Single Publication

Strube Camp History:

Strube Forest Camp was located along the old South Fork road, now Forest Road 100 4140, below the present site of Cougar Dam.  Stube Camp, Camp Strube, & Strube’s Camp are variant wording.  Martha Belknap (1979a) and Marie Strube Slawson (1979) said that the camp area was on the east side of the South Fork of the McKenzie River, and just south of Aufderheide Forest Drive (FS 19).  During the 1900’s, Strube camp was at the end of the road up the South Fork; beyond the camp there was only a horse trail.  The old South Fork Trail began across the river on the west shore.  A new road, called Box Canyon Road, was constructed past this point by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930’s.  Old Forest Service road-distance records indicate that Strube Camp was 3.6 kilometers (2.25 miles) past Belknap Bridge (White and Stewart, 1936). 

Of the several stories that have appeared about the origin of the camp name, Bill Lynch (1979) wrote the true story in the Eugene Register-Guard in 1979: “…apparently at the turn of the century a German-born cattleman by the name of Strube regularly drove herds of beef from Central Oregon to the Willamette Valley and had a cattle camp on the South Fork of the McKenzie River.  The place became knows as Strube Camp. 

Marie Strube Slawson stopped at the Belknap place a few years ago and left a note saying that she remembered camping along the South Fork as a small girl.  Marie Strube Slawson (1979) and her brother Charles G. Strube, Jr. (1979A) related that around 1865 their grandparents, Gustov Strube (?-1890) and Luise Strube (?-1940) lived in Portland where Gustav owned a meat market and slaughterhouse.  Marie (1904 -    ), Charles G Jr. (1898 -    ) father Charles G., Sr. (1874 – 1966), Mother Marie S. (Dates unknown) and their dog camped for four summers (1912 – 1915) at this location along the South Fork of the McKenzie River.  Father and son rode horses to the camp to clean it up before mother and daughter arrived. A few days later, Marie and her mother would travel from Portland to Eugene, then take the stage to the Trotters, now called the Holiday Farm at Rainbow, which was across the river from the Belknap “Ranch”.  After staying overnight at the Trotter’s, they would walk across Belknap Bridge and on to the camp which was about three kilometers (two miles) away.  During their summer long visits, the Strube’s would walk several miles to nearby homes to get fresh milk and vegetables.  For several years there was a cedar sign stating “Strube” that hung at the camp, which was carved by either Charles, Sr. or Charles Jr.  the men fished the South Fork during their visits.  “My father was very strictly a fly fisherman and did not approve of my catching Dollys (Varden, Salvelinus malma, which were plentiful in the South Fork at that time).  But I am not much on eating fish.  But big Dolly baked with at bread stuffing makes a good meal! (Strube, 1979b).”

A Forest Service shelter was constructed at Strube Camp in the 1930’s.  Jim Drury (1979), a retired Forest Service employee, reported that he helped in building of the shelter.