Government Camp is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community located in Clackamas County

Clackamas County, Oregon

Clackamas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named after the Native Americans living in the area, the Clackamas Indians, who were part of the Chinookan people. As of 2010, the population was 375,992...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, south of Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...

 and north of Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain. It is a gateway to several ski resort

Ski resort

A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...

s, the most popular being Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Skibowl

Mount Hood Skibowl

Mount Hood Skibowl is a recreation area on Mount Hood located near Government Camp, Oregon. It is the largest night ski area in the United States, and the total skiable area encompasses an area of . The resort is the closest ski venue to Portland, with an elevation of at the lodge, rising to...

. Also, Government Camp has its own, smaller ski resort, Summit Ski Area

Summit Ski Area

Summit Ski Area is a small ski park located on Mount Hood, alongside the Mount Hood Highway in Government Camp, Oregon. Built in 1927, it is the oldest ski area in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to downhill skiing and snowboarding, Summit also offers innertubing and nordic trails.. The...

. And, somewhat farther, there is another very popular resort, Mount Hood Meadows.

The community is located within the Mount Hood Corridor on U.S. Route 26 (aka the Mount Hood Scenic Byway), near its intersection with Oregon Route 35 and the Barlow Pass

Barlow Pass (Oregon)

Barlow Pass is a mountain pass in the Cascades in Oregon, on the Oregon Trail, and a major milestone of the Barlow Road. It is the crest of the Cascade Mountains: the dividing line between watersheds of the Deschutes River and those that flow into the Sandy River.It is located on the southern...

 summit of the Cascade Range

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...

.

Government Camp was given its name by settlers traveling the Barlow Road

Barlow Road

The Barlow Road is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail...

, who discovered several wagons abandoned there by the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen.

Government

Over the last decade, Government Camp went through a revitalization effort due to a Clackamas County urban renewal

Urban renewal

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

 district. With that district expiring in 2007, the community had been looking at ways to maintain current services. At a town hall meeting on November 17, 2006, citizens voted not to form a village

Village (Oregon)

A village in the U.S. state of Oregon is a model of local governance that only exists in Clackamas County. Like villages elsewhere, it is a subnational entity; like New York's villages, the definition is unique to a state .Villages in Oregon are in addition to hamlets in Oregon and to Community...

 41-58. Many residents voted against the proposal in order to seek incorporation

Municipal corporation

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...

. In May 2010, residents of the community voted on incorporation, but the measure failed by a vote of 48 against incorporation and 35 in favor of incorporation. Had the city been formed, the city would have had 138 registered voters within the city limits at the time of formation.

External links

• Government Camp Village, with map from the Clackamas County Dep't of Transportation and Development
• Mt Hood Cultural Center & Museum
• Webcam of U.S. 26 road conditions near Government Camp, from Oregon Department of Transportation
  Oregon Department of Transportation
  The Oregon Department of Transportation is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Department which, along with the Oregon State Highway...