States
Coordinates45°07′28″N 120°11′13″W / 45.12444°N 120.18694°W / 45.12444; -120.18694[1]
Area0.6 acres (0.24 ha)
Elevation2,431 ft (741 m)[1]
Established1931; renovated 1997
Named forJ.W. Dyer, land donor
OperatorOregon Parks and
Recreation Department;
Dyer Partners (volunteers)

Dyer State Wayside, a rest stop with picnic tables and public toilets, lies about 10 miles (16 km) south of Condon, along Oregon Route 19. It occupies 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) in a narrow canyon along a branch of Thirty Mile Creek[2] at the mouth of Ramsey Canyon.[3]

History

The grounds are named for J.W. Dyer, who gave the land to the state in 1931.[2] In 1997, a group of volunteers called Dyer Partners renovated the park, which had become "an overgrown weed patch with rotting picnic tables".[4] They trimmed locust trees, built fences, repaired picnic tables, and planted fruit trees. The federal Bureau of Land Management donated two surplus toilets in 1999 and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department built vaults for the toilets. In 2000, OPRD installed an irrigation system and Gilliam County road crews made pathways and improved the parking lot.[4] In 2004, the group, whose numbers were said to be "dwindling," made another stab at improving the site. With assistance from personal from Deschutes State Park, they aimed to make connections with water pipes installed two years earlier.[3] As of 2016, the park's sole textual reference (as Dyer State Park) on the Oregon State Park's website was as a place where metal detecting can be pursued.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Dyer State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b Bannan, Jan (2002). Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide (2 ed.). Seattle, Wa.: The Mountaineers Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-89886-794-0.
  3. ^ a b "Dyer Park Partners set date to install pipes". The Times-Journal. Condon, Or. April 8, 2004. p. 7. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Peterson, Tom (Winter 2007–08). "Park partners re-discover forgotten wayside" (PDF). The Volunteer Voice. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. pp. 1, 12. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  5. ^ "Where can I metal detect?". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
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