After World War II, the former Camp Adair site was brought back into military use during the Cold War. The Air Force established Adair Air Force Station, which operated roughly from the late 1950s until 1969. It became an important part of the SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) air-defense network.
The plan was to add a BOMARC (CIM-10 Bomarc) surface-to-air missile launch facility to the installation. The missiles were intended to defend the Pacific Northwest against attacking enemy aircraft. Contemporary reporting described Camp Adair as the location of the SAGE radar/control system that would detect aircraft and direct BOMARC missiles toward their targets.
Construction began in the late 1950s. In 1959, Camp Adair was officially selected as a BOMARC site. However, the project was cancelled in March 1960, while construction was already substantially underway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms that the Air Force began construction of the launch facility but never completed it.
Interestingly, contemporary newspaper reports show that the cancellation came rather abruptly. On March 26, 1960, the Oregon Statesman reported that the Air Force had ordered the Camp Adair missile project halted. The following day, a Boeing engineer working at the site said he had not even received official notice of the cancellation.
What was actually built?
This is where the Camp Adair BOMARC story gets interesting for your Camp Adair Legacy Project.
The project wasn't simply an idea on paper. Significant infrastructure was constructed before the cancellation. Surviving documentation includes a Camp Adair Missile Facility Map and an Adair AFS (BOMARC) Site Plan.
The planned site is generally identified in the former Camp Adair area.
The BOMARC installation would have been part of a much larger air-defense system:
Radar detection → SAGE computer/control center → BOMARC launch facility → missile intercept
The SAGE facility at Adair actually became operational, while the BOMARC launch facility did not. The Army Corps of Engineers specifically describes the former Camp Adair/Adair Air Force Station as having been used for a SAGE support facility from 1958–1969 and notes that BOMARC construction was started but never completed.
A great Camp Adair Legacy Project topic
I think this would make an excellent section of your website because it shows that Camp Adair's history didn't end in 1946. The site went from:
1942–1946: WWII Army training center
↓
1946–1950s: Disposition and civilian reuse
↓
1950s–1969: Cold War Adair Air Force Station
↓
1958–1960: SAGE/BOMARC defense project
↓
1960: BOMARC launch facility cancelled
↓
1969: Adair Air Force Station closed
The Oregon State Archives actually has a collection specifically documenting Adair Air Force Station, including contemporary newspaper articles about the missile project. One of the listed articles is titled “Anyone want $2 million unused Bomarc launching pads” from 1960—an especially interesting lead for your research.