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Crater Lake National Park: Administrative History by Harlan D. Unrau and Stephen Mark, 1987
CHAPTER ONE: Discovery And Exploration Of Crater Lake: 1853-1885
- DISCOVERY OF CRATER LAKE BY JOHN W. HILLMAN: 1853
Although claims for the discovery of Crater Lake in the 1840s have been made in the name of John C. Fremont and others, the first authenticated visit by white men was not made until 1853. After peaceful relations had been established temporarily with the Rogue Indians of southwestern Oregon in 1851 prospectors began entering the area looking for gold along the Rogue River and its tributaries. During the winter of 1851-52 four young packers transporting food supplies discovered gold on Rich Gulch in the vicinity of present-day Jacksonville. News of this discovery led to Oregon’s first major gold rush, and soon new discoveries were made along the Applegate, Illinois, and Rogue rivers. A camp named Jacksonville took shape along Rich Gulch as merchants arrived with supplies of foodstuffs, mining tools, and liquor. One of a party of footloose and impoverished gold seekers to arrive at Jacksonville was John W. Hillman, a native of Albany, New York, who had joined the rush to California three years earlier as a youth of seventeen years. While drinking in a saloon he and his friends were told by a party of Californians that they possessed secret information that would lead them to a rich Lost Cabin Mine in the rugged mountains of present-day Josephine County. Hillman formed a party, consisting of Isaac G. Skeeters, Henry Klippel, J.S. Louden, Pat McManus, three others named Dodd, McGarrie, and Little, and possibly two more, to trail the Californians. Thereafter, both parties played a game of hide-and-seek until their rations began to get low. Hunting treasure gave way to hunting wild game, and soon the two parties agreed to work and hunt together. Several more days of floundering drew them further off course and soon they were hopelessly lost.
Hillman offered to lead a small party to the summit of the nearest peak so the party could reestablish its position. When the men reached the peak on June 12, 1853, the party gazed down on what would later become known as Crater Lake. In an article in thePortland Oregonian on June 7, 1903, Hillman described the experiences of the party fifty years before:
On the evening of the first day, while riding up a long, sloping mountain, we suddenly came in sight of water, and were very much surprised, as we did not expect to see any lakes, and did not know but what we had come in sight of and close to Klamath Lake, and not until my mule stopped within a few feet of the rim of Crater Lake did I look down, and if I had been riding a blind mule I firmly believe I would have ridden over the edge to death and destruction. We came to the lake a very little to the right of a small sloping butte or mountain, situated in the lake, with a top somewhat flattened. Every man of the party gazed with wonder at the sight before him, and each in his own peculiar way gave expression to the thoughts within him; but we had no time to lose, and after rolling some boulders down the side of the lake, we rode to the left, as near the rim as possible, past the butte, looking to see an outlet for the lake, but we could find none.
I was very anxious to find a way to the water, which was immediately vetoed by the whole party, and as the leader of the Californians had become discouraged, we decided to return to camp; but not before we discussed what name we should give the lake. There were many names suggested, but Mysterious Lake and Deep Blue Lake were most favorably received, and on a vote, Deep Blue Lake was chosen for a name. [1]
Upon their return to Jacksonville the miners reported their discovery, which was largely ignored for several reasons. News of the discovery could be spread only by word of mouth as no newspaper was published in Southern Oregon at the time. Furthermore, the members of the party had been so disoriented and exhausted when they found the lake that they were unable afterwards to describe its location accurately. General Indian unrest in the area, coupled with the continuing search for gold, also diverted attention away from news of the discovery. Nevertheless, Hillman is credited as being the first white man to gaze upon Crater Lake. [2]
June 13 1853 The prospectors encounter a party of Indians who deny any knowledge of the Lake’s existence. The group later learns from a medicine man that the Lake is sacred and death would come to any any Indian who gazed upon it. Starvation soon drives the miners down the mountain and back to Jacksonville. They report their discovery, but since gold and Indians were uppermost in the minds of the settlers, their discovery is soon forgotten.
September 7 1854 William Gladstone Steel is born in Stafford, Ohio. His father was a Scottish immigrant who came to Virginia in 1817 at age 8. His mother was a Virginia native, the former Elizabeth Lowry.
From Appleton’s Cyclopedia: William Steel the senior.
STEEL, William, reformer, born in Biggar, Scotland, 26 August, 1809; died in Portland, Oregon, 5 January, 1881. He came to the United States with his parents in 1817 and settled near Winchester, Virginia, but removed soon afterward to Monroe county, Ohio, where, from 1830 till the Civil War, he was an active worker in the “Underground railroad,” of which he was one of the earliest organizers. During these years large numbers of slaves were assisted to escape to Canada, and in no single instance was one retaken after reaching him. At one time the slaveholders of Virginia offered a reward of $5,000 for his head, when he promptly addressed the committee, offering to bring it to them if the money were placed in responsible hands. He acquired a fortune as a merchant, but lost it in 1844. From 1872 till his death he resided with his sons in Oregon. In the early days of the anti-slavery movement Mr. Steel was the recognized leader of the Abolitionists in southeastern Ohio. He was at one time a candidate of the Liberty party for congress, and in 1844 circulated in eastern Ohio the “great petition,” whose signers agreed to vote for Henry Clay if he would emancipate his one slave.
Dear Mr. Smith, (Written – August 8, 2006)
I recently read your chronology of Crater Lake National Park. I noticed that William Gladstone Steel is credited as being the founder of Crater Lake National Park! My mother, Anna Curtis (1898-1973), was born and raised in Stafford, Monroe County, Ohio, the birth place of William Gladstone Steel (1854-1934). I spent the summers of my childhood in Stafford with my great uncle Ed Curtis and have been associated with that tiny community all of my life. Stafford was founded by Abolitionists William Steel Sr. , father of William Gladstone Steel, sometime around 1839 and quickly became an Ohio Underground Railroad Station.
A long story made short:
In 1846 my great grandfather John Curtis, along with two of his brothers, ran off from a plantation in Rockingham County, Virginia and ended up crossing the Ohio River where they became lost in the vicinity of Stafford. They were discovered living in a cave by William Steel Sr. and some other Abolitionists in the Stafford area. William Steel Sr. made arrangements with the slave owner of John Curtis, and paid for John’s freedom. John Curtis then worked for William Steel in Stafford for some years to repay the debt. John Curtis also worked on the Underground Railroad until the Civil War, then bought a farm right outside Stafford where he raised his family.
While growing up, I was often in the home where William G. Steel was born! Unfortunately the home was demolished a few years back. It appears that the Steel family left a lot of positive history in their wake! (The attached photo shows a corner of the store that was once owned by William Steel Sr. and possibly adjacent house is where William Gladstone Steel was born.)
If you become interested in developing this story please contact me.
Sincerely, Henry Robert Burke
Web Site: http://henryburke1010.tripod.com <http://henryburke1010.tripod.com/>
* My Curtis and Burke ancestors were farmers in Virginia and Ohio.
* My family is Black (African American).
* My Burke family’s history is pretty much written down.
* In 1919 there was a fire in Woodsfield, County Seat, Monroe County, Ohio, where the records of the William Steel -John Curtis transaction were stored. Some records were saved but those were scattered. I have searched over the years through some unlabeled boxes of documents, but have not had success in finding any records concerning John Curtis, except John Curtis’s will. That was in possession of my mother Anna.
* I live too close to the forest to see the trees concerning how slavery affected my family!
* My mother was the only surviving member of John Curtis’s family. I am the only surviving member of my mother. I am the youngest (66) and my five siblings have passed away. I have seven children and several nieces and nephews.
I don’t know how much information you have about John Steel Sr.. I have some, but most is oral history that I learned from my mother’s uncles, Tom, Clem, Albert , Ed and John H. Curtis, who were sons of John Curtis. I learned a good deal from Lester Feltner 1870-1968 who lived near Stafford. His parents were Abolitionists and he also knew John Curtis. He showed me the cave, but the area was strip mined for coal by the Peaker Run Coal Company during the 1960s. All I have about John Curtis are some photos and the oral history that I gave you.
The history of my Burke family came to Stafford around 1861 and I have a complete written record back to 1640 in Lancaster County, Virginia. You can read a lot of information on my Web Site: http://henryburke1010.tripod.com
February 14 1859 Oregon admitted to the Union as the 33rd state.
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