100 Year History of Butte Falls Oregon

[Music] welcome we are about to take you on a journey back in time this video Time Capsule is brought to you by the big but Historical Society in butf Falls Oregon we hope you will sit back and enjoy meeting some of the folks some just like you who helped make our town what it is today the town of butf Falls is known as the land of pure water pure air sunshine and health this landscape was originally etched and formed by fiery lava flows and the mighty Waters from snow melts high in the Cascade mountain range the town is cited in the shadow of of Mount mlin whose towering Peak Rises 9,500 ft forming the beautiful backdrop for this peaceful little Southern Oregon Town residents of butf Falls have called this mountain my mountain for many many years the mountain is named after Dr John mlin a Hudson Bay Trader who was also known as the father of Oregon in the past the mountain has been given names such as snowy but and mount pit this area known as big but country attracted settlers as early as the 1860s they came by horse and covered wagons and established local camps where they hunted trapped and cut sugar pine shakes cedar posts and cordwood in these early days butf Falls was just a tent town in The Tall Timbers roads were seasonal and wood was hauled by oxen or teams of horses to the nearby towns in southern Oregon early settlers filed Homestead claims of up to 160 Acres each the Heyday of homesteading was between 1880s and the 1920s they built their humble dwellings and began ranching gardening and building their new lives among the Towering Furs and Pines of big but country [Applause] in 1901 the doing company of Michigan purchased Timber and set up a small Sawmill by 1904 Timber was quickly becoming King Big Bend Milling Company built a larger Sawmill adjacent to the falls a dam was built and water power was used to run the mill this was the beginning of the Glory Days for logging in in butf Falls in 1906 The butf Falls Sugar Pine Company took over the site and built an even larger Mill however the following year the company announced bankruptcy and gave some of its land Holdings to the local people who built the town which is now but Falls in 1905 Bert Harris m wed out the town featuring a park in the center of it the new town was to cover 55 Acres with a 300t plaza surrounded by homes and businesses it was patterned after Bert's hometown of Harvard Illinois on January 22nd 1906 the town was dedicated and wasn't formally Incorporated until August 1911 today the Town Square appearance still lends a feeling of community and unity to its approximate 425 residents the town doesn't look much different today than it did 100 years ago some of the businesses that have come and gone are pine Bell Bank restaurants pool halls hardware stores groceries hotels and even a shooting gallery ground break for the Medford and Crater Lake railroad occurred on April 4th 1905 the railroad was built to connect befalls with Medford Oregon large wooden trestles were built to carry trains over the hilly terrain on November 15th 1910 after 6 and 1/2 years of construction the first train arrived in but Falls tourists and dignitaries arrived on Pacific and Eastern's first Excursion on April 4th 1911 two Resort Hotels were built between 1908 and 1915 to accommodate the many visitors to be Falls the train chugged by the grade school often interrupting many lessons advertisements in the newspapers featured butf Falls as a Wonderland of resorts campgrounds fishing spots as well as a place to get away from the hot Dusty Valley and into the cool Mountain Air Town's people anticipated rapid growth but it never happened originally the main purpose of the railroad was to open up the timber areas east of but Falls and to transport logs to Mills in Medford no one could foresee that these giant beasts of Burden would soon be replaced by the faster more economical logging trucks when the trains left it was apparent that the dream of befalls becoming the Sawmill Center of Southern Oregon would soon be derailed yet Timber logging and Milling would be a way of life for many years it was the center of operations for the Medford Corporation or Medco which worked in the area for almost 80 years before it was bought by Harold Simmons of Val High Inc of Dallas Texas we'll hear from some of the folks who worked in the woods at that time you know that had charge of of all the cutting the trees and and uh getting them ready to take out and so that that is a job and I I stayed with that until the power sols came in and I stayed one year after the power sols came in because I wanted to see if they worked and it got to a place where the poers with the power solers were making two or three times as much money as I would yeah had a crotch line it was hooked up to the Loading drum on the mord then you had two uh on the crotch line you had two lines coming out one for on each side and he had end Hooks and you'd take take those hooks and hook a log there was two of us one opposite the other and had and pick them up set them on the car kept you going all day long my grandmother made this to go on a round table that she had in in her house for many years and uh I acquired it through my mother and the women as I remember when I was younger um did mostly canning and uh taking care of their homes and sewing I my mother made our clothes for school and um underwear and all of those things that had to be done you know and she was a caner I mean it was nothing to can a 100 jars of peaches and pears and carrots and beans and venison my dad um was a logger and he worked uh for Medco Medford Corporation and uh uh for many years Beau Falls now became an area of Timber fallers and log truck drivers in the past decade with the help of practical Forest management the woods have continued to open its plentiful forest in many beneficial ways for instance the oldest commissioned warship ofat in the world the USS Constitution was in need of new wood for its ongoing restoration a local contractor trumped the woods for nearly a year to find Douglas fur trees to replace the 40ft timber of this historic ship it was tough to find suitable trees because of logging injunctions imposed to protect old growth forest habitat but he found them on former Medco and BLM areas near but Falls it has been said that good people leave an inheritance to their children's children for their willingness to work and leave the surroundings better than they had found them a local family was named tree farmer of the year by the Oregon small Woodland Association and Oregon State Department of Forestry every town needs a library in 1918 books were housed in private homes and even at City Hall in 1990 the town's citizens became very creative but Falls got its very own Depot style library and Museum money was raised by the community and a suitable building was located secured and moved by truck and trailer from Medford to its present location in the Town Square over 100 volunteers donated time money and labor the beautiful library was completed in nine short months through the efforts of many dedicated and committed volunteers over the past 75 years no single Factor has played a more significant role in the growth and progress of the Rogue Valley than the stable and abundant flow of its mountain spring water from big but Springs big but Springs is fed by a 56,000 acre Watershed adjacent to the Western Slope of Mount mofin Ben Franklin once said we will know the worth of water when the well runs dry with the rapid growth an expansion in medford's early days they knew the importance of a future source for clean Dependable water was necessary and they found it in but Falls no expense was spared in the construction of the water system from but Falls to Medford Oregon in 1925 work began on the 30m handd dug ditch which would protect the pipeline filled with sparkling crystal clear water from the foothills of the Cascades to Medford on July 1st 1927 the pipeline was completed the vision of a mountain spring in every home was realized by 1950 a second big but Springs pipeline was constructed to serve the growing needs of the valley below in 1915 the state of Oregon established a fish hatchery just east of the town then in 1930 the federal government built another adjacent Hatchery which shared the Water Source shortly after Roosevelt was elected the federal Hatchery closed at which time the state took over operations and it continues to be a state operated Hatchery today in 19 1999 the Hatchery was slated foreclosure due to diminishing budgets however local citizens were outraged that an important resource and historical facility was to be lost forever a campaign to save the Hatchery was spearheaded by a local citizen who helped rally support and was successful at saving the Hatchery two local historic Figures were Bill Edmonson and Ernest W Smith Bill carved the history of the area while Ernest photographed it their lives have come together in the exhibits at the ew Smith house and museum in butf Falls Ernest Smith was a photographer surveyor inventor historian poet and Chiropractic Doctor the ew Smith house was part of the early settlement of but Falls over the years it had fallen into disrepair bigb Historical Society purchased and restored the house which is now a Museum early Town photographs by ew Smith and some of edmonson's carvings are displayed Bill Edmonson was honored as one of Oregon's outstanding woodcarvers many years ago his work was on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC but one of his best known works is Ralph a life-size wooden statue that stands in the nnest W Smith Memorial park there are so many more stories about the town of butf Falls its people and history its beautiful surroundings where we have come from and where we are going just ask our neighbors people still come to but Falls why perhaps it's the town's Rich history the snow capped mountains and natural beauty maybe it's the fine quality in abundance of water or the fish and wildlife for some it may be the Wonderland of flowers trees and sweet singing birds for many it's a place to get away from the noise and hectic City Life and the wonderful place to raise a family it's the perfect place to recreate for some it's all of these and more thank you for joining the big but Historical Society on this journey into our Town's past and as for the future it holds answers to more questions than we yet know how to [Music] ask [Music]