Rocky Point, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
community in 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...
, 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...
, United States. It is located on Pelican Bay on the west shore 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...
, about 29 miles northwest 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 about three miles north of Oregon Route 140 on Forest Highway
Forest Highway
Forest Highways or Forest Routes are a category of roads within United States National Forests. They are built to connect the national forests to the existing state highway systems, and to provide improved access to recreational and logging areas....
34 (Westside Road or Klamath County Highway 531). It is within the Winema National Forest
Winema National Forest
The Winema National Forest is a United States National Forest in Klamath County on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon, and covers . The forest borders Crater Lake National Park near the crest of the Cascades and stretches eastward into the Klamath Basin...
.
History
Rocky Point has long been the site of a lakeside fishing resort of summer-only residents starting in the late 19th century, including wealthy San Franciscans, such as Herbert FleishhackerHerbert Fleishhacker
Herbert Fleishhacker , son of Aaron Fleishhacker and Delia Fleishhacker, was an American businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. He built Fleishhacker Pool, the world's largest swimming pool, in 1924....
. The first post office in the area was named Pelican; it was established in 1888 and ran until 1907. Another post office in the area was called Lawrentz after Martha A. Lawrentz, the postmaster; it ran from 1894 to 1895. The Recreation post office ran from 1913 until February 11, 1924, when the name was changed to Pelican Bay. The name was changed to Rocky Point on June 30, 1924. Rocky Point post office ran until 1947, when the name was changed to Harriman, after railroad magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Edward H. Harriman, who kept a summer camp in the area for several years. Harriman post office closed in 1954.
Harriman Springs Resort was purchased by Edward Harriman in 1906. It was first named the Pelican Bay Lodge, built in 1889, and renamed Harriman Lodge by Edward Harriman. The original lodge burned in 1942 and was rebuilt in 1953. The oldest cabin was called "Teddy's Cabin" because it is said that President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
stayed there. Among Harriman's other guests were financier J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
and naturalist John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
. Harriman Springs was closed to the public in the late 1990s. The Point Comfort Lodge (also known as the White Pelican Inn) is a 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...
-listed hotel built in 1912. Local residents say that the place was famous for its "galloping goats", which is a euphemism for a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. The Rocky Point Resort was founded in the 1880s when the area was known as Leavitt's Point. In 1910 steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s would travel to Rocky Point from Klamath Falls where they would meet the Crater Lake automobile stage
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line, which transported passengers to complete the trip to Crater Lake
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years agoby the...
overland. Klamath Lake continued to be a favorite summer retreat for San Francisco's upper class through the 1930s.
Along with tourism, 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...
was once an important part of the area's economy, starting in the early 1900s. There was a sawmill in nearby Odessa
Odessa, Oregon
Odessa is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. Odessa is located along Oregon Route 140 a couple miles east of its interchange with the West Side Road near Rocky Point or 23 miles west of Klamath Falls. Odessa lies along Odessa Creek and was founded in the 1890s...
that operated for several years. Today large-scale logging operations no longer occur in the federally managed timberlands of the region.
Recreation
The Upper Klamath Canoe Trail is accessed at Rocky Point. The 9.5 mile trail through a freshwater marshFreshwater marsh
A freshwater marsh is a marsh that contains fresh water. They are usually found near the mouths of rivers and are present in areas with low drainage. The Florida Everglades, the largest freshwater marsh in the United States, are an example of this type of marsh....
is maintained by the Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
as part of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex. There is a boat launch, a boat dock and a fishing dock at Rocky Point, all of which are barrier-free
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
, and boat rentals are available at Rocky Point Resort.
External links
- Historic images of the Point Comfort Lodge from University of OregonUniversity of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
digital archives - 1912 image of Harriman Lodge from the Oregon State UniversityOregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
Archives - Dr. Aked Fished on Sunday?, 1912 New York Times story about the Rev. Charles W. Aked fishing at Harriman Lodge
42.4806908°N 122.0841860°W