Samuel Christopher Lancaster (1864 – March 4, 1941) was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

, known for his work on the Columbia River Highway.

Biography

Samuel_C_Lancaster_Plaque_Crown_Point_Oregon

Samuel Lancaster was born in

Magnolia, Mississippi Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Magnolia was founded in ...

in 1864, and grew up in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. He came to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in 1908 and was hired by

Sam Hill Sam or Samuel Hill may refer to: * Sam Hill (euphemism), an American English slang phrase for "the devil" or "hell" personified People Sports * Sam H. Hill (1898–1978), American football coach and sports figure * Sam Hill (baseball) (1926–1 ...

to design his experimental roads at

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

in 1909. He did a plan for the campus of

Linfield College Linfield University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with campuses in McMinnville, Oregon, McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participate in the Northwest ...

before beginning supervision of the Columbia River Highway in 1913. He also promoted Crown Point as the site of an observatory. Lancaster was instrumental in the building of the 7-mile Larch Mountain Trail, which begins at the

Multnomah Falls Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, Oregon, Troutdale, between Corbett, Oregon, Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the ...

Lodge and climbs to the summit of Larch Mountain. The trail was completed in September 1915. In October 1915, he founded the Trails Club of Oregon and became its first president. He died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at his home in Portland on March 4, 1941.

References

External links

* American landscape architects American engineers Historic Columbia River Highway 1864 births 1941 deaths Artists from Oregon People from Magnolia, Mississippi {{US-engineer-stub