Jacksonville-to-Fort Klamath Military Wagon Road

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Jacksonville-to-Fort Klamath Military Wagon Road
Jacksonville-Ft Klamath Military Road 1 -Oregon.jpg
USA Oregon location map.svg
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LocationSouth of Butte Falls, Oregon
Coordinates 42°28′46″N122°26′57″W / 42.47944°N 122.44917°W / 42.47944; -122.44917 Coordinates: 42°28′46″N122°26′57″W / 42.47944°N 122.44917°W / 42.47944; -122.44917
Area154 acres (62 ha)
Built1863
Built byDept. of the Army
NRHP reference # 79002068 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 16, 1979

The Jacksonville-to-Fort Klamath Military Wagon Road, from Jacksonville, Oregon to Fort Klamath Fort Klamath, Oregon, was built in 1863 by the U.S. Department of the Army. Segments of the road were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The listing included four contributing structures. [1]

Jacksonville, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer gold claims in the area. It includes Jacksonville Historic District, which was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1966. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,785, up from 2,235 at the 2000 census.

Fort Klamath park and former fort in Oregon, USA

Fort Klamath was a military outpost near the western end of the Oregon Trail, between Crater Lake National Park and Upper Klamath Lake in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The Fort Klamath Site, about a mile southeast of the present community of Fort Klamath, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Fort Klamath, Oregon unincorporated community in Oregon, USA

Fort Klamath is an unincorporated community between Crater Lake National Park and Upper Klamath Lake in Klamath County, Oregon, United States.

It incorporates part or all of Rancheria Road (also known as Rancheria Trail), Fourmile Lake Rd., Butte Falls-to-Pelican Bay Road, Mt. Pitt Road, and Col. Drew's Road. It crossed Fourbit Ford on Fourbit Creek. [2]

It was the first "trans-Cascadian" wagon road, and connected the Rogue River Valley and the upper Klamath Basin. [2]

Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties in California. The 15,751-square-mile (40,790 km2) drainage basin is 35% in Oregon and 65% in California. In Oregon, the watershed typically lies east of the Cascade Range, while California contains most of the river's segment that passes through the mountains. In the Oregon-far northern California segment of the river, the watershed is semi-desert at lower elevations and dry alpine in the upper elevations. In the western part of the basin, in California, however, the climate is more of temperate rainforest, and the Trinity River watershed consists of a more typical alpine climate.

Among other effects, the road brought the first sawmill to the Klamath Basin. [2]

Sawmill facility where logs are cut into timber

A sawmill or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern saw mills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes. The "portable" saw mill is iconic and of simple operation—the logs lay flat on a steel bed and the motorized saw cuts the log horizontally along the length of the bed, by the operator manually pushing the saw. The most basic kind of saw mill consists of a chainsaw and a customized jig, with similar horizontal operation.

It is believed that 1909 is the date of the last wagon traversal of the entire road, and that the 1910 Cat Hill Fire contributed to its effective closure. [2]

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Pelican Butte mountain in United States of America

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Franklin Burnet Sprague was an American military officer, businessman, and judge. He joined the Union Army during the Civil War, serving on the Oregon frontier. During his military service, Sprague explored much of Southern Oregon. While building a road near Fort Klamath, Sprague led a party into the Cascade Mountains to investigate Crater Lake. His party was the first to descend the 800-foot caldera wall to reach the lake's shore. A month later, Sprague published an article highlighting the lake's unique beauty. Today, the Sprague River in southern Oregon bears his name.

Honeymoon Creek Snow-Survey Cabin

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Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road former road in Oregon, USA

The Stone Bridge is a causeway built by the United States Army in 1867. It crosses the marshy channel that connects Hart Lake and Crump Lake in a remote area of Lake County in eastern Oregon, United States. It was later incorporated into the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road which was completed in 1872. The wagon road eventually became the subject of scandal and litigation ending with a United States Supreme Court decision in 1893. The Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Today, the Stone Bridge is located on land claimed by the State of Oregon under riparian rights. The wagon road adjacent to the Stone Bridge is owned by the United States Government and is administered by Bureau of Land Management.

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Charles S. Drew Union Army officer

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Ady is an unincorporated historic locale in Klamath County, Oregon, United States.

<i>Klamath</i> (steamboat)

Klamath was the first and only vessel larger than a launch to operate on Lower Klamath Lake, which straddled the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and California. This vessel is chiefly known for having been hauled overland by rail from Lake Ewauna to Upper Klamath Lake. It was also one of only two licensed merchant vessels ever to operate on lower Klamath Lake. During 1905 to 1909, Klamath was an essential link in a transportation line to Klamath Falls which involved rail, stage coach, and steamer travel. The late arrival of railroads to the Klamath lakes region made riverine and lake transport more important to the area.

<i>Winema</i> (sternwheeler)

Winema was the largest steamboat ever to operate on Upper Klamath Lake in the U.S. state of Oregon. The steamer ran from 1905 to 1919, when it was hauled out of the water permanently. Winema was sunk by a sudden squall in August 1907. The vessel was raised, rebuilt and returned to service. The steamer remained out of the water for a number of years in the 1920, until it caught fire in 1925 or 1927 and was destroyed.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jeffrey LaLande (1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Jacksonville-to-Fort Klamath Military Wagon Road / Rancheria Rd., Fourmile Lake Rd., and Butte Falls-to-Pelican Bay Road, Mt. Pitt Road, and Col. Drew's Road". National Park Service . Retrieved June 18, 2018. With accompanying 12 photos from 1977