History of the National Forest

HISTORY OF THE FREMONT NATIONAL FOREST O Melva M. Bach. O Fremont National Forest Lakeview, Oregon 1981 CAPTAtN JOHN C. FRENONT FOREWORD Gifford Pinchot once said, "The Forest Service is the best organization in the government because of the people in it". In my opinion, the out-door-loving S persons who choose their life work in the Forest Service and other conservation agencies are among the greatest Perhaps this is because these devoted people are more interested in helping to wisely use and perpetuate our natural resources rather than to exploit them. The8emen and women employees of the Forest Service are loyal, dedicated, and hard-working persons They work many hours of unpaid overtime to get the job done They are unselfish, giving a great deal of their own time and effort to community activities, such as the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, 4-s, United Fund, Rotary, Lions, and other service organizations. The wives of these men are exceptional and fine women who do their part in community af fairs They snow that housing and living conditions in the Forest Service are sometimes undesirable and in isolated places, but they cheerfully accept them It has been very pleasant working for and with the great number of persons who have been on this forest I have appreciated this lengthy opportunity to know and make friends with some very fine people, and thank them for their help and pleasant associations One reason for this long opportunity was a letter I received from MrShirley Buck of the Regional Office when I started to work in Lakeview e said "It is hoped you will stay a considerable length of time" I thought he meant it. I have greatly enjoyed meeting and serving the public. Because many of the files were destroyed some of the information for this record has come from the memories of employees, former employees, and friends of the Forest Service. Discrepancies or omissions may be due to lack of facts. Corrections of errors wil! be appreciated. The author sincerely thanks Fremont National Forest employees, ex-employees, wives of deceased employees, and others who generously contributed information, pictures, and other help for the preparation of this history. Melva M. Bach ACKNOWLEDGEMENT January 13, 1981 MELVA M BACH 1903 - 1979 Melva N. Bach will be remembered as one of the most gracious secretaries to work in the Forest Supervisor's Office, Fremont National Forest Her devotion to work, her smiling acceptance of procedural changes, and her personal interest in each and every person characterized her as an exceptional lady and employee. Mrs. Bach reported for work in her first position as clerk-typist in 1923. Except for a two-year furlough to return to college, she worked continuously in the same office until retirement December 22, 1962. Melva began writing and assembling the history of the Fremont National Forest in 1961 and continued working on this project until she passed away December 8, i979 Without her personal dedication, this publication would not have been possible. A memorable accomplishment by a great lady. JOHN W. CHAMBERS Forest Supervisor C 0 N T E N T S S Location Map Foreword Dedication to Melva M. Bach 1903-1979 S Tribute Introduction PAT I History of Area Prior to Establishment of the Forest Reserve Chapter 1 Before Fremont Snake Indians and Early Explorers John Work - 1832 Ewing Young - 1833 Colonel J. J. Abert - 1838 Chapter 2 - John C. Fremont - 1843 Chapter 3 Other Expeditions, Roads, and Forts Captain William H. Warner Colonel C. S. Drew Oregon Military Wagon Road - 1864 First Settlers - 1867-1870 Oregon's Land Grant College - 1868 General Crook Establishes Camp Warner - 1866 Camp Warner Moved to Honey Creek - 1867 Chapter 4 - Other Events Sawmills and Lumbering Gold Mining 1871-1872 First Post Offices Lake County Created - 1874 Lynching Lake County Prospers - 1899 Lakeview Burned - 1900 PART II Events Preceding and Leading to Establishment of the Original Forest Reserve Chapter 5 - Warner Valley Land Case Chapter 6 - Early Legislation and Authorizations, Forest Reserves S Chapter 7 Forest Ranges and Range Wars Chapter 8 - Proposed Goose Lake Forest Reserve S PART III I Forest Reserve/National Forest Establishment Chapter 9 - Establishment of Goose Lake and Fremont Forest Reserves Chapter 10 - Later Boundary and Name Changes PART IV Ranger District Establishment Warner Dog Lake-Draws Valley Thomas Creek Paisley Silver Lake HISTORY OF THE FREMONT NATIONAL FOREST The Fremont National Forest, located in Lake and Klarnath Counties in Southeentral Oregon, was named for Captain John C Fremont, the Pathfinder, who was sent to explore this country in 1843. INTRODUCTION This forest, on a high plateau and containing approximately 1,195,031 acres, is composed of two separate areas of the extreme eastern part of the Cascade Mountains One area includes the Warner Mountains from Abert Rim to the California line The other comprises the mountains between Lakeview and Beatty, bounded by the California line on the south, and the Deschutes National Forest on the north.The Fremont Forest practically marks the eastern limit of ponderosa pine in southeastern Oregon. Ninety percent of the total stand of timber is ponderosa pine. The remainder consists of white fir, lodgepole pine, incense-cedar, sugar pine, and juniper. Major resources are water, timber forage for livestock and big game, recreation and wildlife Approximately 72 percent of the Forest liesit'Lake County and 28 percent in Klamath County. The elevation varies from 4200 feet to 8500 feet. Parts of the plateau rise to 6,000 and 7,000 feet, and in some places drop off abruptly in precipitous rimrock faces 2,000 to 3,000 feet Chief among these prominences are Yamsey Mountain, Winter Ridge (known as Summer Lake Rim), Deadhorse Rim, Warner Mountains, and Abert Rim Abert Rim is one of the highest and most definite exposed geologic faults in North America It rises nearly 2,500 feet above the lake shore with a 640-foot vertical cliff of layer upon layer of lava at the top. The Frentont Forest furnishes protection to the headwaters of the Williamson, Sprague, and Sycan Rivers. The Sycan flows into the Sprague, and the Sprague into Williamson, which in turn empties into Upper Kiamath Lake. This water finally finds an outlet to the Pacific Ocean through the Klamath River. The Chewaucan River, Drews Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and many other smaller streams on the east side of the mountains are within the northwestern extensionof the Great Basin, and have no outlet to the sea. Many lake depressions are found on the east side. Fremont streams furnish water directly or indirectly (underground) to seven communities and hundreds of farm families, including irrigation for 308,000 acres of farm land. Water and soil are the basic resources that enable the people living in the vicinity of the Fremont Forest to maintain a prosperous and pleasant livelihood. Pleasing contrasts of scenery are afforded by mountains and lakes, timbered hills and desert wastes, gentle slopes and high rims. S S Timber is the most valuable crop of the Fremont Forest. It is sold to mills in Lakeview, Kiamath Falls, Bly, Paisley, Silver Lake, and Bend Under the basic I principle of sustained yield, the Forest is managed for continuous renewal of timber crops to replace those harvested Accordingly, not more than 143 million board feet of timber, which is the estimated annual growth, are cut each year The same principle of sustained yield applies to wildfire, forage for livestock, S and other renewable resources. The Fremont is one of the most important grazing forests in Region 6, annually furnishing forage for more than 34,700 cattle, 6,580 sheep, 30 horses, and several thousand mule deer Careful management of grazing animals is required to insure maximum production of forage and to prevent accelerated soil erosion Recreation is furnished to over 70,000 persons each year who come to the Fremont to hunt, fish, ski, picnic, and camp. Hunters come from many places to hunt mule deer, waterfowl and upland game birds. Many improved campgrounds are available. Quite a number of interesting geological formations, Indian writings and historical points are found in or near the Forest. PART I HISTORY OF THE AREA PRIOR TO ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FOREST RESERVE Chapter 1 Snake Indians and Early Explorers This section of the State of Oregon was, before the coming of the white man, the home of the Indians. The natives who inhabited the lake country belonged to the Shoshone family, whose territory spread over Southeastern Oregon, Southern Idaho, and the whole of Utah and Nevada, extending into Arizona and New Mexico and the eastern border of Califonia. This family has been divided by historians into two great nations, the Snakes, or Shoshones proper, and the Utahs The war-like Snake branch of the family lived in Southeastern Oregon including the present Lake County. John Work One of the earliest expeditions by white men, of which we have record, was the trip through the present Lake County by John Work in October 1832.John Work was an explorer and fur trader for the Hudson's Bay Company He tells of traveling near a chain of Lakes, believed by Lewis A. McArthur of the Oregon Historical Society and Judge Robert Sawyer of Bend, to be the Warner Lakes. From these lakes the party traveled west through the Rabbit Hills of Abert Lake He tells of the party being attacked oy small bands of Indians and the scarcity of water Much of the route was stony which made the horses lame and tired The weather was stormy most of the time. For food the party killed hares, ducks, and geese.

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