robert & charles wilson houses

warm springs, oregon

PROJECT

The Robert & Charles Wilson Houses are located on the southeastern edge of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTSWRO) Reservation in Warm Springs, Oregon. The CTWSRO hired Peter Meijer Architect, PC to guide the preservation planning and grant application process to restore these historic resources. My role was to perform research on the history of the houses and write grant applications to the Kinsman Foundation and Restore Oregon. With the recent closures of the Warm Springs Forest Products Industries (WSFPI) and the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, the rehabilitation of the Wilson houses would provide a much-needed economic driver for the Tribes as well as a unique opportunity for cultural interpretation.

Further information about this project can be found in the Tribes' newspaper Spilyay Tymoo.

HISTORY

In 1943, the Tribes settled a contract with Ray L. Wilson that allowed him to establish the Warm Springs Lumber Mill (WSLM) on the Reservation under a stipulation that tribal members would receive employment priority in the new business. Tribal members struggled to enforce this stipulation and lost control of an industry that had largely supported their internal economy.

In 1945, Ray’s sons, Robert and Charles Wilson, took over ownership of the mill after returning from war. Robert approached Pietro Belluschi in 1946 to design the vacation homes for his family and brother east of the Warm Springs Reservation on the bank of the Deschutes River. Charles Wilson moved to California to take over another family lumber business in 1950. In 1965, Robert Wilson sold WSLM to Samuel Johnson, owner of the Jefferson Plywood Company in Madras, and sold the vacation homes to Duke Morrison of Duke Properties Corporation.

In 1967, the Tribes acquired both Jefferson Plywood and WSLM from Johnson under the subsidiary “Warm Springs Forest Products Industries” (WSFPI). This new enterprise allowed the Tribes to recoup control of the lumber industry and continued to do so until its recent closure in 2016.

In 1990, the CTWSRO bought the vacation homes from Morrison to reclaim the land and utilize to the structures for cultural interpretation and the Tribes' economic endeavors.