Historical and Current Use of the Middle and Upper Rogue River, Oregon:

A Title Navigability Study

by

Isaac B. Daniel

A RESEARCH PAPER

submitted to

Oregon State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

Report prepared for the Oregon Department of State Lands

Contract No. 11250-456

June 2006

Some photos deleted due to copyright restrictions

Southern Oregon University Hannon Library, 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the many people who helped me in the research process for this project. Many individuals were extremely helpful in sorting through archives, finding source materials, and adding information useful for this report. A special thanks goes to Carol Samuelson and the staff at the Southern Oregon Historical

Society and Jeff LaLande at the Rogue River National Forest. I am also indebted to the many individuals from state and federal agencies who aided the recreation component of this research. Dr. Steve Beckham is also owed thanks for his consultation on Native canoe uses of the river, as is Jeanette Holman at the

Department of State Lands for her wonderful encouragement. I also would like to thank my major advisor Geoff Huntington for his help and for keeping me on my toes and to committee member Bo Shelby. Finally, a sincere thank you to Jeff Kroft at the

Department of State Lands, who was a wonderful mentor, teacher, and editor throughout this process.

All of my wonderful friends in and around the university have been a wonderful influence on this project and my graduate school life. Thank you all for giving me the push I needed to complete this project and for the many good times spent around and away from the office. A special thanks to Rosa, Ryan, the pickers in our band ‘Still on a Hill’, and all the others who provided friendship and distraction.

Lastly, thank you to my wonderful family. You have been a fantastic guiding force and have been wonderful at letting me discover my own path in life. I could not be where I am without your love and support.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1. INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND AND METHODS………… 1

2. ROGUE RIVER GEOGRAPHY…………………………………. 4

3. TOPIC I: NATIVE CANOE USE………………………………… 9

4. TOPIC II: FERRIES, DAMS, AND FISHERIES……………….... 14

4.1. Ferries on the Rogue…………………………………… 15

4.2. Rogue River Dams…………………………………….. 19

4.3. Rogue Fisheries..……………………………………….. 23

5. TOPIC III: LOG DRIVING...……………………………………. 27

6. TOPIC IV: FLOATING THE ROGUE………………………….. 39

6.1. Government-sponsored Surveys………………………… 39

6.2. Floating Mining Equipment…………………………….. 41

7. TOPIC V: RECREATION……………………………………….. 44

7.1. Grave Creek to Grants Pass……………………………… 46

7.2. Grants Pass to Gold Ray Dam…………………………… 49

7.3. Gold Ray Dam to Lost Creek Dam……………………… 51

7.4. Recreation Summary……………………………………. 54

8. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS………………………………. 55

8.1. Summary………………………………………………… 59

9. END NOTES………………………………………………………. 61

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………. 70 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Rogue River Overview Map……………………………………… 5

2. Rogue River Flow and Grade by Mile…………………………… 7

3. Southern Oregon Native Villages………………………………… 9

4. Alameda Mine Floating Bridge…………………………………... 15

5. Massie Ferry……………………………………………..……….. 16

6. Dodge Ferry on the Rogue River.………………………………… 17

7. Approximate Ferry Locations and Date of Construction…………. 18

8. Grants Pass Power Dam………………………………………….. 19

9. Ament Dam………………………………………………………. 20

10. Savage Rapids Dam Fish Ladder, 1921………………………….. 21

11. Approximate Rogue River Dam Locations……………………… 22

12. Fishermen Hauling Catch by Wagon…………………………… 24

13. Rogue River Fishermen………………………………………… 25

14. Approximate Location of Rogue River Commercial Fishery…… 26

15. Gold Ray Dam Timbers………………………………………… 31

16. Log Drivers on the Rogue………………………………………. 32

17. Log Drive in the Rogue River……………………………….…. 34

18. Logs Stored in Big Butte Creek………………………………… 37

19. Approximate Location of Log Drives on the Rogue River

and Tributaries……………………………………………… 38 LIST OF FIGURES (CONTINUED)

Figure Page

20. Floating Mining Equipment Map……………………………….. 43

21. Sailing on the Rogue……………………………………………. 44

22. Glen Wooldridge in Hellgate Canyon………………………….. 45

23. Hellgate Recreation Area Map…………………………………. 47

24. Drift Boat at Gold Hill Bridge, 1973…………………………… 50

25. Upper Rogue River Recreation Brochures……………………... 52

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Mileage Location Points on the Rogue River……………………. 8

2. Native River Vocabulary……………………..………………….. 11

3. Geographical Distribution of Historical River Uses……………… 57 Introduction, Background, & Methods

Southern Oregon has a rich social and environmental history spanning

centuries of inhabitance by Natives and Euro-Americans. It encapsulates the

landscape of the Pacific Coast Native tribes, the changes in land tenure as Euro-

American settlement arrived, the large-scale agricultural and industrial development of

Oregon, and the contemporary economic changes to communities. The middle and

upper Rogue River have been a central component to this history. This section of the

river, being the broadest and most fertile valley in southern Oregon, provided a natural

corridor for human mobility, settlement, and communication.

The purpose of this report is to address the historical and current use of the

middle and upper Rogue River, from Grave Creek, River Mile (RM) 68.5, to Lost

Creek Dam, RM 157.5. In addition, this report provides insight into the navigability

of Rogue for title purposes. Under the Equal Footing Doctrine of the Oregon

Admissions Act, the beds of all navigable waterways in the state were transferred to

the State of Oregon from the United States government at the time of statehood. The

Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) has been given the duty of investigating

Oregon’s waterways and preparing reports on their historic use and condition. The

State Land Board (composed of the Governor, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State) makes a navigability decision based on DSL findings and conclusions. If the Board

declares a river ‘navigable’, then it was indeed granted to the state and the bed and

banks of the river (up to the ordinary high water mark) are in public ownership.

The title navigability doctrine in Oregon has been of increasing attention in the

last decade, with studies and decisions on the Sandy and John Day Rivers and requests

1 for studies on the North and South Santiam, Umpqua, Trask, and Kilchis Rivers. The test used to determine whether a waterway is navigable for title purposes has been

well established. For a waterway to be navigable it must, at the time of statehood,

1. have been used or have been susceptible to use; 2. in its natural and ordinary condition; 3. for trade or travel; 4. by a mode of transportation customary at time of statehood; 5. as a highway of commerce.1

Thus, for Oregon’s rivers to be title navigable (and hence publicly owned), they must,

at the time of statehood in 1859 have been used or susceptible to use in their ordinary

natural condition, for trade or travel, by customary modes of transportation, as a

highway of commerce.

The state was petitioned by the Josephine County District Attorney in 1997 to

undertake a title navigability study on the Rogue River from RM 68.5 to RM 157.5.

DSL was directed by the Land Board to commence the study beginning in 2004. The

goal of undertaking the navigability study is to resolve ownership issues along this

stretch of river so that the rights and responsibilities of public and private landowners

are legally clear.

This report aims to assist DSL in addressing elements of the test for

navigability. The report is not meant to make a navigability judgment. It is an

exploratory evaluation of the historical and current use of the river. Broadly, this

report coincides with the ‘trade or travel’ and ‘highway of commerce’ elements of the

navigability test. State and federal courts have established a number of acceptable uses that may demonstrate trade or travel and/or highway of commerce elements.

Some accepted uses include Native canoe use, recreation, log driving, ferries, and

2 fisheries. These elements, as well as the floating of mining equipment and the

erection of water and power dams on the Rogue, will be explored in this report.

This study was achieved through thorough searching of secondary and primary

source materials. Materials were gathered from a broad range of locations in western

and southern Oregon. These included:

• Oregon State University library • Department of State Lands files (Corvallis, OR) (Salem, OR) • University of Oregon library & • Jackson and Josephine County special collections (Eugene, OR) clerks’ offices (Grants Pass & • Southern Oregon University Medford, OR) library & special collections • Josephine County Historical (Ashland, OR) Society (Grants Pass, OR) • Oregon State Library & archives • Rogue River National Forest (Salem, OR) archives (Medford, OR) • Southern Oregon Historical • Jackson County public library Society (Medford, OR) (Medford, OR)

Large amounts of source materials were gathered for this report. Some source materials were located in DSL files, while many were found in the various locations

presented above. Secondary source materials on the general history of the Rogue River

valley, Indian wars, log driving, and recreation were consulted to explore source

materials of interest. A preliminary navigability study completed in 1979 by James

Farnell was reviewed for content and source materials.2 Utilizing his bibliography, over

50 sources were identified for re-researching. The bibliography was also used as a

starting point for snowballing source materials (using one source to find another).

Significant database searching for source materials was conducted and materials were

compiled during the winter of 2006 through trips to Salem, Eugene, and southern Oregon.

Sources searched included regional and statewide newspapers, pioneer and early explorer

3 journals/diaries, archeological reports, government surveys, oral histories, photographs, maps, legal documents, and manuscripts. Some oral interviews were also conducted for portions of the recreational aspects of the river, due to sparse written documentation. In each source material, specific attention was given to river descriptions, important events dealing with the river/river channel, and actual or planned use of the river for commerce.

Copies of source materials are on-file at the DSL office in Salem.

This report is divided by type of river use. Previous to this will be a brief

exploration of the general geography of the Rogue River Valley. In sequence, the topics

covered are: a) Native canoe use, b) Ferries, Dams, and Fisheries, c) Log driving, d)

Floating mining equipment, and e) Recreation. A findings section will follow this. This

section will cover the geographical distribution of river uses and some conclusions on the

historical and current use of the river from RM 68.5 to RM 157.5.

Rogue River Geography

While not the primary emphasis of this report, it is important to include a general

description of the natural history of the study area. The section of the Rogue of interest,

from Grave Creek to Lost Creek Dam, covers a 90-mile stretch of waterway in southern

Oregon. The Rogue’s headwaters, at over 5,000 feet in elevation, spring from the flanks

of Crater Lake, the volcanic remnant of Mount Mazama. The river takes on a constrained

mountain stream character in its upper reaches through the Cascade Gorge and past the

towns of Prospect, Trail, and Shady Cove. It then enters a relatively flat plateau-like

4

Figure 1: Rogue River Overview Map

valley with elevations ranging from 900 to 1,300 feet above sea level. This section of the river, commonly called the Rogue Valley, has a diverse character with some areas confined by rock promontories and hills and other areas spreading out in multiple channels with a large riparian corridor. Larger towns occupy this part of valley although the majority of them are on Rogue tributaries (most notably Ashland and Medford on

Bear Creek). Towns along this middle section of the river include Gold Hill, the City of

Rogue River, and Grants Pass. Below Grants Pass, the river begins to take on a faster,

5 constrained channel as it enters the deeply dissected Siskiyou (or Klamath) mountain

range. Along this section of river are a few scattered small towns including Merlin,

Galice, and Rand. Overall, the Rogue Valley is constrained by the Cascades to the east, the Umpqua Mountains to the north, and the Siskiyou Mountains to the south and west.

Primary tributaries to the 90-mile section of the Rogue River, most of which drain

the Siskiyous and southern Oregon Cascades, include (beginning at Lost Creek Dam and

moving downstream): Elk Creek, Big Butte Creek, Little Butte Creek, Bear Creek, Evans

Creek, Applegate River, and Grave Creek. (See Figure 2) Precipitation varies

tremendously on east-west and altitudinal dimensions ranging from less then 20 inches

per year in Medford (centrally located in the Rogue Valley) to over 70 inches at the

river’s headwaters in the Cascades.3 Geographically, the Rogue Valley is associated with

the California floristic province. Vegetation varies significantly with aspect, and similar

to rainfall, with elevation. Significant fish populations have historically been present in

the river. Varieties of trout (including steelhead) and ocean-going salmon can be found

throughout many tributaries and the entire length of the Rogue up to Lost Creek Dam. A

summary of place names and their mileage along the river is presented in Table 1.

6 Figure 2: Rogue River Flow and Grade by River Mile

7 Table 1: Mileage Location Points on the Rogue River Approximate Adjacent Physical Features River Mile (RM) 0.0 Confluence of the Rogue River with the Pacific Ocean 4.5 Head of tidal influence 11.0 Confluence with Lobster Creek; Downstream limit of Lower Rogue River National Wild and Scenic Waterway 27.0 Agness; Confluence with Illinois River 45.0 Blossom Bar 68.5 Confluence with Grave Creek; Grave Creek Bridge; Downstream limit of navigability study 72.0 Alameda Mine 75.5 Galice 78.0 Hellgate Bridge 83.0 Confluence with Hog Creek; Entrance to Hellgate Canyon 83.5 Confluence with Jumpoff Joe Creek 95.0 Confluence with Applegate River; Upstream limit of Lower Rogue River National Wild and Scenic River 102.0 Grants Pass 107.5 Savage Rapids Dam 110.5 Confluence with Evans Creek 111.0 City of Rogue River 119.5 Gold Hill 123.0 Confluence with Sams Creek 126.0 Gold Ray Dam 126.5 Confluence with Bear Creek 131.0 Table Rock Road Bridge 131.5 Tou Velle State Park 132.5 Confluence with Little Butte Creek 138.5 Dodge Bridge 146.0 Shady Cove; Confluence with Indian Creek 148.5 Trail; Confluence with Trail Creek 153.0 Confluence with Elk Creek 155.5 McLeod; Confluence with Big Butte Creek 157.5 Lost Creek Dam; Upstream limit to navigability study 164.5 Laurelhurst area 167.0 Confluence with South Fork of the Rogue River 171.0 Prospect; Confluence with Mill Creek 173.0 Downstream limit of Upper Rogue National Wild and Scenic Waterway 186.5 Confluence with Union Creek 215.0 Boundary Springs (source of Rogue River); Upstream limit of Upper Rogue National Wild and Scenic Waterway

8 TOPIC I: Native Canoe Use

The Rogue Valley has been inhabited for the last 8,000 to 10,000 years before present.4 Native inhabitants were generally called the ‘Rogues’ by Euro-American

pioneers, but anthropologically retain Takelma as their official name. Takelman tribal bands lived throughout the Rogue Valley and its tributaries with pockets of Athapascan bands living along Galice and Bear Creeks and the Applegate River.5 These bands were

linguistically isolated and had significant cultural overlap with their Takelman

neighbors.6 Natives living along the Rogue below Table Rock were the Dagelmas, or

‘those living along the river’. Above these people were the Latgawa, or ‘those living in

the uplands.’7 The Latgawa lived in villages

from Gold Hill to the mouth of Big Butte Creek,

just below the contemporary Lost Creek Dam.8

(See Figure 3) Tribal overlap occurred in the

southernmost and far northeast sections of the

Rogue drainage, with the Shasta Costa people and

the lower Molala, respectively. The Molala had a

Figure 3: Southern Oregon seasonal village located above Lost Creek Dam, Native Villages (From Loy et al, Atlas of Oregon) near the town of Prospect.9

Information on river craft used by Native inhabitants derives from two general

bodies of source materials: twentieth-century anthropological studies and nineteenth-

century diaries/journals of Euro-American pioneers. Each provides significant evidence

of Native canoe use along portions of the study area.

9 Most notable of anthropological studies on the Takelma people are the works of

Edward Sapir, a prominent anthropology scholar in the early 1900’s. His works include

information on Takelma folktales, language, and antiquities. Of the folktales that have

been transcribed in written form, multiple references are made to the use of canoes on the

river. One such story, “Beaver Ferries the Deer Across Rogue River,” tells of Beaver

being called to the banks of the Rogue River to canoe Deer to the far bank. Many times

Beaver was called on to do this and many times the canoe was “rent to pieces.”10 These

attempts were made at the villages of Hat’il, Gelyalk, and Di’lo’mi, all near Table Rock.

Eventually Beaver was successful in canoeing Deer across the river and introducing him

to new, previously uninhabited land. Other stories speak of canoes in more passing

detail, without locational information given. For example in “The Otter Brothers

Recover Their Father’s Heart” Otter is asked to “paddle a canoe over here” by, what

Sapir identified in footnotes, the “Sun’s servant, the canoe paddler.”11

Linguistically the Takelmas had a variety of words in their vocabulary associated with the Rogue River and its use. While this does not necessary indicate where canoes were being used, it does indicate the extent to which river transportation/use was a part of everyday nomenclature. A summary of this vocabulary appears in Table 2.

The final contribution that may be taken from contemporary anthropological

studies of the Rogue River is its general analysis of river use by native people. A cultural

element distribution for the Galice Creek Athabaskan band indicates that they used blunt- end, dugout canoes made from cedar. The canoes were hollowed through burning and scraping and had carved seat and foot braces.12 Another anthropologist described

Athabascan canoes on the lower Rogue similarly: “Canoes were built of red cedar. They

10 presented all the features of the craft of the Lower Klamath tribes, with their blunt raised ends, inturned gunwales, carved steersman’s seat, and the rest.”13

Table 2: Native River Vocabulary14 Topic Words Meanings Canoe/travel 1. Ei, ey (ei-x, ey-a, ei- 1. Canoe, boat (my canoe) han); xAnAθ* 2. Big boat, big canoe 2. Ey lokta** 3. Come floating down 3. K’ulu-k’wa stream 4. Sagw-, sagwa- (ba-, 4. Paddle canoe (up river, hau-, bai-, han-); down river, to land, xAnAθ/t*, nac/xe* across) 5. –Sili-x-gwa-, bai-sil 5. Come to land with nagai- canoe, come paddling 6. p!ai-hau* in canoe 7. p!ai-hau-t’gu’up-x-* 6. Upset canoe 8. s.um-xi; lumuhi, 7. (Canoe) upset lumhi** 8. Paddle

Fish/fishing 1. K!omom- 1. Fish (verb) 2. T!I1-amd-, t!I1-t!I1- 2. Fish for, go fishing am-xa- 3. Hold out net to catch 3. Yunob-ald- fish 4. Lan 4. Fishing net 5. P’im 5. Salmon 6. Bewi 6. Chinook salmon 7. Yu’xg-am 7. Trout

River 1. Gel-am 1. River 2. Dagelam 2. “Along the river”, 3. S.ag-alx Rogue River 4. S.al-s.agalx-a 3. Cascades, rapids 5. –Nud-I-, Nu’t!, De-I- 4. Shallow 6. Talsalsan** 5. Drown 6. “The place where the ferryboat goes across Rogue River” *Denotes Shasta Costa **From Harrington 1933

11 One informant to John Harrington’s Takelma Field Notes, Francis Johnson, states

that canoes were used to ferry across the Applegate River and that Natives used canoes to

travel up and down the Rogue River.15 Above Galice Creek, Sapir and others note that there were differences in river craft used between the Dagelma (Table Rock area) and the

Latgawa (upland, Shady Cove area). The Dagelma used canoes while the Latgawa used log rafts.16 These rafts were lashed together with ‘hazel witches.’17 Canoes were mainly

used for ferrying and fishing on the river. While wading was the preferred method for

fishing, in some instances woven nets with ‘sinker stones’ were cast from canoes.18

Sapir acknowledged the use of boats in Native fishing practices noting, “fish were caught in long nets and clubbed when hauled into the canoe.”19

Journals of overland explorers, trappers, and settlers also provide insight into

Native uses of the Rogue River. The earliest and most famous of the early Euro-

Americans to enter the Rogue Valley was the Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Trader,

Peter Skene Ogden. In the winter and spring of 1827 Ogden and his party traveled through the Rogue Valley including the Bear Creek/Siskiyou Pass area and the Rogue

River bottom from present-day Grants Pass up to a location near Trail or Shady Cove.20

At multiple points Ogden’s party called upon canoes. First, likely near Evans Creek, he dispatched men to acquire a canoe to aid in their two-day exploration of the immediate area up the Evans Creek Valley. Further, on March 9, 1827, he writes of the party’s crossing of the Rogue River, “at an early hour we were in motion and with the assistance of two small Canoes [sic] at 4 p.m. all was safe across.”21 On their return trip from the

South Umpqua River, they again used canoes to cross the Rogue.

12 Many other early Euro-Americans besides Ogden recorded the usage of canoes on

the river. An entry in Titian Ramsey Peale’s journal from September 23, 1841 reveals

just such use:

Reached and crossed ‘Rogues river’ before night, pitching our tents on its South [sic] bank. Some Indians approached in canoes, but were not suffered to enter the camp. The river was at the camp about 90 yards Wide [sic], and three feet deep with a gentle current, and an even, gravelly bottom.22

That same year another explorer passed through the Rogue River Valley in September

with a similar description: “Several Indians came about the camp… They had canoes

with which they navigated the neighboring streams, but they were very rude, and dug out square at the extremes.”23 The square ends correspond with the cultural element

distribution analysis of the Galice Creek Athabaskans, likely placing this journal entry

from a location at or below Grants Pass. Slightly farther down the river from their crossing, another individual in this party (the Wilkes Expedition) recalled, “upon it

[Rogue River] the Indians were spearing salmon from their canoes.”24 A common

practice at the time, out of need, was to hire Natives to aid in crossing the river. In June

of 1844 James Clyman did just that, hiring two Natives to ferry his party across the river,

at a point that was likely near Evans Creek.25 A similar story is told in the widely

published Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California, where, by necessity, the travelers

employed the Natives and their canoes to cross the river.26

Lastly, accounts of the Indian wars (1851-1856) tell of canoes being used by

Natives and the military. During this time period the military was actively moving troops

throughout the valley (especially near Fort Lane [present day Tolo]), often crossing the

Rogue River. One early history of the war tells of troops fording the river on makeshift

13 rafts.27 While not directly in the study area, a journal kept by Captain E.O.C. Ord

repeatedly tells of canoes being used, during the spring and summer of 1856, by his company and the Natives who he was fighting against on the lower sections of the river below Grave Creek.28 In a plea to the federal government for better treatment of the

Rogue Indians, John Beeson, a homesteader in the Rogue Valley, rebutted the argument that the tribe was incapable of instruction:

Their bows and arrows, their canoes and fishing implements, their decorations and their huts, which are all so admirably adapted to their circumstances, bear witness to their mechanical ingenuity and dexterous workmanship. [Emphasis added]29

Overall, Native use of the Rogue River was substantial. The river played a central

role in Takelma folktales and language and provided important subsistence resources to native people. Canoes typical to other Pacific Coast tribes were present along the river, with an especially large presence near Table Rock and current-day Grants Pass. Canoes were used, at varying degrees, for transportation and fishing by the Natives, and early

Euro-Americans enlisted Native canoes to aid in fording the river.

TOPIC II: Ferries, Dams, and Fisheries

The relatively disparate topics of ferries, dams, and fisheries have been

amalgamated here since they all represent dispersed historical usage of the Rogue River.

It is important to include each of these topics given that they contribute to the overall

character of the river’s history and display a very broad historical interest in river usage

and development.

14 Ferries on the Rogue

Ferries are unable to show substantial longitudinal navigability (up/down stream)

but do show cross-river navigation at numerous sites along the river. Ferries existed at

various intervals along virtually the entire river section of interest, from near Jumpoff Joe

Creek (RM 83.5) to near present-day Shady Cove (RM 146.5). They plied the river as

early as 1851 and were used into the 1920’s.

Eight locations mark the primary sites of ferries on the Rogue River. They will be

presented geographically, rather than chronologically, moving up-river. The Massie

Ferry, part of the Galice stage road, ran

below Jump Off Joe Creek (RM 83.5)

near Indian Mary Park above the old

Alameda mine (which unsuccessfully

placed a floating bridge across the river

to forgo using the ferry).30 While it is

unclear when this ferry was first

constructed, it is known that it was the

primary ferry being used on the section

of the river between the Applegate River

and Grave Creek in the first two decades

of the 1900’s.31 Moving up-river, the next ferry plied the Rogue just above the Figure 4: Alameda Mine Floating Bridge (From Sutton 1967 & BLM Collection, mouth of the Applegate River (RM 95). Medford, OR)

15 Commonly called the ‘lower ferry’, it was constructed by J.B. Long in 1851 and was sold to James Vannoy in 1853. A small fort, known as Fort Vannoy, was in operation on the south bank of the river where the ferry crossed during the later period of the Indian War

(1855-56).32 Next came the Perkins Ferry, located in present-day Grants Pass near the

‘White Rocks’ (RM 102).33 The first ferry on the Rogue, it was established in 1851 by

Joel Perkins and was commonly known as the ‘middle ferry’.34 This ferry is likely at the location where early trappers and explorers (mentioned in the previous section) crossed the river.

The next two ferries have an intertwined history. David Evans constructed two

cabins and established a ferry in 1851 at the western edge of the mouth of Evans Creek

(RM 110.5).35 This ferry was located at the town of Tailholt (later renamed Woodville

followed by the City of Rogue

River) and was known as the

Jewett or ‘upper ferry’. (An

interesting side note: stories of

the naming of Tailholt tell of

poor miners and pioneers who

did not want to pay the fee to Figure 5: Massie Ferry (Josephine County Historical Society) use the ferry, so they waded

across the river holding on to the tails of their horses.36) The ferry was made of “three

hewed logs, thirty inches in diameter… covered both top and bottom with two inch

planks… the deck was 8’ X 45’… [And] the bottom and ends were calked with pitch.”37

The ferry was the primary means for crossing the Rogue on the main north-south stage

16 road connecting California with the Willamette Valley and was in operation until the

Rogue River Bridge was built at the same location in 1909.38 Evans sold this ferry to

Jewett in 1853, moved down river, and began operating another ferry near present-day

Savage Rapids Dam. This was soon sold and became known as the Bethel or Albert

Ferry and later known as the Hunter ferry.39 On November 3, 1855 Lt. Henry Abbot

“traveled about twenty-five miles to Fort Lane, crossing the Rogue River at Evans Ferry.

His house [Evans], and others south of the river, were protected by a few soldiers…”40 It was likely that he was referring to the second Evans Ferry, because he mentions Evans living on the south bank, rather then beside the mouth of Evans Creek on the north bank.

The next ferry up-river, the Bybee Ferry, was located near present-day Touvelle

State Park (RM 131.5). It was established by T. Thomson in 1854 and was repeatedly sold (to Hailey in 1855 and Pelton in 1860). William Bybee acquired the ferry in 1863 and operated it until 1886 when a bridge was constructed on the site.41 Two more ferries existed up-river, the Hannah and Kennedy Ferries. In June 1869 Josiah Hannah was authorized to operate a ferry at a location “about 11 miles above Bybee Ferry.”42 The

ferry was reauthorized in 1871

and was not mentioned again

by the county commissioners.

It likely was an unsuccessful

business venture due to another Figure 6: Dodge Ferry on the Rogue River ferry located just up-river. (Josephine County Historical Society)

17 The county commissioners granted a license to A.J. Wilcox to operate a ferry at the

mouth of Indian Creek (RM 146) in 1877 for the ‘old Kennedy Ferry’, which had been in

operation for some time without a license.43 In June of 1878, Leroy Nail was granted a

ferry license at a site one mile above the mouth of Indian Creek, also referred to as the

Kennedy Ferry.44 The ferry was severely damaged in 1890 from a large flood. The following year the county commissioners authorized construction of a free ferry,

sometimes referred to as the Dodge Ferry, across the Rogue at this site, since it was on

the primary route from the Rogue Valley to areas east of the Cascade Mountains. Bids

were solicited in June of 1891 and the ferry was in operation by August of the same

year.45 Repairs and improvements were made often to the ferry. In 1916 a new ferryboat

was added “built with 45 feet gunwales, 8 inches thick, 36 inches high, of red fir, 12 feet

wide at the bottom.”46 The ferry was decommissioned in 1921.

Figure 7: Approximate Ferry Locations and Date of Construction (Note: Pre- and Post-statehood indicates when it was constructed. Most pre-statehood ferries operated both before and after statehood.)

18 Rogue River Dams

While not directly dealing with the navigability of the river, dams are a historically significant use of the Rogue River. Dams were constructed on the Rogue primarily for irrigation and electrical power generation purposes, not to facilitate navigation. In fact, none of the dams constructed on the Rogue had locks for boat passage. Dams first appeared on the Rogue in the late 1880’s and have persisted to the present day. In the section of the Rogue covered by this study, four dams are of interest. (A fifth, a dam below Grants Pass in the

Hellgate area, was proposed but never built). Starting from Grants Pass and moving Figure 8a: Grants Pass Power Dam Construction up-river, they are: a) Grants (Southern Oregon Historical Society, Negative No 1699) Pass Power Dam, b) Savage

Rapids Dam, c) Ament Dam, and d) Gold Ray Dam.47

The Grants Pass

Power Dam was built just below the Sixth Street Bridge in Grants Pass in 1889 (near Figure 8b: Grants Pass Power Dam, circa 1910 (From Hill 1976)

19 RM 102.5). It was built out of “cribbed fir poles, filled with rocks” (See Figure 8a) by

the Grants Pass Water, Light and Power Company to furnish power and water to the

city.48 Rock was taken from the White Rocks area (near RM 102) and barged to the site

of the dam.49 The upstream Ament Dam (near RM 108.5) largely overshadowed the

Grants Pass Dam. The Golden Drift Mining Company, led by brothers C.W. Ament and

C.G. Ament, built the Ament Dam (also known as the Golden Drift Dam) in 1902.

Constructed partly out of concrete and partly out of timber (timber-crib with fill

material), its purpose was to

provide water for placer mining

and to furnish irrigation water to

Grants Pass. The timber section

of the dam used nearly 2.5

million board feet of lumber,

Figure 9: Ament Dam (Josephine County Historical most of which came from nearby Society) hillsides.50 Overall the dam was

27.5 feet tall, spanning 280 feet across the river, with a large wing dam to protect the

power plant from flooding.51 It took until 1909 for a deal to be brokered with the

Josephine County Irrigation and Power Company for Grants Pass to receive irrigation

water through gravity ditches.52 In the mid 1910’s the dam came under intense scrutiny

for its poor fish passage facilities.53 More sophisticated fish ladders were installed in

1909, 1910, and 1912, but were generally fruitless in getting more fish around the dam.

A major cry from commercial fisherman and the public about declining fish populations,

and the settlement of a 1914 lawsuit, led to the dynamiting of a hole in the wooden

20 section of the dam to be used for extra fish passage.54 As can be imagined, this left the

dam in a structurally precarious situation. One newspaper reported, “…the structure

creaks and groans and trembles so that another freshet would probably sweep away the

log portion of the dam.”55 The dam was finally destroyed by J.W. Berrian,

superintendent of the Butte Falls Hatchery, who dynamited it in December of 1921 on the

orders of state legislature.56

In the wake of Ament Dam came the Savage Rapids Dam (RM 107.5), another

part concrete, part timber-crib structure. Shattuck Company constructed this 480-foot

wide, 18-foot tall dam in 1920.57 To avoid the fish passage problems facing the Ament

Dam, the construction company had the state fish warden inspect their fish passage facilities. The dam was constructed for irrigation purposes, furnishing water to agricultural land and orchards around Grants

Pass.58 The dam is still in operation today

(the wood structure has been replaced by

concrete), however, mainly due to poor fish

passage, significant discussion of removal

has been present for the last decade. As of

this writing, the dam is slated for removal in

2007 and will be replaced by large pumps to Figure 10: Savage Rapids Dam Fish Ladder, 1921 (Oregon State 59 furnish irrigation water. Archives, Photo OWR0150)

21 The Gold Ray Dam is the last dam of interest to this report. Located at RM 126, about one mile below Tolo and six miles above Gold Hill, this dam was constructed from

August 1902 to October 1903 by Dr. Charles Ray and the Condor Water and Power

Company for mining, irrigation, and power.60 Dedicated on September 1, 1902, it was a log-crib dam “…with a frame work of timber, filled in with rock, and… about 20 feet in depth.”61 Two 56-foot turbines began electric generation in 1904, bringing the first hydroelectric power to the towns of the eastern Rogue Valley (Medford, Ashland, and

Jacksonville).62 The timber dam was replaced in 1941 by a concrete structure just down stream, which is still in operation. More about Dr. Ray, Tolo, and Condor Company will be addressed in the following section on log driving.

Figure 11: Approximate Rogue River Dam Locations

22 Rogue Fisheries

Finally, fisheries have played a historical role in the use and management of the

Rogue River. They contributed greatly to the commerce of the Rogue Valley and were

repeatedly a contentious issue over the twentieth century. Like the previous two topics,

fisheries will be briefly covered.

A variety of fish species inhabit the section of the Rogue covered in this report.

At various times of the year steelhead, salmon (Chinook and Coho), and trout can be

fished throughout the river and its tributaries. The native Takelman people throughout the study area, as discussed earlier, used fish as a primary subsistence food. They waded

in the river as well as used canoes to access good fishing spots. Early travelers to the

Rogue noted large numbers of fish in the river. For example, one traveler in 1841

recalled passing the “…Tootootutnas [Rogue] River, another beautiful stream, upwards to one hundred yards in width, and abounding in salmon and other fish.”63 Once Euro-

American settlement came to the valley, fishing was undertaken dually for subsistence and commercial purposes.

A large commercial fishery using gill nets existed in Grants Pass for a number of

years before 1905, but an exact starting date remains uncertain. An article from the

Ashland Tidings reports that traps and gill nets were used to catch large numbers of trout

near Gold Hill in 1889.64 It is not until the first years of the 1900’s, however, that

fisheries get much attention in newspapers. In 1906 over 200 tons of fish were shipped to

Portland from the Grants Pass and Merlin areas.65

23 Most commercial fishing on the Rogue was done from drift boats and canoes.

Glen Wooldridge, a pioneering riverman on the Rogue, describes the fishermen working from Savage Rapids (RM 107.5) down to Hellgate Canyon (RM 83.0):

When it got dark they loaded their nets into their boats and started fishing. At that time they just fished in that one area. They would take turns rowing their boats up toward the dam, casting their nets, then drifting back. They’d haul in their nets, take out their fish…66

The commercial fishing was going on right here, right here in Grants Pass. And the season was open usually in April and it closed some time in the fall…The fishermen would fish down here, they all had gillnet drift nets to Hellgate and they [would] haul them back and that’s what you saw the pictures of, was the boats on the wagons being hauled back from Hellgate.67 [See Figure 12]

Boat landings and fish houses were located in Grants Pass, Hog Creek, and Jumpoff Joe

Creek. Wagons and/or trucks would haul the catch and the watercraft back to Grants

Pass from the lower landings.68 The commercial fishery on the Rogue is confirmed by

the thirteenth United States census

completed in 1910. At least nine

men in the Grants Pass precinct were

listed at “Fisherman, Drift Net”:

George Ferry, Harry Gething, Frank

Houch, Henry Bardon, David

Clemens, Hulbert Bond, Thomas Figure 12: Fisherman Hauling Catch by Wagon (From Booth 1984 [Percy Booth Bell, Albert Aubrey, and Aywool Collection]) Aubrey.69

Drownings, many of which struck fishermen, were very common in the Rogue.

Many of these were from canoes or drift boat like crafts and occurred throughout the

24 study area. Local newspapers reported a number of instances that give insight into the

location and types of watercraft being used on the river.70 Some of these include the

drowning of two individuals from a “rather shaky boat” as it capsized near the mouth of

Sams Creek (RM 123), the drowning of Lord Roy Boussum from a “canvas boat” while

trawling, the death of the Nail Ferry operator John Phippe while fishing from a canoe at

‘Hole-in-the-ground’ Creek, and Orlie Rush’s drowning while trying to save others from

a capsized fishing boat near Gold Ray Dam.71

Fishing on the river was largely unregulated during the entire second half of the

nineteenth century. Lack of regulation, coupled with poor fish passage at dams, led to

major declines in fish populations on the river. One newspaper reported in 1910,

Angling has never been so poor in the Rogue River as the past season. Not more than a half dozen trout of any size have been taken from these once famous waters by local fishermen… Blame for the almost fishless condition of the river is given to the Ament dam…72

The state legislature repeatedly

passed legislation to restrict

commercial fishing on the river

from 1903 to 1935.73 (Fishing restrictions on the Rogue were also voted on by the public through the initiative process in 1910.) As Figure 13: Rogue River Fishermen (Daily Courier & Josephine County Historical Society) early as 1903, gillnet fishermen were prosecuted for breaking fishing laws near Gold Ray Dam and Tolo.74 In response

to threats of closing the fishery and to help market their catch, a group of fishermen

25 formed the Rogue River Fisherman’s Union in 1906. They were largely ineffective at

keeping the fishery viable, however.

Fishing restrictions varied year-by-year but generally set time of year and catch limits for different fish throughout the Rogue and its tributaries. They also set

geographical limits throughout the watershed, reaching as far up river as the North Fork

tributaries above Union Creek (RM 186.5), where all trout fishing was halted for a period

of three years beginning in 1919.75 The commercial fisheries of the Rogue are a

relatively distant memory, having been closed since legislative action was taken in 1935.

Recreational fishing, however, has blossomed into a major recreation use and will be

given detail later in this report.

Figure 14: Approximate Location of Rogue River Commercial Fishery

26 Topic III: Log Driving

Log driving (using a river for the purpose of floating logs and timber) has been

recognized as a historical river uses that may help establish title navigability. The Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that regardless of difficulty and success of log

drives, they may fulfill trade and travel and highway of commerce elements of the

navigability test. Log drives “need not be without difficulty” nor limited to certain

seasons.76

Log driving has its roots in the United States in the northern woods of New

England. Woodsmen in Maine would fall trees near (or into) rivers that were affected by

annual freshets. It is uncertain how early this technique was used, but it clearly was an

issue near the time of Maine’s statehood (1820), as evidenced by enactment of state

legislation soon thereafter regulating dam and boom construction and floating timber.77

As land was cleared in New England and new land opened in the upper Midwest

(Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), many Maine timber investors and cutters moved westward. A similar pattern occurred years later, bringing experienced Midwestern timbermen, and their logging techniques, to the luscious forests of Oregon, Washington, and northern California. Meanwhile, early British pioneers (and eventual Canadians) on the Pacific Coast, both above and below the 49th parallel (the US/Canada border), were engaged in logging and small-scale timber production. It is from both the

British/Canadian timbermen and Midwesterner timber emigrants that log driving

techniques, using booms and splash dams, came to the Pacific Northwest.78

27 Log driving on the Rogue has a history that has not been well explored until now.

Records of ninetieth century river uses for floating logs are spotty. They do, however, reveal that early pioneers of the upper Rogue Valley attempted such ventures despite the river’s rocky nature.

On the upper reaches of the Rogue River is the town of Prospect (RM 171.0).

C.D. Slosson and John Beeson built the first sawmill in the vicinity of Prospect in 1873 to supply Sugar Pine lumber to the Rogue Valley.79 Prospect, originally named Deskins

(after its founder Captain Harvey Deskins) was “little more than a lumber and tie camp” in its early days.80 Francis Pearson, the daughter of the early upper Rogue pioneer who renamed the town of Deskins to Prospect in 1889, presents the strongest remembrance of using the river to transport timber down the Rogue before the turn of the twentieth century. Two different oral histories with her tell of Canadian timbermen attempting to float railroad ties down the river:

There is a story, and I do not think it is legendary, of some adventurous French- Canadian loggers who had a contract with the S[outhern] Pacific [Railroad] that was being laid through W[estern] Oregon. Their plan was to float the ties down Rogue River during high water [which] was customary procedure in Canada and New York.81

It [driving] was unsuccessful because of the nature of the river. They [the ties] were washed along side. They gave it up. I remember seeing the… ties scattered along the bank of the river when I was a kid. There was a lot of them along [the banks].82

No date is given for the floating of these railroad ties. The Southern Pacific Railroad was built through the Rogue Valley from 1881 to 1884, connecting Roseburg and Ashland, and from 1884-1887 over Siskiyou Pass.83 The floating of railroad ties most likely occurred during this six-year period from 1881 to 1887. The railroad drops into Grants

28 Pass from the north, parallels the Rogue River to Tolo, and then takes a southerly course

through Medford and Ashland. Another old-timer, Roy Vaughn, recalls ties being cut on

the land his family acquired in 1908 near Laurelhurst (the present location of Lost Creek

Reservoir). He recalls the ties being floated down the river by previous owners of their

land, but was not sure of their exact destination. Mr. Vaughn asserts that this is how Tie

Creek (near RM 164) got its name.84

In 1889 the Oregon State Legislature passed a law titled “Authorizing the County

Courts of the Several Counties of this State to Declare Unnavigable Streams Highways

for the Floating of Logs and Timber, and Provide for the Improvement and Use of the

Same.” This law enabled the county court (and, by default, county commissioners) to

declare rivers highways of commerce for the purpose of floating logs and timber.

Moreover, it authorized the county to enter in a contract with a “corporation, association,

or individual” to lease these rivers for floating logs and timber, making improvements to

the river to ease log transportation, and charging fees for others to float logs and timber.

The law was passed for ‘unnavigable’ rivers, or those rivers and streams “which have not

been declared by law to be navigable, and which is not, in fact, navigable for commercial

purposes.”85 Clearly the legislature’s definition of navigable was based on usage by commercial watercraft (i.e. steamboats) of the time period used on larger rivers in Oregon

(mainly the Willamette, Snake and Columbia Rivers). The intent of the law was to encourage the use of rivers not currently being used for typical commerce.

The town of Willow Springs was first established in 1864. The name was

changed in 1886 and in 1888 the Tolo Townsite and Milling Company was launched and

the town of Tolo was platted.86 Ads were placed in local newspapers to encourage

29 people to move to the new town, promising a mill site, mill race and side-track on the

new Southern Pacific rail line for anyone willing to construct and operate a flour mill.87

The town and its business interests were greatly boosted when Dr. C.R. Ray, for which

Gold Ray Dam is named, moved to Tolo in 1898. In 1902 Dr. Ray formed the Condor

Water and Power Company.

On August 7, 1889 the Jackson County Commissioners leased out a 25-mile section of the Rogue River exclusively to the Tolo Townsite and Milling Company. The commissioners granted the lease for the “Rogue River and its tributaries including Butte

Creek from the head of said river to the at point on said river where it has been meandered by the United States Government, being at or near the mouth of Big Butte

Creek.”88 (The river was meandered in the 1850’s up to RM 150. More on meandering

will be explored in the following section.) The lease enables the company to float logs

and timber, construct booms and dams, and collect tolls on others using the river for log

driving purposes. The company paid $500 and was given the lease for five years with the

possibility of a 20-year extension.89

Interestingly, the commissioner journals did not discuss the Tolo Company again

after their initial leasing of the river. Local newspapers, too, did not report anything about the Rogue being used to float logs by Tolo. Reasons for this remain mysterious. In

1901 the Oregon State Legislature passed another law under the exact same name as the

1889 law allowing the courts to declare unnavigable streams highways of commerce for floating logs and timber. The provisions of the law are almost identical, with a couple of added stipulations in the 1901 version.90 (The law allows 90 days for lessees from the

1889 law to renew/update their lease, making outright invalidation of the 1889 law as the

30 cause of Tolo Company’s demise improbable. An interesting addition was a required

river survey and map to be made by the company applying for the lease. Condor Water

and Power Company would have had to be in accordance with that provision. Despite

extensive searching, no survey or map was found in this research.) Condor Water and

Power Company entered into a lease for floating logs and timber on the Rogue in 1902.91

Record of the lease does not appear in the county commissioner’s journals, or the timber trade magazine Timberman, until 1904. This may be due to a 1903 Oregon Supreme

Court decision that invalidated the 1901 statute.92 Another bill was introduced in 1903

and vehemently lobbied for by timber interests, but was never passed.93 Despite the

invalidation of the law, evidence is strong that Dr. Ray and the Condor Company

engaged in floating logs and timber down the Rogue from 1902 into the 1910’s.

The 1902 lease states that Condor Company

Built a boom of more than one million feet, board measure, and has procured rights of way along the Rogue from riparian owners granting Condor rights to remove obstructions for the purpose of floating and transporting all floatable logs, timber and lumber…94

A rate was established at $1.50 per

thousand board feet to float logs and

$0.50 per thousand to store them at

the boom. The company at this time,

as discussed in the previous section,

was constructing the log crib Gold

Ray Dam. Some of the timbers from Figure 15: Gold Ray Dam Timbers (Southern Oregon Historical Society, Negative No. 3463) the dam were floated into position.

31 The town of Tolo prospered from the construction of the dam. Hotels, stores, houses, a quarry and a sawmill dotted this town straddling the river and the train tracks.95

Logs were driven down the upper Rogue River for most of the first two decades

of the 1900’s. Floating the logs was a highly dangerous activity. Men would cut trees close to the river and slide them down to a riverside landing on a three log, V-shaped chute.96 As displayed in Figure 16, the men used peevees, a tool originating from the

early Maine timbermen, to move the logs into the river. Horse teams would help to bring

the logs to the riverbank. The

logs were cut in the winter

while the sap was down,

peeled, and put in the river

during spring freshets.97

Drives on the Rogue had a boat that would accompany the tail

98 end for safety purposes. Roy Vaughn recalls two log drives

to the Gold Ray Dam

beginning in the Laurelhurst

area (near RM 164.5), one near

the current-day Payton Bridge

and one near Flounce Rock.99

Rufus Trusty worked on a Figure 16: Log Drivers on the Rogue (Southern drive from Payton Bridge. He Oregon Historical Society)

32 recalled 20 men were required to get the logs into the river and float them down to Tolo and the Gold Ray Dam. Some of the logs were four feet in diameter and he estimates that they brought down “half a million board feet or a little more.”100

Floating logs down the river led to a number of fatal accidents. In May of 1910

George Conners, a 25-year old Canadian, lost his life near the town of Trail. The

Medford Mail Tribune reported:

Conners had been employed for some time at the work [floating logs] and was one of the most expert of the crew. The foreman had issued orders for the men not to go out on the logs unless the boat kept with the crew was manned and ready to go to the rescue of any person falling into the stream. Conners disregarded these orders and went out on the logs to free a jam. He missed his footing and the swift current carried him away. This was the first accident of its kind to occur, although the company has long been engaged in floating logs down to the sawmill at Gold Ray. [Emphasis added]101

His body was found two weeks later at the ‘old Tucker place’. The following month an article appears telling of the frustration of John Pankey, a contractor driving logs for

Condor, regarding the difficulty he had in recruiting men to do the dangerous work.

Mr. Pankey has worked hard in the endeavor to drive the river, but, finding it a money-losing proposition, has forfeited the job. The logs are scattered along the river from the falls at Prospect to Trail, so thickly that it will be impossible to operate the hatchery this year unless measures are taken to remove the logs.102

The hardships on the river did not seem to have a major impact on the sawmill in Tolo.

The same year of this drowning, the Timberman reported that the Tolo Lumber Company installed an upgraded 30,000 capacity sawmill.103 (No units for capacity were given, though it is likely in board feet per day.)

Another drowning from log driving on the Rogue happened one year after the death of Conners. Thirty-year old Arthur McDonald was swept from a log into a

33 whirlpool in the Rogue near Trail and was lost. The drowning happened near the same

eddy where Conners died. The logs were “to be used in the construction of the new bridge across the Rogue River on the old Jackson place near Eagle Point being erected by the Columbia Bridge Company.”104

The Rogue River was not ideal for driving logs. Loggers faced difficulty in using

the Rogue for floating logs because of the river’s “swift and rapid” current and its rocky

bottom and banks.105 Jack Hollenbeak recalled selling timber to Dr. Ray’s company for the dam and attempting to float the logs down the Rogue. This “wasn’t successful…

[because you] couldn’t get the logs through or over the riffles.”106 Logjams became

commonplace on these drives. One log driver recalled,

There were too many boulders and the logs hung up and caused jams and the water backed up a hundred feet and cut into the banks. Then we would have to get the pin log and dislodge them. I nearly got killed once.107

A series of large freshets

caused the boom constructed

at Gold Ray Dam to break at

one point, allowing logs to

float far down river. Ed

Houston recalled “talking to

a man from Bandon who had

seen logs with the power

company’s brand on the Figure 17: Log Drive in the Rogue River (Southern Oregon Historical Society) ocean beach.”108

34 It remains unclear when the Rogue stopped being used for floating logs and

timber. In 1917 the Oregon State Legislature passed the Log Boom Act (as it is commonly called) requiring the Public Service Commission (later renamed the Public

Utility Commission) to regulate the use of rivers for log driving. The law required boom

(log driving) companies to get a franchise from the commission for rivers being used for

log driving purposes. In an examination of all of the franchises applied for and/or granted by the commission, the Rogue and Dr. Ray’s company is wholly absent.109 In

1921 the Rogue River Electric Company (Condor Company’s successor) was eventually sold to the California and Oregon Power Company (COPCO) who already constructed and operated a power dam on the Rogue near Prospect. No records appear that this company attempted floating logs or timber on the river either. The lack of records from

Ray, Condor, Rogue Electric, and COPCO make it unlikely that the upper Rogue was used for log driving after the passage of Log Boom Act in 1917.

Interestingly, log floating provisions are present in a 1932 water resources

evaluation of the Rogue undertaken by the U.S. Department of Interior. The report

asserts, along with fish passage, a “provision for passing logs should be made at all dams

constructed on the river.”110 Despite the lateness of this report in relation to actual log

drives on the river, it indicated that the prospect of using the river for log transportation

was still considered a possible use of the waterway. Lastly, Calvin Sargent, a long-time

logger in southern Oregon, tells of helping Tom McKeen set up a log pond to hold logs

for a sawmill near Trail during the ‘war years’ (World War II). They dug a pond and

built a dike for stockpiling logs from Prospect. Sargent claims that this did not work

however because “he [McKeen] could not get the water right.”111 Log driving in Oregon

35 would continue in other places besides the Rogue, the final of which occurred in

December of 1957 on the upper Coos River.112

A couple words should be given to the floating of logs and timber on tributaries to

the Rogue. Records indicate that at various points in time Evans Creek, Big Butte Creek,

and the Applegate River were used. The earliest documented floating of logs in southern

Oregon comes from the journals of Samuel Steckel. He operated a small mill on Evans

Creek (Rogue RM 110.5). His 1882-1883 journals reveal the importance Evans Creek

had on his milling operation. Over the course of three days in 1882, for example, he

rolled 18 logs into the creek, of which two were lost (one got caught up and one went

over his dam).113 Barely a week went by when he did not float logs to his dam and mill.

In 1883 he floated large timbers to be used for repairs to the covered bridge on the stage

road crossing of Evans Creek.114 (The timbers furnished by Steckel were of such good

quality that they were reused when the stage road bridge was dismantled in 1912.115)

Big Butte Creek (RM 155.5) has a rich timber history. Beginning in 1906 with the Butte Falls Sugar Pine Company, numerous sawmills operated on Butte Creek. The early mills were major producers of fruit boxes for the ‘blossoming’ orchard business in the Rogue Valley. The Owen-Oregon Lumber Company and the Medford Corporation ran large-scale timber operations along this creek and throughout the region from the

1920’s onward, manufacturing railroad ties, boards, and boxes, among other things. The

Butte Falls Lumber Company held more than 20,000 acres of forestland along Big Butte

Creek and operated a sawmill near the creek’s falls.116 The river was used as a holding

pond for logs (See Figure 18). The Medford & Crater Lake Railroad reported to the

Timberman that they were:

36 Furnishing lumber for dam and flumes to cut ties and timbers needed to construct the remaining 20 miles of the Medford & Crater Lake Railroad. When our dams and flumes are completed we will have harnessed up 3000 H.P. water-power and a dam sufficient to store at all times 3,000,000 feet of logs.117

Other accounts reveal the use of Butte Creek for floating logs and timber. Bill Edmonson recalled his father’s sawmill on Butte Creek:

They ran logs down Butte Creek, mind you. Butte Creek had to have a lot more water in then that’s it got now. They weren’t taking anything out of it. No ditches, no nothing. And they ran logs down it from those other homesteads up it. Wasn’t too practical, but they did it… Cut the trees, logged ‘em down. Had a little steam donkey. Took that up there and pulled logs into the river, used horses. Into the creek, not the river, but it would be a river some places. Floated them down to his sawmill. He had a dam boom across the creek there that would hold them, and then the sawmill pulled them up…118

Apparently, a lower section of the river was also used for driving logs.

Elga Abbott recalled that her father-in- law, William Lee Edmundson, had a sawmill two miles above the mouth of

Butte Creek. He drove logs to his mill from Clark Creek (about 4.5 miles

Figure 18: Logs Stored in Big Butte Creek from the mouth of Butte Creek) in (From LaLande 1979 [Ernest Smith Collection]) 1915 and 1916.119

Finally, the Applegate River (RM 95) was also used for floating logs and timber.

In 1903 the Josephine County Commissioners granted floating and booming rights to the

Applegate Boom and Lumber Company (under the same law that granted Condor

Company log driving rights). Rights were granted to the Applegate River and Williams

37 Creek and a rate was set at $0.50 per thousand board feet.120 The company, headed by

W.R. Nipper, drove logs from Williams Creek (Applegate RM 19.5) down to their 40,000

capacity mill (no units given, but likely in board feet/day) at Murphy, about seven miles

from Grants Pass on the Applegate River.121 Significant damage to their mill and dam

was incurred from freshets in 1904. The Timberman reported, “A considerable quantity of logs, which were left on the banks by earlier freshets, were carried down the rivers to such a distance that they will be a total loss to the company.”122 This venture concluded

in April of 1906 when the company sold their real estate on the Applegate. “The scheme

to float logs in the Applegate has been a failure” reported the Timberman.123 (Farnell’s

1979 Rogue River Navigability Study also mentions William Harriott and his sons

operating a small mill near Humbug Creek on the Applegate, where they drove logs from

Keeler Creek. No records of this were found.)

Figure 19: Approximate Location of Log Drives on the Rogue River and Tributaries

38 In sum, log driving, while not being a dominant aspect of the Rogue’s history,

was present, nonetheless. Log drives occurred on the entire upper section of the Rogue

of interest in this report. In fact, the drives began above the upper geographic bound of

this study (RM 157.5). The log drives went as far down river as the Gold Ray Dam (RM

126). Tributaries of the Rogue were also used at various intensities for floating logs.

TOPIC IV: Floating the Rogue

Southern Oregon has a very rich mining history. Some of the earliest settlement

in Josephine County (which was a part of Jackson County until 1856) centered on the

newly discovered mines along the Illinois River Valley. Predominantly searching for

gold, mines popped up throughout the Rogue Valley. Placer mines populated the Rogue

Canyon from the Applegate River through the Siskiyou Mountains to Agness (RM 27)

and beyond. Most equipment needed for the mines in this rugged landscape was brought

over the mountains by pack trains. This labor-intensive practice behooved individuals to explore the option of using the river for transporting goods and equipment. This section will consider three early government-sponsored navigation explorations/reports on the

Rogue and the eventual use of the river, from Grants Pass to points downstream of Grave

Creek, for floating mining equipment.

Government-sponsored Surveys

The first descriptions of the Rogue by the government (beyond the very cursory

treatment given in the Pacific Railroad Reports of 1855-57) arise from General Land

39 Office survey and meander records. Meandering was done to assist the federal government in determining the limits of the land available for sale by the government.

Directions were given to survey and establish the boundary for “both banks of navigable rivers”, but no direction on what constitutes ‘navigable’ was provided to surveyors.124

The majority of the section of the Rogue of interest for this report, from near RM 68 up to RM 150, was meandered from 1854 to 1855.125 River descriptions from these surveys

tell of a swift river with sparse timber located on its banks. For example, in a survey of

Township 36S, Range 2W (in the vicinity of Table Rock [near RM 131]) the surveyor’s meander note describes the river having “a uniform width and a strong deep current, in

many places rapid, Stoney [sic] bottom, and is fordable in only one or two places at low

water, the Banks [sic] are from 5 to 15 feet high and most of the way subject to overflow

during freshets.”126 Captain T.J. Cram, of the Department of the Pacific, completed a

military reconnaissance of the Pacific Coast in 1859. The Rogue River is given very

brief treatment in the report. He describes the river as follows:

This river, coming from the west slope of the Cascade range, is of rapid current, and only navigable even for canoes in a few reaches. Its lower half is full of rapids and cañons. It has no considerable valley until we get some 40 to 60 miles above its mouth; and then we come to a beautiful and fertile one, of only about 30 miles in extent… in which is situated Fort Lane.127

A more revealing survey of the river was made in 1879 as a result of the 1878 River and

Harbors Act. The report describes the river, similarly to the previous surveys, as “a

passably good stream 100 to 180 feet wide, and draining a narrow but somewhat rich

valley” with many small rocky rapids.128 Phillip Eastwick’s narrative of completing the

survey is highly revealing. This entry begins at Rock Point, near Table Rock, in

December of 1878:

40 Here I engaged two men to accompany me down the river to the sea. Being unable to find a boat on the river suitable for the work on hand, I was delayed at Woodville [City of Rogue River], a point on the Rogue River, at the mouth of Evan’s Creek, 6 miles below Rock Point, until the 18th, in building a boat, with the aid of which I descended the river to a point in the heart of the Coast Range Mountains, 65 miles below Rock Point and 75 miles from the mouth of the river. Here, in lowering the boat over the rapids, it was carried away by the strong current, and wrecked on a rock in the river a short distance below…129

The report concludes that the river, due to its “ruggedness and forbidding character,” is unfit for “navigation by steamers” beyond the first three miles above its mouth. While he did not conclude that the river was navigable per se, his narrative is the first recorded instance of an individual floating the Rogue River from the City of Rogue River to a

point beyond Grave Creek in the Siskiyou Mountains. This feat would be repeated

numerous times for both commercial and recreational purposes over the next 100 years.

Floating Mining Equipment

As early as 1894, individuals were beginning to use the Rogue for transportation

below Grants Pass and were discussing the possibility of removing obstacles in the river

to reduce the difficulty in passage. On September 1, 1894 the Oregon Observer reported,

For the third time in a quarter century Rogue river has been navigated between Grants Pass and Gold Beach… Three men reached Gold Beach… having made the trip in 20 days, with stoppages for mining and prospecting. They were compelled to take their boat out of the water three times to avoid falls, and had a number of dangerous rapids to pass.130

One year later the same newspaper reported that small boats could float the river below

Grants Pass if boulders were blasted out of the river.131 Interestingly, floating and

improving the river for floatation are largely absent from local newspapers over the

41 following decade. This changed when, in 1906, two individuals floated supplies down the river to the mines in the Rogue Canyon. The Rogue River Courier reported,

A. Aubrey and Peter Fry have returned from a trip down Rogue river to take a boatload of supplies to Russian Charley bar for McIntyre and Montgomery, who are operating a placer mine at that place. The boat was an ordinary Rogue river fishing boat. The load consisted of tools for a blacksmith shop, rubber boots, clothing, dry goods, and camp supplies all weighing about a ton. There was also 200 feet of lumber. At Galice a raft of 1,000 feet of lumber was taken in tow. Including the time to raft the lumber the trip occupied but three days to reach the camp, which is 40 miles below Grants Pass and 18 miles below Galice… So successful was this venture and so much cheaper than packing in from Leland that Capt. McIntyre plans to boat all the supplies for the mine next fall. Mr. Aubrey who was raised on the lower river thinks that at small expense the boulders could be blasted out and the channel cleared so loaded boats could go to any stage of the water except in very high floods to all parts of the lower river.132

Over the ensuing decade there was significant discussion of improving the river for transporting mining equipment. During this time period Aubrey made numerous trips down the Rogue from Grants Pass. First in 1910 he built “two boats 30 feet long and seven feet wide” and loaded them with mining equipment to be taken to Mule Creek (RM

48.5).133 Next in 1913 Aubrey and H.W. Elliott brought 50 boxes of peaches in a “new fishing craft” from Grants Pass to the people of Gold Beach and Wedderburn given that

“fruit [is] a luxury there.”134 In 1915 Aubrey constructed two boats to freight ten tons of mining equipment to Winkle Bar (six miles above Mule Creek). Finally, in 1916 Captain

John Aubrey completed a “hair-raising trip” down the Rogue River from Grants Pass.

Along with a four-person crew, they floated a

Gondola-shaped craft, 38 feet long and 9½ feet wide. The boat carried a stamp mill weighing three and a half tons, which was delivered to the Blossom Bar mine three miles below Mule creek. The boat is said to be the biggest which has ever made the [trip down the] Rogue.135

42 The boats that were used for floating equipment were usually disassembled and the

lumber was used in the mines, since returning the boats upriver was virtually

impossible.136 Glen Wooldridge, whose experience floating the Rogue is unparalleled, made his first trip down the Rogue in August of 1915. The boat he used “looked like hell” he recalled years later. It was made of “white cedar, about 18 feet… [with] ribs

[made from] two-by-fours. The lumber for the body was ¾-inch cedar… [with] tar on it to keep it from leakin’.”137 He recalled freighting a number of goods down the river from

Grants Pass to the mine including a 450-pound bathtub and, amazingly, a large piece of

plate glass.138

Figure 20: Floating Mining Equipment Map

43 TOPIC V: Recreation

Beyond floating equipment, Wooldridge was a pioneer in guiding recreational

rafting and fishing trips on the Rogue. Others floated the river in the early days (1910’s-

1930’s), including Isaac Fry, Claude Bardon, and Frank Lowery, but Wooldridge’s

intuition and zest for the river catapulted him into becoming the most well known

riverman. President Hoover took multiple fishing trips with him down the river. The

Rogue was also popularized at this time by Zane Grey’s novel Rogue River Feud, based

on his experiences in the Rogue canyon with Claude Bardon in 1916.

Figure 22: Sailing on the Rogue, circa 1910 (Note the Grants Pass Power Dam on the right) (Southern Oregon Historical Society)

The evolution of inboard and outboard motors in the 1930’s and 1940’s

revolutionized the river business on the Rogue. Wooldrige was an integral part of this

evolution, having built and tested many different kinds of boats and motors to use on the

Rogue (mostly for the Mercury Motor Company). The capstone motor he constructed, the ‘jet’, required a mere three inches of water below it while the boat was moving at a

44 moderate to fast speed and six inches while moving slowly.139 Wooldrige was also

involved in improving passage in the river through blasting boulders and other

obstructions. This work,

however, was completed below

Grave Creek, where the river

takes on a much more

tumultuous character. The roads

between the coast and the Rogue

Valley were also improved

Figure 21: Glen Wooldridge in Hellgate Canyon during this time. Wooldridge (From Arman and Wooldridge 1982 [Wooldridge Collection]) recalled that it took ten days to

complete commercial trips down the Rogue from Grants Pass to tidewater and back over

mountainous roads in his early days of guiding.140

In 1947, with the help of an expert crew, Wooldrige set out to become the first

person to ascend the river from the Gold Beach, at the river’s mouth, up to Grants Pass.

Wooldrige recalled that ascending the Rogue “was a big thing” since it had never been

done before and was “a real good advertising stunt, good for my guiding business.”141

He recollected the trip and the craft:

We made it out of five-sixteenth-inch marine plywood on the sides and half-inch marine plywood for the bottom. It had ribs made of Port Orford cedar. We were trying to build a boat that would stay on top of the water, ride the water, not plow through it. It had two sets of oarlocks so two men could be on the oars at the same time. We still didn’t know if that motor would make it up some of the worst places, so it was important to have good men at the oars. We had a fairly dry winter, that year, and the river was about two foot lower than I was hoping for, but we decided to start anyway.142

45 The running time was fourteen hours and fifteen minutes spread over two days (May 7-

9). Rainie Falls (RM 67) and Grave Creek Falls (RM 68) were the only portages made.

The popularity of the Rogue River was on the rise by 1950, a trend that has

continued into the present day. Wooldridge’s publicity stunt, Zane Grey’s novel,

President Hoover’s trips down the river, and the increasing amount of leisure time in

post-World War II America all contributed to the Rogue becoming a centerpiece of

Oregon’s modern outdoor culture. For the purpose of this report modern recreational

usage on the Rogue will be divided geographically. The section of the Rogue from Grave

Creek to Grants Pass will be explored first, followed by the section from Grants Pass to

Gold Ray Dam and from Gold Ray Dam to Lost Creek Dam.

Recreation: Grave Creek to Grants Pass

Within the study area, the section of the river below Grants Pass (RM 102) and

above Grave Creek (RM 68.5) is the only reach that has been given a designation from

the 1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. From the mouth of the Applegate River

(Rogue RM 95) to Grave Creek, the Rogue is designated recreational under the Act.

Beyond this, as one moves downstream, the river is designated scenic or wild for another

56 miles. The character of the river changes dramatically over this 26-mile stretch, transitioning from a relatively open valley above Hog Creek (RM 83) to a constricted channel below. The centerpiece to this section of the river is Hellgate Canyon, spanning from Hog Creek down to Grave Creek. The BLM refers to the entire section of the river from the Applegate River to Grave Creek as the Hellgate Recreation Area. In this area

46 the Oregon State Marine Board has catalogued and improved 12 boat ramps, with an

additional four between the Applegate River and Grants Pass.143

Two studies completed in

the 1990’s by Oregon State

University and the Bureau of

Land Management, detail

recreational activities on this

section of the Rogue. The

reports catalogue a number of

aspects of recreation including

types of craft, types of users,

quantity of use, and season of

use. Succinctly described by the

OSU study, “recreational floating

is accomplished in just about

Figure 23: Hellgate Recreation Area Map (From Austermuehle 1995) every kind of craft imaginable, including inflatable rafts, hard

shell and inflatable kayaks, canoes, inner tubes, and drift boats.”144 In 1991, inflatable

river craft (kayaks, rafts and inner tubes) accounted for 73 percent of private recreational

usage (22,130 out of 30,338 visitor use days) and 26 percent of total recreational usage

(28,379 out of 110,718 users).145 Trips are mainly taken for scenic and recreational

purposes on this section of the river. Guided and independent trips are common,

especially in Hellgate Canyon. The incidence of cheap, available raft and kayak rentals

47 has substantially increased the recreational usage of this area.146 Recreational trips are

most common in the warm summer months from May to September, peaking in July and

August.

Though significantly less than scenic/recreational trips, angling is also common

on this section of the Rogue. Most anglers use drift boats. They are the only year-around users of the Rogue. In fact, the BLM found that they constituted 100 percent of use from

January to April and October to December in 1991.147 Numbers of anglers peak in

September and October (summer steelhead, fall Chinook, and Coho salmon) and again in

February and March (winter steelhead and spring Chinook). Overall, 1,275 private boat

anglers were catalogued in 1991. Together with 3,226 guided trips, angling from watercraft constituted 4 percent of yearly water-based recreational use on this section of the river.148

Jet boats, referred to as motorized tour boats (MTBs) by the BLM, are very

common on this section of the river. The first of these crafts to operate commercially on

the river was in 1961. Their popularity was stable until the late 1970’s when more then

12,000 people were annually taking trips. Beginning in 1985, the BLM has operated a

permitting system for MTBs on the river. Since then use of these craft has soared,

steadily growing from 910 trips in 1985 to 2,225 trips in 1994.149 Peaking at over 90,000

visitor use days, jet boat tours on this section of the Rogue have become the most

prominent recreational use. In 1991 they constituted 65 percent of all uses (72,856 of

110,718 users).150

Overall, recreation on the section of the Rogue from Grants Pass to Grave Creek

is quite large. Currently there are upwards to 90 permits issued by the BLM per year on

48 this section of the Rogue. Of these, two are commercial jet boats, three are commercial

motorized fishing boats, and 60-90 are guided non-motorized boats.151 This does not

include the countless private, non-commercial users. Attached to each permit are

seasonal and use restrictions. One jet boat permit, for example, allows for use from May

1 to September 30, with 19 trips/day in the Applegate-Hog Creek section and 4 to 8

trips/day (depending on day of the week and holidays) in the more crowded Hog Creek-

Grave Creek section.152

While not as famous as the wild Rogue below Grave Creek, this section of river

constitutes a major contributor to the economy of Josephine County and southern Oregon

in general. A study showed that users of the Rogue spend anywhere from $20 to nearly

$145 per trip.153 Coupled with over 100,000 users annually, the recreation industry is

thriving. One need not look beyond the billboards, restaurant and inn names, and river

companies of Grants Pass to see the extent of the recreational tourism industry based

around the Rogue.

Recreation: Grants Pass to Gold Ray Dam

The middle section of the Rogue, between Grants Pass (RM 102) and Gold Ray

Dam (RM 126), is also used for recreational purposes. Generally referred to as the

‘Valley of the Rogue’ after the namesake state park that occupies the middle reaches of

the valley, this curvy section of the river is constrained by lightly timbered mountains.

This section of river is used to a lesser extent than the previous section. The Gold Ray and Savage Rapids Dams, as well as the technical Powerhouse Rapids, make this section of the Rogue less desirable for commercial rafting trips. There is no passage through the

49 dams and they must be portaged. Some outfitting companies do use the river, but in

general, private rafting and angling is more common. The Oregon State Marine Board

catalogued and improved seven boat ramps in this section of river. Beginning at the Gold

Ray Dam and moving downstream, they include Gold Hill, Dowden Falls, Valley of the

Rogue State Park, Coyote Evans Wayside, Savage Rapids, Chinook Park and Pierce

Riffle.154 Experienced kayakers have embraced a challenging segment of this section of

river. A two-mile stretch from above Nugget Falls to Gold Hill, included in Soggy

Sneakers, the foremost guide to rafting Oregon’s rivers, has been promoted as a gem on the middle Rogue. The segment has “good play spots and challenging rapids” including

Class 3+ Nugget Falls and Class 4 Powerhouse Rapids.155

The section of river

between Grants Pass and Gold Ray

Dam is unique in that angling uses

are equal to, if not greater than,

rafting uses. Some of the most

renowned fishing locations on the

Rogue occur along this twenty-

mile stretch. The fishing seasons Figure 24: Drift Boat at Gold Hill Bridge, 1973 are the same on this section of the (Oregon State Archives, Photo OHD8034)

river as the others, with peak numbers occurring in the early summer. Fall and winter

salmon and steelhead runs also attract anglers, making fishing a year-around activity.

The Rogue’s famous Weasku Inn is located on this part of the river. The Inn, established

in the 1920’s, prides itself on having one of the premier steelhead fishing spots in Oregon

50 located in its backyard. Arman and Wooldridge called the fishing below the Inn

‘tremendous’. They recalled that

[The Inn] would have five fishing piers and eighteen boats in operation, averaging 90 salmon a day. They would tow the boats down to the head of Pierce Riffle and anchor them so close together you could walk from boat to boat almost across the river.156

President Hoover (deemed “a good fisherman” by Wooldridge) stayed at the Inn while

fishing the upper Rogue.157 Sunset magazine, in 1966, helped publicize the fish of this

area by encouraging people to take their kids to see the “steelhead and salmon jump the

fish ladders” at Gold Ray and Savage Rapids Dams.158

Recreation: Gold Ray Dam to Lost Creek Dam

Finally, the upper section of the river, from Gold Ray Dam (RM 126) to Lost

Creek Dam (RM 157.5), is used similarly to the river below Grants Pass, but to a

somewhat lesser degree. This area has received little attention from agencies like the

BLM, largely due to a high diversity of land ownership. In fact, no studies have been

undertaken on recreational usage of this section of the river. This is despite, as one

owner of a rafting company exclaimed, “a hell of a lot of use” occurring on the river in

summertime.159 The Oregon State Marine Board has catalogued and improved eight boat

ramp facilities on this section of the Rogue, providing easy access for river recreation.

The facilities, beginning at Lost Creek Dam and moving downriver, are: McGregor Park,

Casey State Park, Rogue Elk, Upper Rogue Park/Shady Cove, Takelma, Dodge Bridge,

Tou Velle State Park and Fishers Ferry. Two of these facilities are managed by the Army

51 Corps of Engineers, two by Oregon Parks and Recreation, and four by Jackson County

Parks.160

The Upper Rogue Regional Tourism Alliance advertises ten guide, outfitter, and/or rental services on the upper Rogue (from Eagle Point to Prospect) most of which are based out of Shady Cove (RM 146).161 The upper section of the Rogue is largely advertised as a relatively tame and highly scenic float with great fishing. One outfitter described the experience they aim to sell:

The section of the Upper Rogue that we put our rafters on is ideal for the entire family. We have enough rapids of Class II and under in our thirteen mile run to provide plenty of fun. The rapids average two per mile of river so you have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, have a picnic, or engage in a wet and wild squirt gun war between rapids.162

The town of Shady Cove has added a $2/trip raft tax on rentals to raise money for facilities and to capitalize on their newfound fame as a recreation town. (Among other things, they are the self-proclaimed ‘southern gateway to Crater Lake National Park’ and

‘Jewel of the Upper Rogue’.)

Another reason for a lack of studies completed on the upper Rogue is the type of trips being taken. A Jackson

County Marine Deputy affirmed how difficult monitoring is on the upper Rogue Figure 25: Upper Rogue River in view of the fact that the vast majority of Recreation Brochures use is by non-registered craft, namely inflatables and drift boats.163 (Only motorized craft are required to be registered with the state.) Most of the river companies in Shady

Cove, especially those catering to rafters rather than anglers, don’t offer guided floats.

52 The company quoted above, for example, rents out self-bailing rafts (4, 6, 8, and 12

person), tahitis (1 or 2 person inflatable kayak-like craft), and kayaks, and does not

provide any guided trips. Limited outfitters advertise a more laid back, guided trip down

the river with “carefree floating… You don’t have to paddle.”164 Drift boats, rafts, and

kayaks can float the entire upper Rogue River from the Route 62 Bridge, just below the toe of Lost Creek Dam, to beyond Gold Ray Dam.165 From Lost Creek Dam to Shady

Cove, the Jackson County Marine Deputies estimate an average use of more than 15,000

raft trips in a given year.166 The river is so crowded during the peak summertime rafting

season that one “see[s] rented rafts go by every three minutes” on the upper Rogue.167

Additionally, before Lost Creek Dam was constructed, some individuals rafted the

river from Laurelhurst State Park (near RM 164), which now underneath the Lost Creek

Reservoir, down to Casey State Park (RM 155). This sinewy reach had Class 3 and 3+

rapids and was therefore only run by a few very experienced individuals, including Glen

Wooldridge.168 In 1963 Wooldridge and Taylor Cain put a boat equipped with a newly

designed motor in the river at Shady Cove and ran up-river twenty miles to the mouth of

the South Fork of the Rogue (RM 167).169 A few modern adventure seekers also attempt

several of the treacherous rapids above the reservoir in shortened river kayaks. Four

recreational kayak runs on the main stem (North Fork) of the Rogue and one on the

Middle Fork are described in Soggy Sneakers. These are challenging whitewater routes

that have “only recently [been] discovered by boaters around Oregon… but more than

likely run for some time by local[s].”170

Angling from watercraft is also present on the upper Rogue, but to a smaller

extent than rafting. Guided fishing trips are made most commonly from May to August.

53 Additional private fishing trips occur year around and normally correspond with salmon runs. McKenzie River-style drift boats are most commonly used. A 1984 Upper Rogue

Recreation Guide, which called this section “a mecca for salmon and steelhead anglers”,

touts fishing on the river:

For fishermen, the Rogue below Lost Creek Dam is an excellent hunting ground for both salmon and steelhead. The spring Chinook begin showing up in May and the season runs through July 15, when the river closes to taking salmon over 24 inches. Summer steelhead runs heat up in August, but in the meantime, plenty of large rainbow and cutthroat trout prowl the waters, waiting for anglers to outsmart them.171

Overall recreational usage of the upper section of the river, above Gold Ray Dam,

is relatively large. Despite lacking the fame of the river below Grants Pass, rafting and

fishing have become a major component to the economy of the communities on the upper

Rogue River. Similar to Grants Pass, Shady Cove has taken on the role as the hub of the

river recreation tourist industry. One need not look beyond its main street, crawling with

sandal-clad, sun screened rafters and fishermen during the arid summer months, to find

how pervasive this industry has become.

Recreation: Summary

Overall, the entire river from Lost Creek Dam to Grave Creek has historically and

is currently used for recreation. Beginning with pioneering rivermen like Glen

Wooldridge, the Rogue’s popularity has grown to national fame as a river that

encompasses the entire spectrum of river recreation opportunities. The resulting growth

of the recreation and angling industry on the river has contributed enormously to southwestern Oregon’s economy. Outfitters and guides for river recreation have sprung

54 up throughout the valley, most notably in Shady Cove and Grants Pass. Thirty-one boat

ramps have been constructed/improved by the Oregon State Marine Board on the Rogue

between Grave Creek and Lost Creek Dam, making access increasingly easy.172 Further,

the Marine Board ranked the entire Rogue River (including Lost Creek Reservoir and the wild and scenic section below Grave Creek) number six in the top 50 waterbodies being used in Oregon (more than 56,000 boat use days, 50,000 boat trips, 66,000 activity days, and 57,000 fishing trips).173

Findings and Conclusions

The historical uses of the Rogue River are rich and diverse. The events that transpired on the river accurately reflect the larger history of Oregon and the Pacific

Northwest. A river rich with Native culture existed, where the abundance of salmon and other natural resources helped perpetuate subsistence lifestyles. Early Euro-American encounters were tenuous and land tenure quickly shifted as war and disease changed the complexion of land use. The ensuing years, until the turn of the twentieth century, brought the earliest Euro-American uses of the river, namely ferries, floating of wooden ties for the construction of the railroad, commercial fisheries, and the initial rudimentary dams. From 1900 to 1920, the Rogue was teeming with commercial uses. Commercial fisheries harvested the bounty of salmon, trout, and steelhead from the river, dams sprung up to harness the river’s irrigation water and to provide electricity for the blossoming industry and agriculture of the valley, and the river was being used to float equipment to mines and to transport logs for dams, mills, and bridges. The entire river was being put to use to aid in the development of southwestern Oregon. During this period, more than

55 any other, the river was a highway of commerce. Finally, from 1920 to the present, the

uses of the Rogue shifted away from traditional commerce and embraced the recreation industry, a phenomenon common throughout the West. It was during this time period on

the Rogue that log drives faded into history, bridges replaced ferries, fisheries were

closed for commercial use, and wooden dams were converted to concrete and steel. This

period saw the tremendous rise of recreation as the primary river use. Rafting, kayaking,

drifting, jet boat tours, and angling now dominate the river.

The uses of the Rogue are geographically summarized in Table 3. The uppermost

section of the river in the study area, from Lost Creek Dam (RM 157.5) to Gold Ray Dam

(RM 126), had four types of use, most dominant of which were log driving and recreation. Log driving occurred intermittently for nearly thirty years, from the late

1880’s floating of railroad ties to roughly 1917 (the passage of the Log Boom Act).

Recreation is the dominant contemporary use, bringing hoards of rafters and anglers to

Shady Cove annually. This section had three ferries operating on it, the last of which

closed in 1921. Native river use was present on this section but not extremely well

documented. Records indicate that the upland Latgawa bands, from Table Rock to Shady

Cove, had villages along the river, traveled in log rafts and canoes, and assisted in cross-

river ferrying.

The middle section of the river in the study area, from Gold Ray Dam (RM 126)

to Grants Pass (RM 102), had five primary uses: Native canoe use, recreation, ferries,

dams, and fisheries. All of the uses are well documented. Early Euro-American accounts indicate that Natives used canoes for fishing and transportation for up-river and cross-

river purposes. Early settlers subsequently used the common crossing routes established

56 Table 3: Geographical Distribution of Historical Uses River Documented Section Historical Uses (RM)

Lost Creek Dam (157.5) 1. Log Driving 2. Ferries TO 3. Recreation 4. Native Canoe Gold Ray Use Dam (126)

Gold Ray 1. Native Canoe Dam (126) Use 2. Recreation TO 3. Ferries 4. Dams Grants Pass 5. Fisheries (102)

Grants Pass 1. Floating (102) Mining Equipment TO 2. Recreation 3. Ferries Grave Creek 4. Native Canoe (68.5) Use 5. Fisheries

57 by the Natives. Two ferries were constructed at these places to facilitate travel. The

faltering Ament Dam was constructed in this stretch of river to furnish irrigation water,

only to be blasted out by fishing interests years later. In its wake came the Savage Rapids

Dam, whose fate may soon be similar to Ament. Fisheries were rich in the areas just

below Ament and Savage Rapids Dams, drawing numerous Grants Pass fishermen in the

early 1900’s. Lastly, recreation has become the dominant use of the middle section of the

Rogue. This part of the river has become known nationwide and is prized as one of the best places in Oregon for salmon and steelhead fishing.

Finally, the lower section of the river in the study area, from Grants Pass (RM

102) to Grave Creek (RM 68.5), has five primary historical uses. Native canoe use is

best documented on this section of river. Documentation indicates that Natives helped

ferry Euro-American travelers, and canoes were used for fishing and transportation.

Further, anthropological studies have identified and catalogued the specific type of

canoes used by the Galice Athabaskan band that resided on this section of river. Similar

to the middle section of the river, Native crossing routes were developed into ferries by

the Euro-Americans. Three ferries operated on this section, including the first one to

operate on the river (in 1851). The Rogue River commercial fishery operating in the late

1800’s and early 1900’s was centered in Grants Pass. Fishermen used at least twenty

miles of river below Grants Pass (and more above it) for drift net fishing. Unlike other

sections, the lower part of the Rogue was used for floating mining equipment to the

mines of the Rogue Canyon. These efforts set the precedent for opening the river for

recreational floating. River pioneers, like Glen Wooldridge, popularized the lower river

by offering guide services and accomplishing the feat of boating upriver from Gold

58 Beach to Grants Pass. Today the majority of this section of river has been deemed

recreational by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and is frequented by sizeable amounts of

visitors annually.

Summary

The abundance and diversity of river uses indicates that the river was used, and

continues to be used, for trade and travel. Prior to statehood (1859), Native inhabitants used the river for subsistence fishing and longitudinal and cross-river travel. Early Euro-

American pioneers and settlers continued the tradition of river use. By 1859, multiple ferries were in operation along the Rogue.

From 1859 to 1920 the river was teeming with uses, all of which were central to

the economic development of southwestern Oregon. Uses included log driving, commercial fisheries, floating mining equipment, cross-river ferryboats, and recreation.

Each use, with the exception of log driving, was met with a very high degree of success:

Natives fished and traveled on the Rogue, ferries plied the Rogue’s waters for over 70 years, commercial fisheries thrived until dams and over-harvest closed the river, and the mining and timber industries were supplied with materials floated down the Rogue. Log driving was met with modest success despite the efforts of many. During its 20 to 30 year history, railroad ties and timber for sawmills, dams, and bridges were intermittently floated down the upper Rogue. The Rogue was not an ideal river for floating logs, however, given that the incidence of logjams and drownings was high.

Contemporary recreation, more then any other previous use, has been largely

unconstrained in its use of the river. From the opening up of the river by pioneers like

59 Wooldridge, to the famous Weasku Inn, to the bustling summer days at the boat launches near Shady Cove, the river is dominated by recreationists. If an experienced boatman wanted to float the entire Rogue River from the toe of Lost Creek Dam to the Pacific

Ocean, it would be possible, in the right craft, with only two portages (Gold Ray and

Savage Rapids Dams). Recreation will undoubtedly continue to be the dominant use of the river. The Rogue, as Florence Arman and Glen Wooldridge called it, is indeed ‘a river to run’.

60

END NOTES:

1 Oregon Department of Justice. 2005. Attorney General Opinion on Ownership and Use of Waterways in Oregon. Opinion No. 8281. p 10.

2 Farnell, James E. 1979. Rogue River Navigability Study. Oregon Department of State Lands, Salem, OR.

3 Taylor, George and Chris Hannan. 1999. The Climate of Oregon. Corvallis, OR: OSU Press.

4 LaLande, Jeff. 1997. Environmental History of the “Forks” Watershed Analysis Area (Middle Fork and South Fork of the Rogue River). Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest.

5 Beckham, Steve. 1971. Requiem for a People. Corvallis, OR: OSU Press.

6 Drucker, Phillip. “The Tolewa and Their Southwest Oregon Kin.” Univ. of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology. Vol. 36 (1936): p 283.

7 Sapir, Edward. “Notes on the Takelma Indians of Southwestern Oregon.” American Anthropologist. Vol. IX (1907). p 252.

8 LaLande, Jeff. 1980. Prehistory and History of the Rogue River National Forest: A Cultural Resource Overview. Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest. p 113.

9 Spier, Leslie. “Klamath Ethnography.” Univ. of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology. Vol. 30 (1930).

10 Sapir, Edward. 1909. Takelma Texts. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum. Pp 113-114.

11 Ibid. Pp 158-159.

12 Barnett, Homer G. 1937. Cultural Element Distributions: VII (Oregon Coast). University of California Anthropological Records. Vol. 1: 155-204.

13 Drucker, Phillip. 1937. p 272.

14 Ibid. Pp 203-263; Harrington, John Peabody. 1933. Takelma Field Notes. Roll 28, The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution, 1907-1957. Millwood, NY: Kraus International Publications.; Harrington, John Peabody. 1981. The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution, 1907-1957. White Plains, NY: Kraus International Publications.; Sapir, Edward. 1914. Notes on the Chasta Costa Phonology and Morphology. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum. Pp 294, 303.

15 Harrington 1933.; Gray, Dennis J. 1987. The Takelma and Their Athabascan Neighbors: A New Ethnographic Synthesis of the Upper Rogue River Area of Southwestern Oregon. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Anthropological Papers, No. 37.

16 Sapir 1907. p 252.

17 Harrington 1933.

18 Card, Virginia D. 1967. The Takelma Indians of Southwestern Oregon (Now Extinct). Unpublished manuscript. Jackson County Public Library, Medford, OR.

19 Sapir 1909. Pp 252-259.

61

20 LaLande, Jeff. 1987. First Over the Siskiyous: Peter Skene Ogden’s 1826-1827 Journey through the Oregon-California Borderlands. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press.

21 Davies, K.G. ed. 1961. Peter Skene Ogden’s Snake Country Journal, 1826-1827. London: Hudson’s Bay Record Society.

22 Poesch, Jessie. 1961. Titan Ramsey Peale, 1799-1885, and his Journals of the Wilkes Expedition. Philadelphia, PA: American Philosophical Society. p 191.

23 Colvocoresses, George M. 1852. Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition. New York: Cornish, Lamport and Co. p 288.

24 Wilkes, Charles. 1849. Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard. p 233.

25 Hasselstrom Linda M. ed. 1984. Journal of a Mountain Man, James Clyman. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing. p 185.

26 Hastings, Lansford W. 1845. The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California. Cincinnati, OH: George Conclin. p 65.

27 Victor, Frances Fuller. 1894. The Early Indian Wars of Oregon, Compiled from the Oregon Archives and Other Original Sources with Muster Rolls. Salem, OR: F.C. Baker.

28 Ord, Ellen Francis. 1921. The Rogue River Indian expedition of 1856 (Diary by Capt. E.O.C. Ord 3rd Art. U.S. Army, with Introduction and Editorial Notes). M.A. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA.

29 Beeson, John. 1857. A Plea for the Indians: with facts and features of the late war in Oregon. New York: J. Beeson. p 58.

30 Sutton, Jack. 1967. 110 Years with Josephine: The History of Josephine County, Oregon 1856-1966. Medford, OR: Josephine County Historical Society.; Hill, Edna May. 1976. Josephine County Historical Highlights. Grants Pass, OR: Josephine County Historical Society.

31 Josephine County Commissioner Journals Vol. 4 & 5.

32 Hill, Edna May. 1976. p 19.

33 Slayer, Mary, Jeanette Dickenson, and Roy Childers. eds. 1975. Patchwork: a Rogue Community Scrapbook. Grants Pass, OR: Rogue Community College.

34 Ibid. p 27.

35 Sheffield, Elizabeth. 1950. Rogue River, Oregon and Vicinity. Grants Pass, OR: Bulletin Printing. On file at University of Oregon Special Collections, Eugene, OR.

36 Ibid.; Bornamann, Charley Lester. n.d. A Brief History of the City of Rogue River, Oregon from the first settler to 1912. Unpublished typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR. p. 4.; Dunn, Joy B. ed. 1993. Land in Common: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Oregon. Medford, OR: Southern Oregon Historical Society.

37 Bornamann n.d. p 1.

38 Lawrence, Mark E. n.d. Early Jackson County Toll Roads, Tunnels, Ferries, and Bridges. Unpublished typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR. p 4.

62

39 Hill 1976 p 27.; Jackson County Commissioner Journals 1859.

40Abbot, Henry L. 1857. “Report of Lieut. Henry L. Abbot, Corps of Topographical Engineers Upon Explorations for a Railroad Route, from the Sacramento Valley to the Columbia River.” Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. 6. House Executive Doc. No. 91 (33rd Congress, 2nd Session). p 109.

41 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. 1859, 1860, 1861, & Volume I (1861-1866); Lawrence n.d., p. 5.

42 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. Volume 2 (1866-1871).

43 Hegne, Barbara. 1989. Yonder Hills: Shady Cove, Elk Creek, Persist, Trail, Etna. Eagle Point, OR: B. Hegne. p. 51.

44 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. Volume 4 (1875-1879).

45 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. Volume 9 (1891-1893); Hegne 1989 Pp. 51-52.

46 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. Volume 16 (1915-1916).

47 Two other dams were erected above the study area of interest, the Lost Creek Dam in 1976 and the COPCO (or Prospect) Dam near Prospect in 1912.

48 Arman, Florence and Wooldridge, Glen. 1982. The Rogue: A River to Run. Grants Pass, OR: Wildwood Press. p 13.; Hill 1976. p. 74.

49 Ibid. p 13.

50 Ibid. p 6.

51 “To Furnish Water for Irrigation.” Rogue River Courier. 23 April 1909.; Carlson, Signe M. 1984. Irrigation. Unpublished Typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

52 “Ament Dam Ushered in Era of Irrigation.” Rogue River Courier. 9 May 1979. Section B, p. 2.; “To Furnish Water for Irrigation.” Rogue River Courier. 23 April 1909.

53 Early Oregon law required fish passage facilities, but did not specify how successful the passageways needed to be, thus allowing for ineffective facilities on Ament Dam.

54 “Long Litigation on Golden Drift.” Ashland Tidings. 11 June 1914.; “Fishway Blasted in Ament Coffer Dam.” Rogue River Courier. 8 March 1918.; Ashland Tidings. 7 March 1918.

55 “Ament Dam Not Taken Out By Recent Floods.” Ashland Tidings. 18 Feb 1919.

56 “Ament Dam Dynamited.” Rogue River Courier. 30 Dec 1921.

57 “Work Starts on Canal Project.” Ashland Tidings. 14 July 1920.; Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p. 76.

58 Carlson 1984. p. 4; For an evaluation of the orchard industry in the Rogue Valley see- Atwood, Kay. 1980. Blooms & Branches: a gathering of Rogue Valley orchard memories. Ashland, OR: K. Atwood.

59 “Savage Rapids removal passed.” Medford Mail Tribune. 20 Nov 2003.; “Budget includes $13 million toward dam removal.” Medford Mail Tribune. 12 Feb 2006.

63

60 Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p 12.

61 “Work on Big Power Plant.” Ashland Tidings. 11 Aug 1902.; “Dedication of Dr. Ray’s Dam.” Ashland Tidings. 4 Sept 1902.

62 Rhinehart, Rosalyn R. 1990. The Beginnings of the Rogue Valley. Unpublished typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.; Genaw, Linda Morehouse. 1988. Gold Hill and it’s Neighbors along the River. Central Point, OR: L.M.Genaw. p. 46.

63 Colvocoresses, George M. 1852. p 288.

64 Ashland Tidings. 22 Nov 1889.

65 Sutton 1967. p. 204.; Ashland Tidings. 26 Feb 1906.

66 Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p 15.

67 Interview with Glen Wooldridge. 24 June 1974. Grants Pass, OR. p 9. (On file at DSL)

68 Booth, Percy. 1984. Grants Pass: The Golden Years 1884-1984. Grants Pass, OR: Grants Pass Centennial Commission.

69 U.S. Census Bureau. 1910. 13th Census of the United States. Pp 12-23.

70 Many drowning instances are recorded in the local newspapers in southern Oregon. A topical index to the Ashland Tidings has been complied in- Childers, Lida and Lacy, Ruby. 1990. Ashland Tidings: Newspaper Abstracts Printed as Microfilmed. 37 Volumes (1876-1931). This is only available at the Southern Oregon University Hannon Library and the Southern Oregon Historical Society research library. These individuals compiled similar indexes for limited dates for the Gold Hill News, Jacksonville Democratic Times, Oregon Sentinel, and Medford Mail Tribune.

71 “Believe Salmon Capsized Payne’s Fishing Boat.” Medford Mail Tribune. 26 Oct 1920.; “Drowned in Rogue River.” Ashland Tidings. 5 Apr 1894.; “Died Trying to Save Others.” Ashland Tidings. 12 June 1913.; “Rush’s Body is Found.” Ashland Tidings. 26 June 1913.; “Medford Man Lost Life in Rogue River.” Ashland Tidings. 15 July 1918.

72 “Indifferent Fishing.” Ashland Tidings. 20 June 1910.

73 See Laws of Oregon 1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1913, 1927 & 1935.; “Protect Rogue River Fish.” Ashland Tidings. 17 Nov 1910.

74 Oregon Fisheries Commission. 1903. Annual Report. Pp 36-37.

75 “North Fork of Rogue is Closed by State.” Ashland Tidings. 8 July 1919.

76 Oregon Department of Justice. 2005. p 9.; State of Oregon v. Riverfront Protection Association. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 672 F2d 792 (1982).

77 Beckham, Dow. 1990. Swift Flows the River. Coos Bay, OR: Arago Books.; Wood, Richard G. 1961. Lumbering in Maine, 1820-1960. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press.

78 Ibid.

79 LaLande, Jeff M. 1979. Medford Corporation: A History of an Oregon Logging and Lumber Company. Medford, OR: Klocker Printing.

64

80 Baily, Marilyn. 1958. The Prospect Area Between 1870 and 1920. Ashland, OR: Southern Oregon College.

81 Pearson, Franes. n.d. The History of Prospect. Unpublished typescript. Rogue River National Forest Archives, Medford, OR. (A copy of this has now been added to the Southern Oregon Historical Society Archives/Research Library, Medford, OR.)

82 U.S. Forest Service. 1978. Aural history: six interviews, Frances Pearson, Gladys Cunningham, Waldo Nye, Dave Neville, Prospect group interview, George Wright. Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest. p 6.

83 Follansbee, Julia A. and Pollock, Nancy L. 1978. Cultural resources overview: Jackson-Klamath Planning Unit. Eugene, OR: U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

84 Interview with Roy Vaughn. November 1978. Trail, OR. p 5. (On file at DSL)

85 Laws of Oregon. 1889. 15th Regular Session of the Legislative Assembly. Pp 105-107. The law was introduced as Senate Bill 111 and passed both houses and was signed into law in February of 1889. Another law was passed in 1891 requiring branding of logs thereby protecting owners of floated logs from theft.

86 The GLO plat maps for Tolo may be found in the University of Oregon Map Vault, Eugene, OR or in the Jackson County Deeds Book, Volume 17.

87 Jacksonville Democratic Times. 24 Jan 1889.

88 Jackson County Commissioners Journal. Volume 8 (1888-1891). 5 Apr 1889 & 7 Aug 1889.

89 Ibid.; Ashland Tidings. 16 Aug 1889.

90 See Laws of Oregon. 1901. 21st Regular Session of the Legislative Assembly. Pp 266-270.

91 “Commissioners’ Court.” Ashland Tidings. 6 Oct 1902.

92 Spaulding Logging Co. v Independence Improvement Co. 1903. Oregon Supreme Court. 42 Ore. 394.

93 Timberman. Vol. IV, No. 4 (February 1903): p 9.

94 Jackson County Commissioner Journals. Volume 12 (1901-1906).

95 Genaw 1988. p 47.

96 Roy Vaughn interview. p 2.

97 Interview with Ed Houston. November 1978. Shady Cove, OR. (On file at DSL)

98 Roy Vaughn interview. p 3.

99 Ibid. Pp 2-4.

100 Interview with Rufus Trusty. 11 May 1979. Eagle Point, OR. (On file at DSL)

101 “Lost Life in Rapids.” Medford Mail Tribune. 30 May 1910.

65

102 “Logging Contractor Throws Up Job.” Medford Mail Tribune. 13 June 1910.

103 Timberman. Vol. XI, No. 8 (June 1910): p 32.

104 “Loses Life in Whirlpool of Rogue River.” Medford Mail Tribune. 25 June 1911.

105 Ohrt, Wallace. 1979. The Rogue I Remember. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers. p 26.

106 U.S. Forest Service. 1990. Recollections: People and the forest: oral history interviews Volume III: From the “Upper Rogue” to the “Dead Indian Plateau”. Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest. Jack Hollenbeak interview. p 2.

107 Rufus Trusty interview.

108 Ed Houston interview.

109 Booming franchise records can be found in the Public Utility Commission files, Log Boom Companies Formal Cases and Log Boom Formal Docket. Oregon State Archives, Salem, OR.

110 Jones, Benjamin E., Warren Oakey, and Harold T. Stearns. 1932. Water-Power Resources of the Rogue River Drainage Basin, Oregon. U.S. Department of Interior: Water-Supply Paper 638-B.

111 Hegne, Barbara. 1991. Logging the Rogue Valley. Eagle Point, OR: B. Hegne. p 24.

112 Beckham 1990. p 144.; Lansing, William A. 2005. Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Menasha Corporation and its One Hundred Year History in Coos Bay, Oregon 1905-2005. Eugene, OR: Monroe Press.

113 Steckel, Samuel J. n.d. Diary of Samuel J. Steckel: owner of Steckel’s Sawmill located on West Evans Creek, July 30, 1882-July 28, 1883. Unpublished typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

114 Ibid.

115 Bornamann n.d. p 6.

116 LaLande, Jeff 1979. p 23.

117 Timberman. Vol. VII, No. 3 (Jan 1906): p 40.

118 U.S. Forest Service 1990. Bill and Zelda Edmonson interview. Pp 58-59.

119 Interview with Elgar Abbott. 9 November 1978. Butte Creek, OR. (On file at DSL)

120 Josephine County Commissioner Journals. Vol. 4. 2 Apr 1903. p 319.

121 Timberman. Vol. IV, No. 4 (Feb 1903): p 12.; Timberman. Vol. V, No. 6 (April 1904): p 20.

122 Timberman. Vol. V, No. 5 (March 1904): p 25.

123 Timberman. Vol. VII, No. 6 (April 1906).

124 General Land Office. 1851. Instructions to the Surveyor-General of Oregon: Being a Manual for Field Operations. Washington, DC: Gideon and Company. Pp 23-28.

66

125 Meander, plat surveys and field notes for the majority of the Rogue River made by: Ives, Butler and George W. Hyde (1854-1855) and Lake, Wells and George W. Hyde (1856). Four sections were surveyed later by: Frank F. Sharp (1893), Rands, Earnest P. and Richmond S. Dickerson (1909-1911), and Mensch, Fred (1913-1914). All surveys, field notes, and maps are on file at BLM Archives, Portland, OR.

126 Ives, Butler and George Hyde. 1854-55. Survey Field Notes, T36S, R2W. BLM Archives, Portland, OR.

127 Cram, T. J. 1859. “Topographical Memoir of the Department of the Pacific.” House Executive Document No. 114, 35th Congress, 2nd Session. Serial No. 1014. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p 33.

128 Gillespie, G.L. and Eastwick, Phillip G. 1879. “Examination of Rogue River, Oregon.” In Report of the Chief of Engineers. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p 1857.

129 Ibid. p 1858.

130 Oregon Observer. 1 Sept 1894.

131 Oregon Observer. 2 March 1895.

132 “Rogue River to be Made Navigable.” Rogue River Courier. 12 Jan 1906.

133 Rogue River Courier. 1 Apr 1910.

134 Rogue River Courier. 29 Aug 1913.

135 “Navigate the Rogue to Gold Beach.” Ashland Tidings. 1 June 1916.; Rogue River Courier. 2 June 1916.

136 Wooldridge interview. p 8.

137 Atwood, Kay. 1978. Glen Wooldridge interview in Illahe: The Story of Settlement in the Rogue River Canyon. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. Pp 241-242.

138 Wooldridge interview. p 6.

139 Ibid. Pp 7, 11.

140 Ibid. p 10.

141 Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p 178.

142 Ibid. p 178.

143 Oregon State Marine Board. Oregon Boating Facilities Guide. Pp 30-31.

144 Shindler, Bruce and Bo Shelby. 1993. Rogue River Study: assessments of recreation impacts and user perceptions on the Bureau of Land Management recreation section. Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. p 8.

145 Austermuehle, Louise. 1995. Visitor Use Background Paper for revising the Hellgate Recreation Area Management Plan (Second Edition). USDI Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, Grants Pass Resource Area. Pp 21-23, 37.

146 Shindler and Shelby 1993. p 8.

67

147 Austermuehle 1995. p 29.

148 Ibid. Pp 27-29, 37.

149 Ibid. Pp 6-9.

150 Ibid. Pp 6-9, 37.

151 Personal communication with Chris Dent. Rogue River Program Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Medford District, Grants Pass Resource Area, Grants Pass, OR. 25 May 2006. (On file at DSL)

152 Ibid.

153 Shindler and Shelby 1993. Pp 32-33.

154 Oregon State Marine Board. Oregon Boating Facilities Guide. Pp 30-31.

155 Giordano 2004. Soggy Sneakers (4th Edition). Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. p 108.

156 Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p 98.

157 Ibid. p 101.

158 “Up and down Oregon’s Rogue.” Sunset. June 1966. p 83.

159 Personal communication with Don Kirkendall. Owner/Operator, Arrowhead River Adventures, Ashland, OR. 6 March 2006. (On file at DSL)

160 Oregon State Marine Board. Oregon Boating Facilities Guide. Pp 30-31.

161 Upper Rogue Tourism Alliance website. www.upperrogue.org/guide_services.htm Accessed 25 April 2006.

162 Raft the Rogue Raft Rentals brochure and website. www.rafttherogue.com/index.html Accessed 25 April 2006.

163 Personal communication with Deputy Jim Gyllenskog. Jackson County Marine Deputies. 2 March 2006. (On file at DSL)

164 Arrowhead River Adventures brochure.

165 Personal communication with Andre Biggs. Valley of the Rogue State Park. 23 February 2006. (On file at DSL)

166 Personal communication with Deputy Jim Gyllenskog.

167 Personal communication with Don Kirkendall.

168 Weiss, Robert Mark. 1991. Laurelhurst: Lost Community of the Upper Rogue. Eagle Point, OR: Laurelhurst Publications.

169 Arman and Wooldridge 1982. p 225.

170 Giordano 2004. p 119.

68

171 Upper Rogue Recreation Guide. June 1984. p 7.

172 Oregon State Marine Board. Oregon Boating Facilities Guide. Pp 30-31.

173 Oregon State Marine Board. 2005. Boating in Oregon: Triennial Survey Results. p 18.

69 Bibliography

Interviews (on file at DSL): Elgar Abbott Ed Houston Rufus Trusty Roy Vaughn Glen Wooldridge

Newspapers cited: Ashland Tidings Jacksonville Democratic Times Medford Mail Tribune Oregon Observer Rogue River Courier

Personal communications (on file at DSL): Andre Biggs Chris Dent Jim Gyllenskog Don Kirkendall

Abbot, Henry L. 1857. “Report of Lieut. Henry L. Abbot, Corps of Topographical Engineers Upon Explorations for a Railroad Route, from the Sacramento Valley to the Columbia River.” Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. 6. House Executive Doc. No. 91 (33rd Congress, 2nd Session).

Anonymous. 1960. Centennial Guidebook to the Wonders of the Rogue River Valley. Rogue River Vertical File. Salem, OR: Oregon State Library.

______. “Up and down Oregon’s Rogue.” Sunset Magazine. June 1966.

Arman, Florence and Glen Wooldridge. 1982. The Rogue: A River to Run. Grants Pass, OR: Wildwood Press.

Atwood, Kay. 1978, Illahe: The Story of Settlement in the Rogue River Canyon. Corvallis, OR: OSU Press.

______. 1980. Blooms & Branches: a gathering of Rogue Valley orchard memories. Ashland, OR: K. Atwood.

Atwood, Kay and Dennis J. Gray. 1996. People and the River: a history of human occupation of the middle course of the Rogue River of southwestern Oregon, Volume I. Medford, OR: U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

70 Austermuehle, Louise. 1995. Visitor Use Background Paper for revising the Hellgate Recreation Area Management Plan (Second Edition). U.S. Dept. of Interior- Bureau of Land Management, Medford District Office, Grants Pass Resource Area.

Baily, Marilyn. 1958. The Prospect Area Between 1870 and 1920. Ashland, OR: Southern Oregon College.

Barnett, Homer G. 1937. “Culture Element Distributions VII: Oregon Coast.” University of California Publications in Archeological Records. Vol. 1 (1937): 155-204.

Beckham, Dow. 1990. Swift Flows the River: Log Driving in Oregon. Coos Bay, OR: Arago Books.

Beckham, Stephen Dow. 1996. Requiem for a People. Corvallis, OR: OSU Press.

Beeson, John. 1857. A Plea for the Indians: with facts and features of the late war in Oregon. New York: J. Beeson.

Booth, Percy. 1970. Valley of the Rogues. Grants Pass, OR: Josephine County Historical Society.

______. 1984. Grants Pass: The Golden Years 1884-1984. Grants Pass, OR: Grants Pass Centennial Commission.

Bornamann, Charley Lester. n.d. A Brief History of the City of Rogue River, Oregon from the First Settler to 1912. Unpublished typescript copy. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

Card, Virginia D. 1967. The Takelma Indians of Southwestern Oregon (Now Extinct). Unpublished manuscript. Jackson County Public Library, Medford, OR.

Carlson, Signe M. 1984. Irrigation. Unpublished Typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

Childers, Lida and Lacy, Ruby. 1990. Ashland Tidings: Newspaper Abstracts Printed as Microfilmed. 37 Volumes (1876-1931).

Colvocoresses, George M. 1852. Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition. New York: Cornish, Lamport and Co.

Cram, T. J. 1859. “Topographical Memoir of the Department of the Pacific.” House Executive Document No. 114, 35th Congress, 2nd Session. Serial No. 1014. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

71 Davies, K.G. ed. 1961. Peter Skene Ogden’s Snake Country Journal, 1826-1827. London: Hudson’s Bay Record Society.

Drucker, Philip. “The Tolewa and Their Southwest Oregon Kin.” Univ. of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology. Vol. 36 (1936): 219-299.

Dunn, Joy B. 1993. Land in Common: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Oregon. Medford, OR: Southern Oregon Historical Society.

Farnell, James E. 1979. Rogue River Navigability Study. Oregon Department of State Lands, Salem, OR.

Follansbee, Julia A. and Nancy L. Pollock. 1978. Cultural resources overview: Jackson-Klamath Planning Unit. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Eugene, OR.

Genaw, Linda Morehouse. 1988. Gold Hill and it’s Neighbors along the River. Central Point, OR: L.M. Genaw.

General Land Office. 1851. Instructions to the Surveyor-General of Oregon: Being a Manual for Field Operations. Washington, DC: Gideon and Company.

Gillespie, G.L. and Eastwick, Phillip G. 1879. “Examination of Rogue River, Oregon.” In Report of the Chief of Engineers. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Gillmore, Jesse Lee. 1952. A History of the Rogue River Valley- Pioneer Period, 1850-1862. PhD Dissertation, University of California.

Giordano, Pete. 2004. Soggy Sneakers (4th Edition). Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books.

Gray, Dennis J. 1987. The Takelma and Their Athapascan Neighbors: A New Ethnographic Synthesis for the Upper Rogue River Area of Southwestern Oregon. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Anthropological Papers, No. 37.

Harrington, John Peabody. 1933. Takelma Field Notes. Roll 28, The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution, 1907-1957. Millwood, NY: Kraus International Publications.

______. 1981. The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution, 1907-1957. White Plains, NY: Kraus International Publications.

Hasselstrom, Linda M. (ed) 1984. Journal of a Mountain Man, James Clyman. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing.

72 Hastings, Lansford W. 1845. The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California. Cincinnati, OH: George Conclin.

Hegne, Barbara. 1989. Yonder Hills: Shady Cove, Elk Creek, Persist, Trail, Etna. Eagle Point, OR: B. Hegne.

______. 1991. Logging the Rogue Valley. Eagle Point, OR: B. Hegne.

Hill, Edna May. 1976. Josephine County Historical Highlights. Grants Pass, OR: Josephine County Historical Society.

Ives, Butler and George W. Hyde. 1854-55. Plat of Survey and Survey Field Notes. BLM Archives, Portland, OR.

Jackson County Commissioner Journals. On file at Jackson County Clerks Office, Medford, OR.

Jones, Benjamin E., Warren Oakey, and Harold T. Stearns. 1932. Water-Power Resources of the Rogue River Drainage Basin, Oregon. U.S. Department of Interior Water-Supply Paper 638-B.

Josephine County Commissioner Journals. On file at Josephine County Clerks Office, Grants Pass, OR.

LaLande, Jeffery M. 1979. Medford Corporation: A History of an Oregon Logging and Lumber Company. Medford, OR: Klocker Printing.

______. 1980. Prehistory and History of the Rogue River National Forest: A Cultural Resource Overview. Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest.

______. 1982. Guide to the historical records collection of the Rogue River National Forest. Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest.

______. 1987. First Over the Siskiyous: Peter Skene Ogden’s 1826-1827 Journey through the Oregon-California Borderlands. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press.

______. 1997. Environmental History of the “Forks” Watershed Analysis Area (Middle Fork and South Fork of the Rogue River). Medford, OR: Rogue River National Forest.

Lansing, William A. 2005. Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Menasha Corporation and its One Hundred Year History in Coos Bay, Oregon 1905-2005. Eugene, OR: Monroe Press.

73 Lawrence, Mark E. n.d. Early Jackson County Toll Roads, Tunnels, Ferries, and Bridges. Unpublished typescript. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

Laws of Oregon. On file at Oregon State Archives, Salem, OR.

Loy, William G., Stuart Allan, Aileen R. Buckley, and James E. Meacham. 2001. Atlas of Oregon (Second Edition). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Press.

Ord, Ellen Francis. 1921. The Rogue River Indian expedition of 1856 (Diary by Capt. E.O.C. Ord 3rd Art. U.S. Army, with Introduction and Editorial Notes). M.A. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA.

Ohrt, Wallace. 1979. The Rogue I Remember. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers.

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Oregon Public Utility Commission. Log Boom Companies Formal Cases and Log Boom Formal Docket. Oregon State Archives, Salem, OR.

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______. 2005. Boating in Oregon: Triennial Survey Results.

Pearson, Frances. n.d. The History of Prospect. Unpublished typescript. Rogue River National Forest Archives, Medford, OR.

Poesch, Jessie. 1961. Titan Ramsay Peale, 1799-1885, and his Journals of the Wilkes Expedition. Philadelphia, PA: American Philosophical Society.

Raft the Rogue Raft Rentals. Brochure and website. www.rafttherogue.com/index.html.

Rhinehart, Rosalyn R. 1990. The Beginnings of the Rogue Valley. Unpublished typescript copy. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

Sapir, Edward. “Notes on the Takelma Indians of Southwestern Oregon.” American Anthropologist Vol. 9, No. 2 (April-June 1907): 251-275.

______. 1909. Takelma Texts. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum.

______. 1914. Notes on Chasta Costa Phonology and Morphology. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum.

74 Sheffield, Elizabeth. 1950. Rogue River, Oregon and Vicinity. Grants Pass, OR: Bulletin Printing. On file at University of Oregon Special Collections, Eugene, OR.

Shindler, Bruce and Bo Shelby. 1993. Rogue River Study: assessments of recreation impacts and user perceptions on the Bureau of Land Management recreation section. Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University. Corvallis, OR.

Slayer, Mary, Jeanette Dickson, and Roy Childers. (eds) 1975. Patchwork: a Rogue community scrapbook. Grants Pass, OR: Rogue Community College.

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Steckel, Samuel J. n.d. Diary of Samuel J. Steckel: owner of Steckels Sawmill located on West Evans Creek, July 30, 1882-July 28, 1883. Unpublished typescript copy. Jackson County Library, Medford, OR.

Sutton, Jack. 1967. 110 Years with Josephine: The History of Josephine County, Oregon 1856-1966. Medford, OR: Josephine County Historical Society.

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______. 1991. Laurelhurst: Lost Community of the Upper Rogue. Eagle Point, OR: Laurelhurst Publications.

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Wood, Richard G. 1961. Lumbering in Maine, 1820-1960. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press.

75 Upper Rogue Recreation Guide. June 1984. On file at Josephine County Historical Society, Grants Pass, OR.

Upper Rogue Tourism Alliance website. www.upperrogue.org/guide_services.htm.

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