Timeline
1826 Trapping for fur trade lured the first
whites to the area as documented by the journal of Peter Skene Ogden of
Hudson's Bay Co. The most recent principal inhabitants of the Tule Lake Basin
prior to the arrival of the whites were the Modoc Indians.
1846 Captain John C. Fremont arrived at the shore
of Tulelake on a survey and scouting mission (although technically the land
was "Mexican land")
1846 Applegate-Scott expedition party used
the Stone Bridge (after it was pointed out by Indians) to cross Lost River and
continue east. Their expedition blazed a new route for future wagon trains as
part of the Applegate Trail.
1847 Smallpox epidemic swept the Modoc tribe
1848 Gold was discovered in the hills east
of Sacramento giving more significance to the Applegate Trail
1849 Party of miners was attacked at Bloody
Point
1851 Ben Wright came to the area from
Indiana boasting to be the "acknowledged champion Indian fighter in
northern California"
1852 After raids on wagon trains using the
Applegate Trail, Ben Wright and miners began a long-term camp, patrolling the
area around Bloody Point. At a Modoc Camp near Clear Lake, Wright and his
men slaughtered an entire village of 41 people. His vengeful attacks and
violence finally caught up with him in 1856 when he was ambushed and killed.
1863 Applegates took a claim at Clear Lake
1864 Elijah Steele, Northern California Indian
Agent persuaded the Indians to sign a treaty to live in peace with
whites, to enter towns unarmed, refrain from alcohol, and to stop selling
their women into slavery. In exchange Steele would try to secure protected
land for them along Lost River.
1866-1869 Jesse Applegate and Jesse Carr
developed a relationship based upon their mutual interests in livestock and
the acquisition of a large portion of land and virtually all of the water
resources from Willow Creek on the east to and including the eastern and
northern shores of Tule Lake (then called Modoc Lake)
Late 1860s Van Brimmer, John Fairchild,
Presley Dorris, Charles Boyes, Edgar Ball, Si Doten settled the Butte Valley
1871 Jesse Applegate and Jesse Carr began
campaigns to gain title to land from the government and remove the Modoc
Indians
1872-1873 Modoc Indian War
1876 Carr requested permission from Modoc
Co. Supervisors to form the Reclamation District of Swampland. He contracted
for 16' wide by 1-1/2 mile ditch to bring water from Willow Creek into Lost
River, allowing haying of Clear Lake Meadows.
1877 Construction of Carr's rock fence
began. Over 7 years over 100 miles of "Chinese Wall" was built
enclosing approximately 150,000 acres
1882 Dan and Clint Van Brimmer began
construction on a canal from White Lake east. After 4 years the completed
canal began delivering water to some 4,000 acres of land on the west and south
sides of Lost River.
1886 J. Frank Adams began the "Adams
Ditch"
1889 J. Frank Adams acquired from Benjamin Van
Brimmer 152 acres of land at the north side of Lost River, near Stone Bridge
(land later to become Merrill)
1891 Adams sold the land to Nathan and Nancy
Merrill
1892 Carr owned and controlled most land
between Tule Lake and Clear Lake
1894 Nathan Merrill donated 80 acres for the
town site of Merrill, Oregon
1898 Milo Coppock and family came to the
area and settled south of Prisoner's Rock on what was then known as the
"Sand Strip." The bay became known as "Coppock Bay." The
Coppocks became well known for the fruits and vegetables
1900 W.C. Dalton came to Modoc Co. as
foreman of the Jesse D. Carr Ranch
1902 Newlands Reclamation Act was signed into law
by President Theodore Roosevelt. As a result of the law, the Klamath Project,
an ambitious scheme involving three lakes, two major rivers, and an
interconnecting network of man-made canals would later be created.
1903 Merrill was incorporated into Klamath County
1903 Adam's dredge completed the widening of
channel from Lower Klamath to White Lake
1905 The Klamath Reclamation Project was
established. It would encompass 210,000 acres of farmland and 30,000 acres of
refuges. It was the 12th reclamation project in the United States, but the
largest at the time.
1906 Clear Lake property, some property with
riparian rights at Tule Lake and 12 miles of canal were purchased by the
Bureau of Reclamation.
1907-1919 With the diversion of water away
from Tule Lake and with minimal drainage from its southern end, the lake was
reduced in size from 98,600 to 68,000 acres.
1908-1910 A dam was constructed at the head
of Lost River and swamp land adjacent to Clear Lake became a reservoir for the
Klamath Irrigation District. The lake's capacity doubled from 10,000 to 25,000
acres.
1908 Arrival of the Southern Pacific
Railroad in Butte Valley
1908 President Roosevelt issued Executive
Order #924 formulating the refuge program in the basin
1909 Czech pioneers arrived after their
scouts from the Bohemian Colonization Club Chose the site of Malin
1911 A major fire struck Merrill
1911 President Taft expanded the refuge
program within the Klamath Basin region by setting aside protected land along
Clear Lake Reservoir. In 1936 President Roosevelt more than tripled the size
of the Tule Lake Bird Refuge, from 11,000 to over 37,300 acres.
1917 Milo Coppock's son, Charles painted an
American flag on part of the Peninsula
1917 The first of eleven homestead offerings
that continued until 1949. Each offering coincided with the completion of
new segments of the Klamath Project and represented the goal of the Newlands
Act -- to provide average American citizens the opportunity to own land that
might otherwise be beyond their reach.
1920 A second major fire struck Merrill
1920 The town of Tennant was founded
1921 The Link River Dam and Lower Lost River
Diversion Dams were built
1921 A third major fire struck Merrill
1921 Malin High School was the first Klamath
County Union High School
1922 Malin was officially incorporated
1923 Only 2,000 acres of water remained in
Tule Lake out of the 98,600 acres when the project began. The Malone Diversion
Dam was built.
1924 Gerber Dam on Miller Creek was built as
well as a diversion dam 8 miles below Gerber to provide additional irrigation
water.
1925 President Calvin Coolidge officially
declared the Lava Beds a National Monument
1928 The Tule Lake Community Club was
organized
1928 Grand Pacific Sokol Festival was held
in Malin, Oregon
1931 City of Tulelake opened for settlement
1932 Civilian Conservation Corps -- men were
recruited to work at Camp Tule Lake and later in 1937 at Gillem's Camp, known
as Camp Lava Beds.
1934 First annual Klamath Basin Potato
Festival in Merrill, Oregon
1942 The Tule Lake Internment Camp was
opened. It became a Segregation Center in 1943 and as a high security camp
held as many as 18,789 men, women and children. It was the largest camp in the
United States and the last to close when it ceased operation in March
1946.
1944 Italian and then later German POWs
arrived at Camp Tule Lake. Their numbers peaked at about 1000 as they provided
workers to relieve the shortage of agricultural labor.
1949 The first annual Tulelake Rotary Junior
Livestock Show and Sale was held
1952 The 10-A District Agricultural
Association was formed and the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair began
1980 The Refuge expanded its jurisdiction to
include land encompassing The Peninsula. The Tule Lake national Wildlife
Refuge now encompasses 38,118 acres of croplands, uplands, marshes and open
water.
1988 The short-nose and Lost River sucers
were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act