The fight for Crater Lake/Winning National Park Status Wasn’t Easy
The Gazette
Colorado Spings, Colorado
July 28, 2002
Gary A. Warner
Crater Lake may be one of the oldest national parks, but for its advocates, the wait for official recognition was too long.
The fight to create the park stretched on for 17 years. Plans for a park languished as opponents in Congress said the park would be too expensive and local opponents agitated to use the land for timber, mining and sheep farming.
Tradition has it that the idea for the national park was hatched at what is now Rim Village by William Gladstone Steel and J.M. Beck, a pair of tourists who latched onto a government mapping expedition in 1885.
The lake had been “discovered” by white men in 1853 when three gold prospectors stumbled upon what they dubbed “Deep Blue Lake.” Expeditions to the Oregon backcountry remained infrequent.
The group that included Steel and Beck followed wagon trails until the slopes around the lake grew too steep, then scrambled over rocks and through brush to the edge of the collapsed volcanic caldera.
Steel was enraptured by Crater Lake and launched a campaign to create a national park. By 1886, a petition for the park was before Congress. Boundaries for a possible park had to be drawn around a military reservation and the Klamath Indian Reservation on the east end of what would become the park.
It was Steel, a man who claimed vivid dreams of skies filled with golden arrows, who gave Wizard Island its mythical-sounding name.
Boats built in Portland were shipped by train to Ashland, then loaded on wagons and hauled up the steep slopes to be lowered into the lake. Measurements showed the lake was nearly 2,000 feet deep.
Yet eight bills before Congress that would have helped make Crater Lake a national park died between 1886 and 1899, largely because lawmakers worried that expanding the National Park system would cost too much. Before 1890 there were just two national parks – Yellowstone, established in 1872, and Mackinac Island in Michigan, created in 1875. Congress reversed itself and gave Mackinac Island back to Michigan in 1895.
Advocates for the park faced opposition among local citizens. In August 1896, a deputy U.S. marshal was dispatched to the lake to arrest sheepherders who had brought 2,000 sheep into the area to graze. Charges were dropped in exchange for a promise to keep away from Crater Lake.
The turning point came when President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 and Theodore Roosevelt replaced him in office. An ardent explorer and naturalist, Roosevelt supported the creation of national parks. Steel presented a petition with 4,000 signatures calling for a park and included testimonials from renowned forester Gifford Pinchot. Roosevelt backed the plan, and Congress finally relented May 22, 1902.
Steel would go on to become the park’s superintendent. He had hoped that two lodges would be built, including one that would be served by rail. Only one lodge was built, in 1915. Rim Drive opened in 1918, ensuring that future visitors would arrive by car rather than rail. Some of Steel’s wilder schemes – like building an elevator from the rim to the lake – were luckily never realized. Steel never thought Crater Lake got the attention it deserved.
“The average tourist is willing to pay for his scenery but is not willing to endure hardship to enjoy it,” he once fumed. When Steel died in 1934, he was buried in his National Park Service uniform.
Other pages in this section
- Park ranger recognized for rescue efforts – December 15, 2002
- Crater Lake ranger presented with Exemplary Act Award – December 07, 2002
- Obituaries – James Robert Read – November 24, 2002
- Plan: Relocate rim parking: Rim Village parking may leave Crater Lake’s edge – November 22, 2002
- Snow closes Crater Lake’s Rim Drive – November 13, 2002
- Crater Lake symposium broad as well as deep – October 07, 2002
- Renowned oceanographer featured speaker at Crater Lake symposium – September 18, 2002
- Rex Lee Trulove – September 08, 2002
- Crater Lake Fascinations: Diller’s pin, clear water, fish stories keep lake and park a place of wonder forever fascinating – August 31, 2002
- Navy pilot drops in to Crater Lake, again – August 27, 2002
- Crater Lake centennial party: Celebration amid the smoke – August 26, 2002
- Celebration day: Crater Lake National Park transformed for festivities – August 25, 2002
- Crater Lake license plate available in Oregon – August 25, 2002
- Happy 100th to the gem of Klamath – August 23, 2002
- Crater Lake learning center dedicated – August 23, 2002
- Long lines expected for new license plates – August 23, 2002
- National Park Service leader pays return visit to Crater Lake – August 23, 2002
- Crater Lake events listed – August 22, 2002
- Larson honored for Crater Lake work – August 18, 2002
- Obituary: Howard ‘Bud’ Hittenrauch – August 15, 2002
- Speakers set for Crater Lake – August 15, 2002
- Stunning revelations at high elevations: Runners experience life – August 11, 2002
- Lindgren makes memorable win – August 11, 2002
- Marathon has world, local flavor – August 11, 2002
- Runner takes ‘stroll in park’ – August 11, 2002
- Bush to visit Oregon, not Crater Lake – August 06, 2002
- Keep Rim Drive open – all of the way – July 31, 2002
- Crater Lake license plate unveiled – July 31, 2002
- Dedication of Future Science & Learning Center – August 22, 2002
- Centennial Award goes to Crater Lake researcher – July 22, 2002
- The Crater Lake murders and the 9-fingered man – July 21, 2002
- The party is ‘on’ at Crater Lake – July 18, 2002
- Park plan looks at snipping Rim Road – July 05, 2002
- Controlled burns set for Monday at Crater Lake – June 16, 2002
- Controlled burns set for Monday at Crater Lake – June 15, 2002
- Crater Lake’s north entrance open – June 05, 2002
- Crater Lake looking at trail relocation, rehabilitation – June 05, 2002
- Lake retains beauty after 100 years – May 22, 2002
- Crater Lake National Park Centennial ‘Let the celebration begin’ 1902-2002 – May 21, 2002
- The jewel turns 100: a century after it was dedicated, Crater Lake National Park inspires wonder for millions – May 19, 2002
- Old stories about W. F. Arant and Steel come back again and again for family – May 13, 2002
- W.F. Arant – Crater Lake’s first superintendent – May 13, 2002
- Quilting Crater Lake: Rocky Point will raffle quilt to raise funds – May 12, 2002
- Crater Lake alumni sought – May 09, 2002
- Cafe at Crater Lake to reopen – April 26, 2002
- Park Service names new concession official – April 13, 2002
- National park’s father returns: Will Steele on stage at Crater Lake – April 9, 2002
- Xanterra Parks & Resorts Receives Contract to Manage Concessions – April 5, 2002
- Crater Lake to be subject of museum lectures – March 30, 2002
- Crater Lake employee reunion part of Centennial celebration – March 25, 2002
- ‘How Crater Lake came to be’: A Klamath Indian legend Special for the Herald and News – February 25, 2002
- Making tracks at Crater Lake: guide shares insights with snowshoers; his knowledge of the lake is legendary – February 24, 2002
- Crater Lake Centennial Cookbook to be a part of this year’s celebration – February 22, 2002
- Crater Lake Ski Patrol crucial to park operations – February 21, 2002
- Crater Lake concession awarded to Amfac – January 30, 2002
- Lost skiers find searchers – January 24, 2002
- Search for overdue skiers – January 21, 2002
- Going postal for Crater Lake – January 13, 2002