Too little time, money to save powerhouse With a deadline nearing to remove Gold Ray Dam, history must take a back seat

We're as supportive as almost anyone in the Rogue Valley when it comes to protecting our historical heritage. But we profess to having a difficult time supporting the idea of preserving a rundown powerhouse building on a dam that seems destined for removal.

Jackson County officials are working furiously to tie up the loose ends of a proposal to remove the old Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River north of Central Point. Speed is necessary, because a $5 million federal stimulus grant must be used this year. While there has been some opposition to the idea of removing the dam because of concerns over impacts to a backwater area, the project appears to have widespread support.

A new variable has been introduced to the equation, however: The powerhouse building on the north side of the river below the dam is being described as perhaps the oldest example of prairie-style architecture in Southern Oregon and there is some pressure to preserve it.

To their credit, the historical preservationists who have examined the building do not suggest that the 106-year-old dam be kept in place to preserve the powerhouse. They agree with the general consensus that there is great value in removing the dam, which would allow the Rogue to flow freely for 153 miles, from Lost Creek Dam to the Pacific Ocean. The benefits to fisheries and the river's ecosystem far outweigh concerns over a potentially historical building.

It may be possible to remove the dam and keep the building, but there are questions about the value of doing so. The building is dilapidated from years of neglect and vandalism.

Visitors to the building enter at their own risk and walk across floors that sag beneath their weight. Restoring the building to a usable condition likely would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more.

In a day and age of enormous deficits and declining funding for critical services, it's hard to come up with a strong argument for spending anything on the project beyond what is absolutely necessary to facilitate the dam removal.

For starters, the location is very remote and not easily accessible to the public. It seems to us to be a spot more likely to attract a young drinking crowd at night, rather than a crowd of history buffs during the day. The value of historical preservation drops off rapidly if the preserved history cannot be shared with the public in any meaningful way. It also strikes us as incongruous that a large sum of money would be spent preserving a building of relatively marginal historical value, even as the Southern Oregon Historical Society cannot keep its own doors open and has difficulty protecting some of the most important historical properties in the region.

One possibility for the powerhouse site would be an interpretive kiosk, that would describe what was at the site and perhaps show some artifacts and historical photos.

That seems like a reasonable option. Spending a lot money on the building — even that "free" money from the federal government — or allowing the process to drag on and jeopardize the dam removal are not options anyone should consider.