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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1963)
KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON. SUNDAY, MARCH 31. IM Forest IHIouse Umth Once !a$te usinesses d Many i By J. 0. McKIWEY Five miles out of Yreka. Siski you County, on tlie Fort Jones Itoad, Forest House Ranch is lo cated. More than 100 years ago it was the headquarters or more going business branches than are to be .found in the whole of Siski you County today. The ordinary enterprises of the country were on this ranch that is situated on either bank of Forest House Creek, and there were others not found here today. Nowhere now will one find a bonded distillery. No com mercial orchards are operating. No brick kiln, no fruit drying, canning, or packing plants. The list could go on. Ordinary modern enterprises such as saw mills, box factories, and stock raising that are common now were also carried out here dur ing the days of grizzly bears and gold strikes. And probably the most unique activity of this versatile economic center of the long ago was a toll road. A turnpike was built over Fort Jones Mountain and main tamed by the Forest House own er to be used at a price. Today a freeway stretches across this spur of the Siskiyou Mountains on which cars may scoot with-1 out paying toll. It is a far cry from freight wagons and bull teams. This storied economic structure of early days was founded about 1850 by the firm of Knight and Short, and initial development was begun on land leased from the federal government. When all the enterprises built by this far sighted team were going con cerns, the men decided they should own the land. The princely sum ol S7a gave them a patent to it. Today if a would - be buyer came along and offered $75 per acre for the spread, he would be either laughed out of the coun tryor run out, according to the present owner, Fred C. Burton. Besides being a local industrial empire, Forest House in early days was a social center. It was here that all dances of more than ordinary standing were held. Here was where all big-time weddings were solemnized. Here was where folks wanted to be seen at all public functions. And here was located one of the big early day entertain mentsa battle between a griz zly bear and a rampaging range bull. This was necessarily staged inside an arena from which neith er contestant could escape. Get ting the winner out of that cage after the battle was never con sidered. It never needed to be. Both these beasts asked nor gave no quarters, and both died in the arena after a display of courage and fighting heart that excited the admiration of all who wit nessed it. Each were champions and died like such. One of the industries of Forest House lasted well into the mem ory of present dwellers of North ern California. That was ice pro- lK r ft jo Avi M v r fit J5 J fuS JWj V jA PRESENT OWNER Fred C. Burton, owner of Forest House, poses among the numerous Indian artifacts dis played around the old bar area in the front room of the house. They were given to his late wife by Indian friends over a period of years. Burton, a livestock man, now con ducts a cattle and hog operation on the Ill-year-old ranch. rred W. Burton, an attorney with offices in Yreka. has taken time to searched back numbers of. Yreka Union, a newspaper of that region dating back to the 1850s. He has a box full of clip pings which tell of many interest ing episodes in the annals of the old holstery. The old headquarters, Forest House, whose history opened in 1852, has expanded its name to take in the big ranch. But it is an unusual place in itself. Dur ing early days when w ine, cider brandies, and whisky were manu tactured under federal permit there, the front room contained (Hicuon ana aislriDulion Deiore a bar, but liquor was never sold we nays u aruiiciai reinBera-there after 1H95. Religious sera lion. A nearoy pond, beside which. pes curtailed that activitv. Kninhi sold his interest to a man named Brown, a nephew of Short, in 1890, and Brown's wife, a Pres byterian, finally ruled out all drinking. But the big bar still remains. It is used now as a show place tor Indian baskets and other ar tifacts given the late Mrs. Burton, wife of owner Fred C. Burton. She was a great favorite of In dians who never visited her with out leaving some cherished trinket. an ice house was built, supplied with the aid of freezing weather and an ice wagon all the ice needed for the community. At one time it is reported six men were hired to saw and store ice during a convenient cold snap. But the pride and joy of this business empire was Forest House orchards. At one time it is reported 10,000 bearing apple trees were growing there. Peach es, pears and plums also added to the total. The first carlot of freight shipped from Yreka over the Yreka-Western Railway was a carlot of apples from Forest House. A dchydrator, called evaporator in the early days, was built about 1860 to dry fruit. It was in evi dence until several weeks ago but more than 100 years of exist ence had taken its toll. Fred W. Burton, son of the present ranch owner, Fred C. Burton, who helps his father manage the big spread said it was necessary to tear down the old fruit drying build ing on March 9. Its decrepit slate made it a hazard to live stock which now covers the ranch. The old icehouse, a concrete structure made from material de veloped on the ranch, is still staunch. If, and when it is re moved, dynamite will have to be depended on to reduce it to rub ble. An old barn across the road Irom the home place W'as once a stage station and hotel, and it is still filled with stagecoaches and other equipment used 100 years ago during ox team and stagecoach days. The Burtons at limes run out . a four-horse rig and drive it in parades. mm 9 : Mmm ill i r j ff': ivjW ' r; ,.; V ; ( ,f J (j " llLa ill muj s ( liimi 1 1 i iiiii i nn imiiiMy,, . .. . -v -' "f.. .MH:,m , . . .. : --,-.t(l FOREST HOUSE Built in 1852 and still a stately old structure, Forest House in its time was a stage station, hotel, bar, ranch headquarters, and one of the social centers of Siskiyou County. Located" five miles from Yroko, the Forest House Ranch had numerous business enterprises con ducted within its confines, including a distillery and a commercial or chard with 10,000 fruit-bearing apple trees. idea ICE HOUSE Before the days of artificial refriqeration, the community deper on another Forest House operation for its supply of ice. In this ice house was stored as much ice as six men could cut from an adjacent pond during the winter freezes. The ranch alone produced and distributed all of the refrigeration needed by people in the area. A'; - i r:;l-f -hi - w OLD DEHYDRATOR The Forest House orchards were once both productive and profitable, so a fruit drying house was built in I860 to dry the apples, pears, peaches, and plums for the packing and canning operations which were established on the ranch. It served its purpose for many years, but it was in such a decrepit state that it was necessary to tear it down several weeks ago. . - Glamour Of Early Day Boating Industry On Upper Klamath Lake Recalled By Shasta Senior Citizen Steamboaling on the inland wa. tors adjacent to Klamath Basin may sound like science fiction to the uninitiated today. However, it is not fiction, but cold facts. George Thornton, a 91-year-old resident of Mount Shasta, vouch es for its authenticity. Not only dues he know such exited, but he has ridden on all the routes trav eled by early boat. The boating industry was pio neered during the Modoc Indian War. It continued until 1909 when changing conditions brought about a decline. Today an outboard motorboat is a convenience well able to handle all demands for water travel. What a visitor to day sees big grain fields and an elevator in which to house the crops looks little like paddle wheel steamers that once carried cargoes across that same terri tory. One of the early day boats, the Mayflower, was built in 1889 by a Captain Dustin. It was a wood burning stei heeler that, on its maiden voyage, got stuck on a mud flat. It survived this initial mishap, and carried freight and passengers for a few years. Two other boats, each named Canby, did a hitch in the Upper and Lower Klamath lakes. Lake Ewauna, Link and Klamath riv ers. Thev were built by a man named McCormich. When Canby No. 1 cracked up, parts of it were used in its namesake, and suc cessor. These didn't last long. The boat that proved to be the queen of these waters was the Klamath, built in 1905. It navi- n?rtn Tit"- Hill i "j i "j g 1 ysjjjfc f i zu'idfj. iL-J i VP STEAMBOAT EXCURSIONS Built in 1935. The Klamath was the queen of the water ways for four years. Not only was it a necessary mode of travel, but it provided moonliqht trips and Sunday excursions for those who enjoyed the romance of a boat ride. The remains of the steamer ere said to be in the channel to the Pelican Bay saw. mill on Upper Klamath Lake. gated until 1909. Its ruins are said to be in the channel to Peli can Bay Sawmill on Upper Klam ath Lake. During this boat's heyday it was quite a social event to take moonlight trips or Sunday excur sions on it. Mrs. Dolly Nixon, of Yreka, as a young lady, was cook on the floating palace. She states it achieved much local fame as an aid to romance. This steamer was a link in one bit of transportation that today has the appearance of being de signed by Rube Golberg. A trav eler could take the Klamath from Klamath Falls to Laird's Landing at the south end of Lower Klam ath Lake 55 miles away. From this debarking point, a stage con nection went to Bartle, 45 miles south, where a McCloud River Railway train carried the trav eler to Upton on the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway 53 miles west. All these places were prominent in their way. 'Upton was a town of 3,000 residents. Today, both Upton and Laird's Landing arc gone. Bartle is but a section hand stop on the Mc Cloud Railway. George Thornton now states he is curious to see wliat other changes may come to this region before he checks out. Ho states that both Laird's Landing and Up ton once appeared destined to be come prominent places. Now Liner Graceful in Drydock SOUTHAMPTON. England (UPI For you blase souls who have been everywhere and done everything, here's something new to try some time: go take a stroll under the liner Queen Elizabeth. It can be done it has been done. It just takes a little sta us, nerve and a strong back. There is a six-week period eachl year when you can walk under the Queen. That is the lime she spends in drydock in Southamp ton for her annual overhaul, which is perhaps the world's big gest spring cleaning job. During that lime, the liner is scraped and painted, one of her four sets of engines is replaced, and the cabins and staterooms arc all spruced up. To make your sub-liner trip, you will have to go to the bottom of the dry dock, which is a pit about 80 feet deep in which sits the Queen Elizabeth, looking eerie and uncomfortable out of water. But from just under the bow of the ship, the ship's grace of line is most evident. She looks sleek and beautiful. As you walk back along the side, you notice that the 1,031-foot liner is neatly balanced in the center and along the sides on steel supports. To set it on the supports so it will stay up requires pin-point accuracy. The center of the bot tom of the hull must be settled within one inch on the center supports. Skindivers direct the op eration from bencatu the ship and if she misses the first time, the liner is refloated until she is per fectly set down. Walking beneath the bottom of the hull is like walking in a cave. For about 100 yards, you walk stooped over in a space about four fret high. But there are com pensations. To bump your head on 83.673 tons and survive Is brac ing to the ego. CITK NATHAN LKOI'OLI) WASHINGTON UPI - Nathan LeoK)ld, 1924 Chicago "thrill kill er," has been cited by the Na tional Science Foundation for re search in the social sciences. The 59 year-old Leopold, who re cently completed his parole, was among three students at tlie Uni versity of Puerto Rico who re ceived honorable mentions (or scholarship. PR n WATER TRAVELER Georqe Thornton of Mt. Shasta is one old-timer who can remember the steam boat era well. He has rid den on all the inland water routes adjacent to the Klamath Basin which the early boats traveled. both are gone and he still re mains. But covered with water and cat tails, the abode of waterfowl and mu.tkrat, or growing thousands of tons of brewing barley, Klatnath Basin can never be commonplace Whatever station it occupies, it heads Uiat list. 11 is that kind of a country. ft 6 ' 1 t . 0 3k GHOST TOWN Once a thriving town of 3,000 people and an important link in transportation connections in the old steamer days, Upton has now all but dis appearod from the scene. From Klamath Falls, a traveler then had to take a steam boat, staqe, and a train to reach Upton, which was on the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway. trill -: n "tf-r iWiYi 5' III 1 1 mm. DEBARKATION POINT Laird's Landing, historic site at the south end of Lower Klamath Lake about 55 miles from Klamath Falls, once marked the end of the line for a stoamboat ride and the beginning of the staqecoach line for travelers to the south. This building, where the steamers discharged their cargoes, was destroyed by fir In I960. i I
