HERALD AVD NEWS, Klamalh Falls. Ore.
Sunday, Kohruary 24, 1963
PAGE 5-A
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ALONG THE MUDDY STREETS Occasionally during the muddy season, four horses
instead of two would be used to pull the horsecar, as in this view. Also, youngsters de
lighted in climbing atop the horsecar and bedevilinq Charley Adams, the driver. The
streets were unpaved and, as the picture proves, muddy indeed.
TIED TO DEVELOPMENTS This was the Buena Vista, named for the. addition pro
moted by the Klamath Canal Company, and for which promotion the horsecar was
originated. No one seems certain of this event, but it may be the event of April, 1907,
which recounts a trip by J. M. Bucll and about 20 guests on the trolley line, then for
an excursion on the Buena Vista which had been launched only the day before on
April 12, 1907.
TROLLEY IN OPERATION The one-and-only horse-drawn trolley of Klamath Falls is
shown near the end of the line on Linlc River near Upper Klamath Lake. From left to
right, Judge George Grizzle holding his youngor daughter, Thelma, Mrs. Grizzle, Mrs.
Fry, a relative, and on the driver's seat, Charley Adams, driver.
Horse-Drawn Trolley
Once Served In City
(Continued Jrom Page 2-A)
by It. E. Hunsakcr and has at
tracted a great deal of attention.
0. A. Stearns took time by the
forelock and boarded the car at
his home and paid his fare for the
privilege.
"It is the intention of Manaser
Bucll to place the car at the dis
posal of the Fourth of July com
mittee and the service will be
inaugurated on the National Hol
iday." Apparently the earlier street
car was merely an improvised
type of car. not the Sutter
Streetcar which actually arrived
in June of 1907.
Tickets for $1.50 each were sold
for the streetcar ride of the
fourth. These were souvenir tick
ets. R. M. Richardson was the
motnrman and Dr. Martin col
lected the fares.
The Fourth ot July proved to be
one of the most sparkling parade
affairs the city has ever seen.
The future was rosy indeed for
the budding community. The rail
road was pushing near, the irri
gation canal would soon be ready,
land developments were being
pushed ahead in Hot Springs and
Buena Vista, with the KD Com
pany also pushing new develop
ments at Midland, Dorris and
Mount Hebron points.
Klamath Falls stood on thc
thrcshold of great growth. Fore
casts were flowing freely of
communitv of 50.0110 persons. This
was big talk (or a mall town of
only 2.000 persons, but everyone
could feel the breath of growth
blowing down the Klamath Basin
The streetcar was inaugurated
Horse-powered, it was destined
for an early demise by a com
bination of events. The KD Com
pany, having lost the race of the
rails, did not follow through with a
trollcv of its own. Instead, it
pushed the paving of roads in the
Hot Springs area, promoting its
development vigorously and
toil scoring the crowning triumph
w ith the construction of the White
Telican Hotel.
The little horse-drawn street
car. meantime, found itself hard-
pressed for customers and be
deviled hy the weather and the
muddy streets.
It would run to the end of the
line where the horses were un
hitched, taken around to the other
end and hitched up for the return
trip.
The city frequently asked the
company to modernize its horse-j
car and convert it into an electric!
trolley. Despite frequent prom-1
iscs of good intentions, the com
pany failed to improve beyond the
two-horse stage.
Finally in 1010 the city admin
istration issued an ultimatum to
the company to modernize or else
with the result that the city can
celled the franchise and found it
self in the trolley business.
It lasted only a short time, how
ever, and the city junked the sys
tem. The trolley car eventually
came to rest in Moore Park where
it became a fixture for many
years. In 1M0 they were still
wailing for money to fix it up.
Hjwevcr. fire struck it. and about
all that remains todav is a few
pieces of it. still at Moore Park.
In 19:18, Copco unearthed a sec
tion of the old rail line while dig-'
ging on Main .Street. Along the
old. route the horsecar followed
out California Avenue to Front
Street, embedded beneath the sur
face one may still find sandstone
markers about six inches square
and a foul and a half long with
a cross chiseled inlt the lop.
Today, the horsecar is just a
memory to some of the old-timers,
and something that has only been
mentioned in the town's history to
late comers, but there was such
a horsecar and its hitory was
pretty synonymous with the ad
vent of Klamath Falls into the
age of population explosion. To
day, some f3 years after the turn
of the century, facts prove that1
they were pretty good prophets,
back in those days. The county j
that had only 7.000 people then'
has now grown past the 50.000
mark, and the town that was just
2.000 people now is about 30.000
to 35.000 if one includes the sub
urbs which were only vacant
hillsides or open pasture land as
the ccnturv turned.
li
Government Canal
Capped Irrigation
History In County
While space in this issue docs
not permit us to fully explore the
history behind the irrigation that
enabled the Klamath Country to
blossom out into a major agri
cultural center, it is important to
briefly recognize the various irri
gation attempts.
The first such attempt was
made by a number of I.inkville
citizens who organized the Link
ville Water Ditch Company back
in lfiTR. II years alter Linkville
was begun.
A hcadcale was placed in the
fast bank of Link River near
its entrance off Upper Klamath
Lake and a small canal was dug
through the then town of Link
ville and the water was used to
irrigate town lots. It was known
as the Ankcny Canal.
In IftJU. William .Slccle. a
rancher, acquired rights in the
company and extended the ditch
rut into the sagebrush for about
15 miles to permit cultivation ant
to prove up on government land
Forty miner s inches of water
was given the company and Steele
took the rest.
After his death in iwa. the
Klamath Falls Irrigation Compa
ny was termed which enlarged the
canal to a capacity of 50 sec
ond feet.
The canal ran alone the foot
hills in a southeasterly direction
from Klamath Falls for about
e ;ht m.lcs where it divided into
two branches. The maximum
acreage irrigated war, probably
never greater than 4.000 acres.
While this canal was being util
ized, others sprang up in the area.
The Van Brimmer brothers built
a canal to supply water from the
White Lake arm of Lower Klam
ath to about 4.000 acres in the
vicinity of Merrill. This was in
I8JH.
In infff. J. Frank Adams com
pleted a small canal from Lost
River to Adams Point, about six
miles This was known as the Lit
tle Klamalh Water Ditch Com
pany. It was later extended to
about 22 miles in length.
The Moore Brothers. Charles
and Rufuj built a ditch in 1877
that Urk off near the Itapids on
Link River, ran along the west
hank (or alxiut OV) feet. This was
used to transport logs and (urnish
power. In 18!I2 it was reconstruct
ed to a length of 3.750 feet and
water used (or power (or a flour
mill and for irrication.
On Mav 18. 11104. the Klamath
Canal Company was orcamzed
and incorporated (or $1 million
This comiany acquired certain
rights n( way and water filings
along a line which had been ex
plored for a government canal
Their rights were finally pur
chased from the federal govern
ment for Jl.vi.nno.
In 1!H officials of the Reclama
tion Service 'organized two years
before' laid down four stipulations
the area must meet before gov-
irnnliniK-d On Page 13-A)
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