Collier Memorial State Park
Encyclopedia
Collier Memorial State Park is a state park in southern Oregon
. The park is operated and maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
. It is located on U.S. Highway 97
, approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) north of Klamath Falls
and 105 miles (169 km) south of Bend
. The park covers 146 acres (59.1 ha) along the Williamson River
.
In 1947, the Collier brothers donated a collection of antique logging
equipment to be displayed as an outdoor logging museum on the park grounds. The equipment shows the evolution of the logging industry from axes and oxen to diesel tractors and logging trucks. The museum also highlights the role railroads
played in developing the timber industry. Alfred Collier continued to add to the collection until his death in 1988. As a result, the museum has one of the largest collections of logging equipment in the world.
Collier Memorial State Park features the Collier Logging Museum, an outdoor museum with a large collection of historic logging equipment. Some items date back to the 1880s and many are quite rare. The collection includes ox drawn "high wheels
" used to raise the forward end of logs off the ground so they could be skidded
through the forest to a collection area. Steam-powered "donkey engines" used steel cables to haul logs to a collection point. There are also steam tractor
s and diesel "cats
" that performed the same function in their turn. The most modern piece of logging equipment on display is a Beloit tree harvester
. The harvester, operated by one person, cuts trees near ground level using hydraulic blades, removes the limbs, and stacks the logs onto a logging truck all in one continuous operation.
There are two areas that display large saw mill machinery. One exhibit is a complete band saw
used in the Edward Hines lumber mill. This saw turned trees into lumber from 1930 until 1980. A new building houses a saw mill steam plant along with a collect of chain saws.
The museum also displays railroad equipment used to transport logs out of the forest, including a Baldwin locomotive used in the Mount Shasta
area to haul redwood
logs to saw mills in northern California
. There is a self-powered McGriffert Log Loader built in 1926 which was in active use until 1962. The museum also owns a 1923 Clyde track laying machine, one of only two still in existence. It was used by at various locations around Klamath County
by Weyerhaeuser
until 1959. The museum even has a diesel-powered tug boat used to tow rafts of logs from an Agency Lake collection site to a saw mill at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake
, a 22 miles (35.4 km) trip. The tug was operated on the lake from 1937 until 1943.
One of the most impressive exhibits is a 16 feet (4.9 m) cross section from the largest Douglas fir tree ever cut. This forest giant was already an old tree when Columbus
landed in the New World
. In addition, several logging camp structures have been relocated to the museum site along with twelve authentic pioneer homestead
buildings. A logger’s cabin is now used as an exhibit building and gift shop. The pioneer village area gives visitor insight into how Oregon families once lived. The buildings also show several nineteen century building techniques used by Oregon pioneers. During the summer, the museum staff shows movies about old-time logging at 9 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.
In 2005, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, in cooperation with Oregon State Parks Trust and the Friends of Collier Memorial State Park, financed a major renovation of the museum. The project carefully restored logging machinery, railroad equipment, historic buildings, and other museum artifacts. Interpretive displays, signs, and other materials were also updated. As a result, Collier Memorial State Park has an excellent museum with a world-class collection of logging equipment and artifacts.
Collier Memorial State Park is located in an area forested with ponderosa
and lodgepole
pine. The park's facilities are well developed. Visitors can hike
, camp, picnic
, or fish
in the park. A trailhead provides accesses to a number of hiking trails in the surrounding forest, and a popular horse trail goes from Collier state park to Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site
. There are 50 sites with recreational vehicle
hook-ups and 18 tent sites. There are also four horse corrals. The park has modern restrooms, hot showers, and laundry facilities. The park is open to campers April through October. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The park is located at the confluence of the scenic Williamson River and Spring Creek whose origin is a natural spring about a mile from the park. The aquifer
that feeds the spring is believed to originate thirty miles northeast of the park in the east side drainage of Crater Lake National Park
. The Williamson River is well known for its trout fishing. Brook
, rainbow
, and native redband trout
are found in the Williamson River in this area. The brook and rainbow trout often reach 20 inches (508 mm), and the redband trout in the Williamson River can reach record size, up to 5 pounds.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The park is operated and maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department , officially known as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks...
. It is located on U.S. Highway 97
U.S. Route 97 in Oregon
In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 97 is a major north–south United States highway which runs through the state of Oregon . In Oregon, it runs from the Oregon-California border, south of Klamath Falls, to the Oregon-Washington border on the Columbia River, between Biggs Junction, Oregon and...
, approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) north of Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Klamath Falls is a city in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. Originally called Linkville when George Nurse founded the town in 1867, after the Link River on whose falls this city sat, although no falls currently exist; the name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1892...
and 105 miles (169 km) south of Bend
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
. The park covers 146 acres (59.1 ha) along the Williamson River
Williamson River (Oregon)
The Williamson River of south-central Oregon in the United States is about long. It drains about east of the Cascade Range. Together with its principal tributary, the Sprague River, it provides over half the inflow to Upper Klamath Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Oregon...
.
History
The park was established in 1945 when two brothers from Klamath Falls, Alfred and Andrew Collier, donated 146 acres (59.1 ha) to the state of Oregon. The land was to be used for a park honoring their parents, Charles Morse Collier and Janet McCornack Collier.In 1947, the Collier brothers donated a collection of antique logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
equipment to be displayed as an outdoor logging museum on the park grounds. The equipment shows the evolution of the logging industry from axes and oxen to diesel tractors and logging trucks. The museum also highlights the role railroads
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
played in developing the timber industry. Alfred Collier continued to add to the collection until his death in 1988. As a result, the museum has one of the largest collections of logging equipment in the world.
Collier Logging Museum
Michigan logging wheels
Michigan logging wheels, also known as big wheels, high wheels, logging wheels, logger wheels, lumbering wheels, bummer carts, katydids or nibs, are a type of skidder. It extended the season in which the logging industry could extract timber from the North Woods of Michigan, by removing the need...
" used to raise the forward end of logs off the ground so they could be skidded
Skidder
A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. Here they are loaded onto trucks , and sent to the mill...
through the forest to a collection area. Steam-powered "donkey engines" used steel cables to haul logs to a collection point. There are also steam tractor
Steam tractor
A steam tractor is a vehicle powered by a steam engine which is used for pulling.In North America, the term steam tractor usually refers to a type of agricultural tractor powered by a steam engine, used extensively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.In Great Britain, the term steam tractor...
s and diesel "cats
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
" that performed the same function in their turn. The most modern piece of logging equipment on display is a Beloit tree harvester
Harvester (forestry)
A harvester is a type of heavy forestry vehicle employed in cut-to-length logging operations for felling, delimbing and bucking trees. A forest harvester is typically employed together with a forwarder that hauls the logs to a roadside landing.- History :...
. The harvester, operated by one person, cuts trees near ground level using hydraulic blades, removes the limbs, and stacks the logs onto a logging truck all in one continuous operation.
There are two areas that display large saw mill machinery. One exhibit is a complete band saw
Band saw
A bandsaw is a power tool which uses a blade consisting of a continuous band of metal with teeth along one edge to cut various workpieces. The band usually rides on two wheels rotating in the same plane, although some small bandsaws have three wheels. Bandsawing produces uniform cutting action as a...
used in the Edward Hines lumber mill. This saw turned trees into lumber from 1930 until 1980. A new building houses a saw mill steam plant along with a collect of chain saws.
The museum also displays railroad equipment used to transport logs out of the forest, including a Baldwin locomotive used in the Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
area to haul redwood
Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
logs to saw mills in northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. There is a self-powered McGriffert Log Loader built in 1926 which was in active use until 1962. The museum also owns a 1923 Clyde track laying machine, one of only two still in existence. It was used by at various locations around Klamath County
Klamath County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge* Crater Lake National Park * Deschutes National Forest * Fremont National Forest * Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge* Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge...
by Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
until 1959. The museum even has a diesel-powered tug boat used to tow rafts of logs from an Agency Lake collection site to a saw mill at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake
Upper Klamath Lake
Upper Klamath Lake is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south central Oregon in the United States. The largest freshwater body in Oregon, it is approximately 20 mi long and 8 mi wide and extends northwest from the city of Klamath Falls...
, a 22 miles (35.4 km) trip. The tug was operated on the lake from 1937 until 1943.
One of the most impressive exhibits is a 16 feet (4.9 m) cross section from the largest Douglas fir tree ever cut. This forest giant was already an old tree when Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
landed in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. In addition, several logging camp structures have been relocated to the museum site along with twelve authentic pioneer homestead
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
buildings. A logger’s cabin is now used as an exhibit building and gift shop. The pioneer village area gives visitor insight into how Oregon families once lived. The buildings also show several nineteen century building techniques used by Oregon pioneers. During the summer, the museum staff shows movies about old-time logging at 9 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.
In 2005, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, in cooperation with Oregon State Parks Trust and the Friends of Collier Memorial State Park, financed a major renovation of the museum. The project carefully restored logging machinery, railroad equipment, historic buildings, and other museum artifacts. Interpretive displays, signs, and other materials were also updated. As a result, Collier Memorial State Park has an excellent museum with a world-class collection of logging equipment and artifacts.
Recreation
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
and lodgepole
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
pine. The park's facilities are well developed. Visitors can hike
Hike
Hike may refer to:* Hiking, walking lengthy distances in the countryside or wilderness* Hiking , moving a sailor's body weight as far to windward as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways against the boat's sails* Alternative spelling for Heka , an Egyptian god*...
, camp, picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
, or fish
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
in the park. A trailhead provides accesses to a number of hiking trails in the surrounding forest, and a popular horse trail goes from Collier state park to Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site
Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site
Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site is a state park in southern Oregon. The park is operated and maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and is located approximately southeast of Crater Lake National Park and north of Fort Klamath...
. There are 50 sites with recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
hook-ups and 18 tent sites. There are also four horse corrals. The park has modern restrooms, hot showers, and laundry facilities. The park is open to campers April through October. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The park is located at the confluence of the scenic Williamson River and Spring Creek whose origin is a natural spring about a mile from the park. The aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
that feeds the spring is believed to originate thirty miles northeast of the park in the east side drainage of Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake National Park is the sixth oldest national park in the United States and the only one in the state of Oregon...
. The Williamson River is well known for its trout fishing. Brook
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
, rainbow
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, and native redband trout
Redband trout
Redband trout is a fish name that may be a synonym for the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, but is also used more narrowly for inland subspecies with well-defined geographical distributions in the United States...
are found in the Williamson River in this area. The brook and rainbow trout often reach 20 inches (508 mm), and the redband trout in the Williamson River can reach record size, up to 5 pounds.