Denman Wildlife Area - History

History

Kenneth George Denman was born in Corvallis, Oregon in 1904. His father, George Washington Denman, was superintendent of Benton County schools and began practicing law soon after the birth of his son. Kenneth's mother, Minnie Hodes, died when he was 17 years old and beginning to practice law himself.

Denman married a French teacher from Salem in 1930 named Margaret Bolt. The two of them moved to Medford for job opportunities. He remained very active in the Rogue Valley for many years until his death in 1962.

After World War II, Denman was offered a position in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (then called the Game Commission). He took the spot in 1944 and remained there for about a year and a half. Denman was reappointed in 1951 and was elevated to chairman a year later.

The Denman Wildlife Area is situated on land originally owned by the United States Government. In 1942, the US Army had established Camp White in what is now known as White City, a census-designated place located in Jackson County, Oregon. The 174 km2 (67 mi2, 43,000 acre) training facility had remained in service until the end of World War II, and almost all of it was sold as real estate.

The US Government trusted the remaining land to Department of Fish and Wildlife for use as a wildlife management area in April 1954. By then, only 7.122 km2 (2.75 ]) of the Camp White land remained.

Kenneth Denman, who had asked legislators in Salem, Oregon to set the area aside as a wildlife preserve, was regarded by Southern Oregon residents to be most responsible for the area. In March 1963, less than a year after his death, the area was renamed in his honor.