Legend says that the Klamath Indians believed Crater Lake was once a
weird, ghostly amphitheater where the gods were forever embroiled in
conflict, sporting in its blue waters and dwelling on its rocky heights
and in its mystic depths.
Pioneers came slowly to southern Oregon, its sparse population in the
early fifties living in constant dread of Indian wars. Miles of mountain
region had never been explored when a party of California prospectors
came to the mining village of Jacksonville. This was the only settlement
in the region and owed its existence to the discovery of gold nearby.
The Californians while preparing a journey into the mountains remained
secretive regarding their mission. The purpose of their trip, however,
was betrayed by a member of the party to a group of Oregon miners who
learned that the strangers were searching for a “Lost Cabin Mine,”
believed to be near the head of the Rogue River. Without delay, the
Oregon miners followed the Californians into the wilds, despite
persistent efforts of the latter to evade them. Later, when the food
supplies of both parties were running low, John Wesley Hillman, leader
of the Oregon party, succeeded in uniting the two forces, and the search
for the mine was postponed to hunt for game.
Thus it was on June 12, 1853, that Hillman, who had gone on some
distance ahead of the hunting group, happened to ride up a deep canyon
which, judging from its depth and width, he thought would lead to a
higher slope. Letting his mule pick its way upward, he kept peering
through the woods for game. Then suddenly the animal stopped, halting at
the very rim of a deep blue lake. As the rider looked down he beheld a
scene of unsurpassed beauty. Other members of the party soon joined
their leader, and they agreed to call the body of water Deep Blue Lake.
In the excitement of gold discoveries and Indian wars, Crater Lake was
forgotten for several years. There were no more visits by white men
until 1862 when a party of six unsuspecting miners, led by Chauncey Nye,
happened upon the place while on a prospecting trip and believed they
had made a new discovery, only to learn afterward of Hillman’s visit. A
third “discovery” was made in 1865 by a party of soldiers from Fort
Klamath. They called the body of water Lake Majesty. This name was
changed to Crater Lake in 1869 by visitors from Jacksonville.
Some years later, in 1872, William Gladstone Steel came to Oregon. The
story is told that when Steel was a schoolboy in Kansas he had heard of
the discovery of Crater Lake and had made a resolution that he would
sometime see the western wonder. He spent 7 years in Oregon before he
could find anyone who had heard of Crater Lake; two more passed before
he found a person who had actually seen it. It was not until 1885 that
he was able to visit the place which he found to be even more beautiful
than he had anticipated. The result was that Judge Steel conceived the
idea of setting aside the lake and the region thereabout as a national
park. He began an immediate agitation for this. Though the task was not
an easy one and there was much opposition from certain quarters, Steel
was undaunted by the rebuffs and continued his efforts unselfishly and
with personal sacrifice over a period of 17 years. Success crowned his
work when the park was established by an act of Congress, approved May
22, 1902. Judge Steel thereafter devoted his life to the development of
the park and became one of its first superintendents. Later he became
park commissioner, holding this office until his death in 1934.
Soon after Steel’s first visit, soundings were taken on the lake under
the direction of Capt. C. E. Dutton of the United States Geological
Survey. Over a month was spent in the work, with the deepest sounding
recorded at 1,996 feet.
The first survey for a road system within the park was made in 1910 and
1911; 2 years later the entrance roads from Medford and Klamath Falls
were built. Though these roads were very primitive when compared with
those now developed, they served the needs of that time when travel was
yet dependent principally on horses and wagons.