BEND, OR — The Old McKenzie Highway, which runs from Sisters into Lane County, is Oregon’s latest entry in the National Register of Historic Places. The roadway, now known as Highway 242, was first constructed in 1862 as a wagon route across the middle Cascades. From there, it became one of the first roadways to be improved when automobiles became more and more common. Ian Johnson, State Historian, was a guest Tuesday morning on Wake Up Bend! He said the state and the US Forest Service worked hard in the 1920s to make the roadway an “experience” for drivers.

“They designed the road so it would kind of hug the landscape, so it wouldn’t be super obvious; you know, stick out as a road. And they also designed it so it would take motorists past certain views, or with certain bends in the roads, really frame very nice vistas.”

Johnson added that it’s not common for roads to be added to the National Register.

“Roads are used all of the time and they are upgraded and changed and altered for modern traffic. So, usually, you can find an old route, but to be listed on the National Register, it has to have what’s called “historic integrity”, so it has to have enough of it’s original alignment and road features that allow it to be listed.”

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation recommended the highway’s nomination in December 2009. Almost 2,000 historic Oregon properties are now listed in the National Register, which is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

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