Oswego Lake
Encyclopedia
Oswego Lake is a privately owned lake in Clackamas County
, Oregon
that is completely surrounded by the city of Lake Oswego
. Though the lake is naturally occurring (a former channel of the Tualatin River
), it is considered a reservoir
because of the concrete dam
that has increased its size to 395 acres (1.6 km²).
to the Willamette River
. Eventually, the river changed course and abandoned the Oswego route.
About 13,000 to 15,000 years ago, the ice dam
that contained Glacial Lake Missoula
ruptured, resulting in the Missoula Floods
, which backed the Columbia River
up the Willamette River. The flooding created an underwater vortex called a kolk
, which scoured out and enlarged the old Oswego channel, creating a natural lake. The rocks and boulders were flung by the kolk up to a mile away to present-day Durham
and Tualatin
, where they were quarried for many years before the site was converted to the Bridgeport Village
shopping center.
as Waluga ("wild swan"), for the birds they hunted there. With the arrival of European settlers in the mid-19th century, the lake was called Sucker Lake for a type of fish
that was abundant in its waters. In 1847, Albert Alonzo Durham built a sawmill on on Sucker Creek, the lake's outlet to the Willamette River. In 1850, he made the first Donation Land Claim
in the area, which he named Oswego after Oswego, New York
.
was incorporated with the goal of making the town of Oswego an industrial center for the smelting
of the abundant iron ore in the area. The company purchased the entire town of Oswego, including the lake and surrounding hills, which were rich in not only iron ore, but trees that would be turned into charcoal
to feed the furnaces. Population in the town boomed, aided by the opening of a narrow gauge
railroad from Portland
in 1886. The Oregon iron industry peaked in 1890, but with the availability of cheaper coke
-fired iron and steel mills, by the early 20th century it had nearly collapsed.
In 1872, a canal was completed that connected the lake to the Tualatin River
, allowing steamships from the Tualatin River and Navigation Company to travel on the lake.
A series of wooden dams had been built at the outlet to Sucker Creek beginning in 1860 to provide water power; but since winter floods would wash out these dams within a few years, in 1921 a concrete dam was built, which not only provided a more reliable power source, but also allowed the lake level to be precisely controlled. The level was allowed to rise several feet to cover the unsightly stumps left over from logging and create a more visually appealing shoreline.
With the name Sucker Lake considered unappealing to potential residents, the community decided to rename the lake. While "Lake Tualatin" was considered, in 1913 the United States Board on Geographic Names
officially renamed it Oswego Lake.
In 1928, a marshy area known as the Duck Pond adjacent to the lake was flooded, and a canal dug to it to connect to the main lake to create Lakewood Bay, which allowed more shoreline homes to be built next to the newly completed Pacific Highway (now part of Oregon Route 43).
, who was one of the original investors in the Oregon Iron Company), the Ladd Estate Company converted the iron town into a prestigious lakeside retreat.
In 1924, Paul Murphy developed the Oswego Lake Country Club to promote Oswego as a place to "live where you play." The Paul Murphy Company replaced Ladd's company as developer of Oregon Iron and Steel's property in 1940, and the following year, Oregon Iron and Steel created the Lake Oswego Corporation, which still owns the lake as a private corporation of lakefront property owners. In 1960, shortly before ending its existence, Oregon Iron & Steel was disbanding deeded the powerhouse and dams to the corporation.
Today, the lake is still owned by the shareholders of the Lake Oswego Corporation, who typically become shareholders upon purchasing property along the lakefront. There are 690 lakefront property owners, and another 515 families who belong to one of 20 waterfront easement associations. The Corporation manages property easements, lake access, boat and operator licensing, water safety and water quality, and lakefront building permits. There is no public access to the lake, although residents of Lake Oswego who are not shareholders have access to one public swim park, and families in the Lake Oswego School District
have access to another. Periodically, the Corporation lowers the water level in the lake by opening the dam to allowing water to enable lakefront property owners to conduct repairs on docks and boathouses. In 2010, the lake was lowered approximately 24 feet (7.3 m) to allow for construction of a new sewer line, the lowest lake level since 1962 when the original sewer line was installed.
With the relative scarcity of building easements, lakefront property is considered prestigious, and a number of architecturally significant homes have been built along its shores, including the Carl C. Jantzen Estate, a Tudor
-style estate on the National Register of Historic Places
, built on an island on the lake's north shore by the founder of the Jantzen
swimwear company in 1930. In addition, the lakeshore features homes by noted Portland architects such as Richard Sundeleaf
and Van Evera Bailey.
growth in the lake, due in part to runoff from lawn fertilizer, which is rich in phosphorus
. The Lake Oswego Corporation has been criticized for its slow response in addressing the problem. In September 2010, the lake was drawn down to allow replacement of an aging sewer pipe that traverses the lake. The lake was refilled to its usual level in the summer of 2011.
Clackamas County, Oregon
Clackamas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named after the Native Americans living in the area, the Clackamas Indians, who were part of the Chinookan people. As of 2010, the population was 375,992...
, Oregon
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...
that is completely surrounded by the city of Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...
. Though the lake is naturally occurring (a former channel of the Tualatin River
Tualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
), it is considered a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
because of the concrete dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
that has increased its size to 395 acres (1.6 km²).
Geologic history
The lake is a former channel of the Tualatin River, carved in basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
to the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. Eventually, the river changed course and abandoned the Oswego route.
About 13,000 to 15,000 years ago, the ice dam
Ice dam
An ice dam occurs when water builds up behind a blockage of ice. Ice dams can occur in various ways.-Caused by a glacier:Sometimes a glacier flows down a valley to a confluence where the other branch carries an unfrozen river...
that contained Glacial Lake Missoula
Glacial Lake Missoula
Glacial Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago...
ruptured, resulting in the Missoula Floods
Missoula Floods
The Missoula Floods refer to the cataclysmic floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ice age. The glacial flood events have been researched since the 1920s...
, which backed the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
up the Willamette River. The flooding created an underwater vortex called a kolk
Kolk
A kolk is an underwater vortex that is created when rapidly rushing water passes an underwater obstacle in boundary areas of high shear. High velocity gradients produce a violently rotating column of water, similar to a tornado. Kolks are capable of plucking multi-ton blocks of rock and...
, which scoured out and enlarged the old Oswego channel, creating a natural lake. The rocks and boulders were flung by the kolk up to a mile away to present-day Durham
Durham, Oregon
Durham is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1966, the city is surrounded by Tigard and Tualatin and is adjacent to the Bridgeport Village shopping complex. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,395 residents.-History:The city was named...
and Tualatin
Tualatin, Oregon
Tualatin is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located south of Tigard...
, where they were quarried for many years before the site was converted to the Bridgeport Village
Bridgeport Village (Oregon)
Bridgeport Village is a lifestyle center located in Tualatin and Tigard, Oregon, United States, operated by CenterCal Properties. The center opened on May 19, 2005 and is located in one of the Portland metropolitan area's most affluent areas...
shopping center.
Early human habitation
The lake was known to the native Clackamas IndiansClackamas Indians
The Clackamas Indians are a tribe of Native Americans of the U.S. state of Oregon who traditionally lived along the Clackamas River in the Willamette Valley. Lewis and Clark estimated their population at 1800 in 1806...
as Waluga ("wild swan"), for the birds they hunted there. With the arrival of European settlers in the mid-19th century, the lake was called Sucker Lake for a type of fish
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
that was abundant in its waters. In 1847, Albert Alonzo Durham built a sawmill on on Sucker Creek, the lake's outlet to the Willamette River. In 1850, he made the first Donation Land Claim
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
in the area, which he named Oswego after Oswego, New York
Oswego, New York
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
.
Iron industry
In 1865, the Oregon Iron CompanyOregon Iron Company
The Oregon Iron Company was an iron smelting company located in what is now Lake Oswego, Oregon. The company was established in 1865, and in 1867, became the first company in the United States to smelt iron west of the Rocky Mountains...
was incorporated with the goal of making the town of Oswego an industrial center for the smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
of the abundant iron ore in the area. The company purchased the entire town of Oswego, including the lake and surrounding hills, which were rich in not only iron ore, but trees that would be turned into charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
to feed the furnaces. Population in the town boomed, aided by the opening of a narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railroad from Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
in 1886. The Oregon iron industry peaked in 1890, but with the availability of cheaper coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
-fired iron and steel mills, by the early 20th century it had nearly collapsed.
Lake expansion
Tualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
, allowing steamships from the Tualatin River and Navigation Company to travel on the lake.
A series of wooden dams had been built at the outlet to Sucker Creek beginning in 1860 to provide water power; but since winter floods would wash out these dams within a few years, in 1921 a concrete dam was built, which not only provided a more reliable power source, but also allowed the lake level to be precisely controlled. The level was allowed to rise several feet to cover the unsightly stumps left over from logging and create a more visually appealing shoreline.
With the name Sucker Lake considered unappealing to potential residents, the community decided to rename the lake. While "Lake Tualatin" was considered, in 1913 the United States Board on Geographic Names
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...
officially renamed it Oswego Lake.
In 1928, a marshy area known as the Duck Pond adjacent to the lake was flooded, and a canal dug to it to connect to the main lake to create Lakewood Bay, which allowed more shoreline homes to be built next to the newly completed Pacific Highway (now part of Oregon Route 43).
Land development
With the demise of the iron industry, the now-renamed Oregon Iron & Steel Company turned to development of its approximately 23000 acres (93.1 km²) of land surrounding the lake. The company built a power plant in 1909, just before the incorporation of the City of Oswego in 1910. Headed by Oregon Iron & Steel president William M. Ladd (son of former Portland mayor William S. LaddWilliam S. Ladd
William Sargent Ladd was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859...
, who was one of the original investors in the Oregon Iron Company), the Ladd Estate Company converted the iron town into a prestigious lakeside retreat.
In 1924, Paul Murphy developed the Oswego Lake Country Club to promote Oswego as a place to "live where you play." The Paul Murphy Company replaced Ladd's company as developer of Oregon Iron and Steel's property in 1940, and the following year, Oregon Iron and Steel created the Lake Oswego Corporation, which still owns the lake as a private corporation of lakefront property owners. In 1960, shortly before ending its existence, Oregon Iron & Steel was disbanding deeded the powerhouse and dams to the corporation.
Modern history
Lake Oswego School District
The Lake Oswego School District is a public school district serving Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States, a suburb 10 miles south of Portland. The district comprises 13 primary and secondary schools with a total enrollment of 6,896 as of 2005...
have access to another. Periodically, the Corporation lowers the water level in the lake by opening the dam to allowing water to enable lakefront property owners to conduct repairs on docks and boathouses. In 2010, the lake was lowered approximately 24 feet (7.3 m) to allow for construction of a new sewer line, the lowest lake level since 1962 when the original sewer line was installed.
With the relative scarcity of building easements, lakefront property is considered prestigious, and a number of architecturally significant homes have been built along its shores, including the Carl C. Jantzen Estate, a Tudor
Tudorbethan architecture
The Tudor Revival architecture of the 20th century , first manifested itself in domestic architecture beginning in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 19th century based on a revival of aspects of Tudor style. It later became an influence in some other countries, especially the British colonies...
-style estate on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, built on an island on the lake's north shore by the founder of the Jantzen
Jantzen
Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products...
swimwear company in 1930. In addition, the lakeshore features homes by noted Portland architects such as Richard Sundeleaf
Richard Sundeleaf
Richard Sundeleaf was an American architect from Portland, Oregon.Sundeleaf was born in Portland in 1900, and moved to the Sellwood neighborhood as a child. He graduated from Washington High School in 1918 and went to the University of Oregon School of Architecture, in Eugene, graduating in 1923...
and Van Evera Bailey.
Lake health
In recent years, the lake has experienced explosive algaeAlgae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
growth in the lake, due in part to runoff from lawn fertilizer, which is rich in phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
. The Lake Oswego Corporation has been criticized for its slow response in addressing the problem. In September 2010, the lake was drawn down to allow replacement of an aging sewer pipe that traverses the lake. The lake was refilled to its usual level in the summer of 2011.