Crescent Lake, Oregon facts for kids
Crescent Lake is a small community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. It's located about 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Crescent Lake itself and 2 miles (3 km) south of Odell Lake. You can find it right along Oregon Route 58 and next to the Crescent Lake State Airport. This community was first officially counted as a "census-designated place" (CDP) before the 2020 census. The northern part of the community, where Route 58 meets Crescent Lake Highway, is known as Crescent Lake Junction.
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History of Crescent Lake Community
The original Crescent Lake community wasn't exactly where it is today! It started about 2 miles (3 km) south of the current Crescent Lake Junction. This first settlement grew up around the Southern Pacific Railroad line.
Building the Railroad Town
In 1923, a new section of railroad tracks, called the Natron Cutoff, was finished through the Cascade Range. This new route opened in 1926 and became the main way for trains to travel between Oregon's Willamette Valley and California. It was a big deal because it was easier than the older route through the Siskiyou Mountains.
The community of Crescent Lake was built to support these new trains. Its main jobs were to help the steam trains that ran until the 1950s and to keep the tracks and signals working along this important part of the railway.
A Hub for Train Crews
Crescent Lake also became a special "division meeting point." This meant it was a place where train crews would switch. For example, a train heading from Oregon to California would have a crew from Eugene. When they reached Crescent Lake, a new crew from Klamath Falls would take over for the rest of the journey. Crews traveling in the other direction also switched here. After their shift, the relieved crews would stay in Crescent Lake for a required rest period. Then, they would take over another arriving train and head back to their home base.
Life in the Old Town
The original Crescent Lake community had everything a railroad town needed. It featured:
- A train depot, which was like a train station.
- A roundhouse, a circular building where trains were repaired and stored.
- A lodging facility called the "Clubhouse" where train crews could rest.
- Two general stores, one of which also had a tavern.
- A restaurant.
- A one-room schoolhouse for the children.
- A post office.
Many railroad workers lived and worked here. This included a team that kept the tracks in good shape, a signal maintainer, an electrician, station agents, and important managers like a trainmaster and a yardmaster.
Moving and Changing Times
After World War II, the community slowly started to move to its current location along Oregon Route 58. This highway had been completed a few years earlier in 1940.
In 1958, the roundhouse was taken out of service and soon torn down. Then, in 1970, a fire destroyed the restaurant and other businesses in the old town area. By the 1990s, only a few old, empty houses remained. Eventually, the local fire department used what was left of the "ghost town" for a training exercise, purposely destroying the remaining structures.
Today, all that's left of the original site is a water tower and a parking lot used for winter fun. The local post office, which was once in a general store, was destroyed in a fire in 2009 but is now back up and running.
