KWSO Warm Springs Campus History Project

KWSO began a project in 2023 to gather information, stories, documents and photos about the Warm Springs Campus area.  We conducted interviews with individuals about their memories and knowledge of the area.

“Campus” as it is known was the hub for Federal Government operations on the Warm Springs Reservation.  The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service was located in this area as was housing for their employees and employee families.

In recent years, many of those homes were demolished due to costly renovation and abatement needs.  Over the years, several plans have been made for redevelopment of the area.  Most recently the Warm Springs Community Action Team relocated the old commissary building to a prominent location on the corner of Paiute and Wasco streets.  The goal is to renovate and reinvent the facility to house a small business incubator to support private business growth in Warm Springs.  They continue to raise funds to implement the planned renovations.

During the summer of 2023, KWSO interviewed community members and shared some of what they had to say about the campus area in local news programming.  If you have a good story or a memory from the past that is linked to the campus area – we are still wanting to do more interviews.    Whether you lived in the area, played basketball on the campus court, remember BIA families that used to live there, attended school at Warm Springs Elementary, remember the snake slide, or worked at the Indian Health Service Clinic, all stories and memories are welcome.  You can contact KWSO to set up an interview.

Ultimately KWSO is interested in creating a self-guided historical walking tour of campus that can be enjoyed by locals as well as visitors who pull in off Highway 26.

In the meantime, we are also seeking any photographs of Campus that can help to tell its story through the years.

Currently, KWSO has created a small flip book with a bit of information and a photo of structures to help with initial plans for the walking tour.  You can stop by the Thursday Market to pick one up and check it out.