4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 1, 2017
O PINION
Offbeat Oregon History: The 804 road
The Oregon State Parks Department is not usu-
ally known for taking public access away from
people. But with a hasty and heavy-handed move
to establish Smelt Sands Park in Yachats, it did
just that — and Yachats residents, for the next 10
years, lost their access to part of the shoreline as
a result.
In the days of the pioneers along the Oregon
Coast, the few residents in the area of what’s now
Yachats got their supplies from Waldport, seven
miles to the north. To get to Waldport, they trav-
eled on the beach — part of the popular usage
of beaches for transportation that led Governor
Oswald West to offi cially designate them as state
highways.
But when that sandy “highway” reached a cer-
tain point, close to what’s now Yachats, the beach
ran out, and was replaced with a jagged line of
rocky outcroppings jutting right into the sea.
Fortunately, just behind those rocks was a love-
ly fl at shelf of land, and across that grassland there
was already a footpath that paralleled the sea; the
Native Americans of the area, faced with the same
transportation challenges as the newcomers, had
already solved the problem.
The settlers improved the trail to make it into a
wagon road, and that wagon road became County
Road 804. Yachats residents used it regularly until
1916, when an inland route was built (following
what would later be Highway 101).
After that, the 804 road fell into disuse. But lo-
cal residents continued to use it as a walking path
— and, of course, any of them was welcome to
bring a vehicle on it any time.
Half a century rolled by. Then, suddenly, every-
thing changed. The Oregon State Parks Depart-
ment wanted to develop a park at Smelt Sands,
and the 804 Road bisected it. In order to legally
make their park, they needed the county to vacate
the right of way.
Well, the county didn’t move quickly enough
for the parks department’s taste, so in 1977 they
got heavy: They appealed to the state attorney
general. The A-G responded with a ruling holding
that because it had not been “maintained” since
1916, the 804 Road right-of-way was effectively
vacated. Essentially, the A-G ignored the road’s
considerable foot traffi c, and, pointing to the ab-
sence of cars using it, claimed it had already been
abandoned.
And, just like that, the 804 Road was gone.
In blissful and happy ignorance of the damage
they’d just done, the parks department got start-
ed on Smelt Sands. And, of course, some of the
property owners across on whose property the
804 Road had fronted now moved to exclude their
neighbors from using it.
There followed a ten-year legal civil war in
Yachats, pitting neighbor against neighbor. 804
Road partisans argued that a public easement
already existed, independent of the road — es-
sentially through squatters’ rights, because it had
been in continuous unchallenged use for 60 years.
What they hoped would be overlooked was the
fact that the reason that use had gone unchal-
lenged was that no one would ever challenge us-
ers of a county road the way they would squatters
on private land.
804 Road opponents argued that it was now
unencumbered private property, and vacating the
road having extinguished the public’s right to use
it, they were within their rights to decide if they’d
allow access or not; and, furthermore, they argued
that letting anybody cross their property would in-
vite trouble and vandalism unless it were policed,
which there were no plans to do. What they hoped
would be overlooked was the fact that as far as
anyone knew, no one had ever before tried to va-
cate a right-of-way for a road that was in active
use.
Of course, the whole thing ended up in court.
The result was a victory for the public-access side
of the argument; the property owners appealed
the ruling to the Supreme Court, which upheld the
ruling in 1985.
And fi nally, in 1990, after all the surveying and
platting and planning was fi nished, the 804 Trail
was handed off to the Oregon State Parks Depart-
ment — and for the fi rst time in 13 long years,
residents of Yachats could walk the 804 trail un-
challenged.
A half-dozen or so years later, after the wounds
and scars of battle had healed, the department
negotiated to acquire an oceanfront right-of-way
south of Smelt Sands, to extend the 804 trail all
the way to the Yachats River. This trail had to
be partly routed on roads, but they’re nice quiet
roads, and the overall experience isn’t much di-
minished.
Incidentally, it was on the original 804 Road,
the three-quarter-mile stretch that’s now called the
804 Trail North, during an early-morning walk by
the sea in the summer of 2008, that plans for the
Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column were
conceived and largely doped out.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
In support of Measure 20-278
I am writing this letter to the editor to support the RENEWAL
of the South Lane County Fire & Rescue levy. The proposed local
option levy renewal will continue to impose $.47 per $1,000 of as-
sessed value for general operations for fi ve more years allowing the
continued excellent service we currently receive.
In addition, the continued presence of 24/7/365 staffi ng assists
in maintaining the District’s ISO Rating of 2/4/10W. ISO is the ac-
ronym for Insurance Services Offi ce, an organization that is an ad-
visory and rating organization for the property/casualty insurance
industry to provide statistical and actuarial services (many home
owners’ insurance companies use this information to set home own-
er’s insurance rates). The ISO rate mentioned above likely reduces
your home owner’s insurance by an equal or greater amount than
the levy amount on your property tax bill.
Without the additional tax revenue generated by the levy, the Dis-
trict will be forced to reduce existing staffi ng levels and cut service,
negatively impacting the District’s service area and ISO rating. Spe-
cifi cally, the District would reduce or eliminate its paramedic level
ambulance service due to the elimination of up to nine (9) fi refi ght-
er/paramedic positions District wide.
To sum all of this up – The levy is a RENEWAL so your property
taxes won’t go up by its passage, your home owner’s insurance is
likely lower (check with your insurance company if it isn’t) because
the levy is in place and we will see dramatic cuts in services if we
don’t continue the levy. I hope that you will help support our com-
munity and yourself by voting yes to ballot measure 20-278.
Mike Fleck
Cottage Grove
More support for fi re levy
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It was approximately 2:24 am when I witnessed my husband’s
heart stop beating, his breathing stop, and his body go limp. I im-
mediately called 911 and was walked through administering CPR.
What seemed like hours of chest compressions had only been a few
minutes before the paramedics were at my door. Because of their
quick response time my husband has been given a second lease on
life! Some of you may have experienced a similar situation, others
may have never had to use South Lane Fire District’s services but
you never know when you might. If this levy is not renewed, I hate
to think how differently things might turn out because every second
counts. Join me in supporting levy 20-278 and vote yes to renew
the levy and maintain the amazing services we receive. The cost to
maintain those services? - 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The benefi t of receiving those services? - Priceless!!
Beth Martin
C ottage G rove
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