Administration Office - Siskiyou Smokejumper Base - Cave Junction, OR - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Administration Office
The parachute loft was originally constructed with an administration office and dispatch center included in the front portion of the structure, but, as the operation grew, a building was imported in 1962 to perform administrative and dispatch functions. This building is the Redwood Ranger Station administration building, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps for the U. S. Forest Service in 1936 and originally located in Cave Junction. Although constructed prior to the Smokejumping base, the administration building temporarily served as the facility's administration building when smokejumping operations were first established at Cave Junction in 1943. Administrative functions were moved to the base in 1949 when the parachute loft was constructed. When the building was moved to the airport in 1962, it again assumed its role in administration of the smokejumping program until the base closed in 1981. Due to the building's association with supporting the smokejumping mission, its relative integrity, and its compatible rustic-style design that it is considered a contributing resource to the historic district.

The building retains its original horizontal redwood weatherboard with board-and-batten siding covering the gable end above the eave-line. The interior retains much of its original oak flooring and pine paneling. The fenestration of the building's main elevation consists of a centrally placed door flanked on one side by an eightover-eight double-hung sash window with lambs-tongue stops and a pair of sliding glass windows. All other windows are similarly treated eight-over-eight windows. The main doorway is recessed and situated within a projecting, gabled bay that is sheathed above the eave line with board-and-batten siding. Despite being constructed almost a decade before the parachute loft, the building's overall, rustic-style design is compatible with the other buildings within the historic district. Even though the gable roof was originally sheathed with wood shingles, it is currently covered with three-tab composite roofing.

A nearby interpretive display also highlights this building's history and tells us:

This building was constructed in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and used as the Redwood Ranger Station at Cave Junction where the smokejumper program was administered from its beginnings in 1943. In 1963, the building was moved to the base where it was used to administer the smokejumping program until the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base closed in 1981.