Klamath County
Klamath Falls - County Seat
Klamath Falls is located in Southwestern Oregon between Lower Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna. In the early nineteenth century, when Anglo-European settlers first arrived in the area, they found a short river connecting the two lakes with water flowing from the Upper Klamath into Ewauna. They named it the Link River. The area was considered to be swampland and was not coveted by the early settlers. It was home to the Klamath Indian Tribe and they were left to it. Their name for the area was Yulalona (aka Ewauna). By the end of the Civil War, however, pressure on the land had increased, and the federal government opened this area to homesteading in 1867. A New Yorker, George Nurse, quickly homesteaded 160 acres on the Link River. Rafting supplies and lumber in from Fort Klamath to the north, he built a store and hotel and began encouraging people to settle in the area. During the Modoc Indian War (1872 - 1873), a relatively large number of important outsiders passed through his hotel and gave the emerging community some favorable media exposure. In 1878, Nurse published the first plat of the town which he proposed to call Linkville. Nurse was well liked and served in several important town positions before moving to Yreka in 1883. Ten years after his departure, in 1893, the community changed it's name to Klamath Falls. (At the time there was a small falls on the Link River.)
In the late nineteenth century, Klamath Falls was a sleepy backwater and the community did not really prosper until the federal government undertook the Klamath Reclamation Project in 1906. Money and people poured into the area and vast tracks of wetlands were transformed into fertile farm land virtually overnight. A new wave of settlers homesteaded the new land and Klamath Falls became an important agricultural center. Logging was also an important part of the economy of the area with the railroad shipping large quantities of pine and fir to the world markets. All of this prosperity came to a sudden halt at the turn of the century. Environmental concerns severely limited water use for agriculture and greatly restricted timber harvesting. Today, the City of Klamath Falls describes itself as a community in transition. Tourism is being promoted and retirees are being encouraged to settle there. The impact of history is clearly evident during a visit. Like so many other small cities and towns in America, "old town" has lost it's economic viability to strip malls and fast food emporiums on what used to be the outskirts of the community. An effort is being made to preserve the historic center, but unfortunately it is very much an uphill battle.
There are a lot of reasons to visit Klamath Falls, but one of the more important is the birds. Situated on the Great American Flyway and surrounded by large areas of wetlands this is a birdwatcher's paradise. Six very important wildlife refuges are sprinkled nearby and the lakes on both sides of town are full of avian diversity. A lakeside park and hiking trail gives good access to Lake Ewauna and is an excellent place to start your visit. (While there, note the tall snag full of birds on the edge of the lake. It is one of the few places that I have ever seen a large flight of cormorants roosting in a tree, but understand that if you visit in the winter, Bald Eagles may well be in residence.)
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