100 years ago
With the decision of the county court Monday to advertise for bids for sale of buildings, rock and material on block 35 of the original town, the death knell of the old county court house and jail has been struck. For 34 years the frame building on Fourth and Main has served as the focal point of Klamath County government. It was build in 1889 and Justice of the Peace Emmitt, the last inmate , moved to the new courthouse late last fall.
The old courthouse building, including the stone foundation, sewer pipes and such fixtures attached, to be moved either by tearing down or moving directly back to Klamath Avenue after the old jail building has been removed.
The Evening Herald, March 19, 1924
50 years ago
“We just had the wrong equipment with the right intentions,” grinned Gil Carlson, 24, after a Klamath County Search and Rescue helicopter had taken him off an island in the Klamath River where he had been stranded for approximately two hours.
It was the first time the helicopter was used for rescue operations by the local group.
Carlson and a companion, Gary Mallory set out just below Keno Dam in a 12 foot fiberglass row boat.
The boat made it two the first rapids a short distance from the dam before the men found themselves in trouble. Water swamped the boat and the men were unable to control it as it was swept downstream.
According to a spokesman at the Pacific Power, 6,300 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) were passing over the dam at the time of the incident. Experienced river boaters claim the river at that point is dangerous if the water flow exceeds 4,000 cfs.
Carlson said he purchased a white water river boat and thought he would “get some practice” before it arrived.
“We were in the water more than we were in the boat,” Mallory chuckled. Both men were in good humor after the rescue.
The boat was finally located near the Topsy Campground.
The Herald and News, March 22, 1974
25 years ago
A Buffalo was cut down in the center of town Monday.
The Buffalo Tavern, a fixture in Klamath Falls since at least the early 1930s, was torn down last week to make room for a new Rite-Aid store that will open in the fall.
As for the now-extinct Buffalo Tavern, there are very few records that track the place through its life of more than 65 years. Former owners and managers recall that it was a major gathering during the Great Depression since it was one of the first structures built on South Sixth Street. Those familiar with the place over the years remember a loyal and rowdy clientele.
Around closing time, patrons would often rent one the small rooms located behind the Buffalo, usually with someone they had met at the bar.
Dart contests were held there, some which drew many people and highly ranked professionals in the sport.
The business closed permanently on the last day of August 1998.
The Herald and News, March 21, 1999
10 years ago
Klamath County Museum’s six DECA dates of service to the community will be reviewed in a presentation that will take a look at how much has changed in the last 60 years,” said Gloria Sullivan, collections assistant preparing the program. ‘We have come a long way from a humble start in the basement of the library building.”
Klamath County constructed a library and museum building in 1954 at the corner of Third Street and Klamath Avenue. Initial funding for the museum came from a portion of proceeds from the sale of land the fountain obtained through foreclosure on unpaid taxes.
In 1969, the museum was relocated to the historic Klamath Armory building, which by that time had developed a distinctive history of its own as a community event center.
“An interesting coincidence is that both the library building and the Armory were designed by the same artifact,” Sullivan said. “Howard Perrin’s name is tied with many building constructed in the Klamath Basin during that time.”
Expansion of the county’s museum system now includes two other properties. The county acquired eight acres of the Fort Klamath historic site and purchased the Baldwin Hotel in 1978.
All three museum properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Herald and News, March 16, 2014