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1914
May 18 1914 Army road crews open a new road to the Rim to replace what had been built in 1905. This route reaches Rim Village just east of the present Employee Dorm and continues north to the Lodge, veering west from there to begin the Rim Drive.
July 12 1914 The “Mail Tribune” reports that the Hall Taxi Co. will run a round trip to Crater Lake for $13.00. “This is exactly what the trip costs”, says manager Court Hall. Other reports say that that the driver, Seely Hall, charged $18. The taxi would leave Medford at 8 a.m. in a custom-built 1911 Cadillac and stop at Prospect for lunch, arriving at the Lake around 5 p.m. The driver also carried milk, eggs, vegetables and mail to Crater Lake Lodge.
Summer 1914 A.C. Allen of Medford shoots the first successful motion picture of Crater Lake. According to Allen, most motion picture photographers of the day did not adjust for the high elevations and because of this their exposures were off. The scenes Allen shot of the Lake were included in a 30-minute promotional motion picture, “Graces Visit To The Rogue River Valley”, which was shown repeatedly at the Pan American Exposition in San Francisco, 1914 –
Summer 1914 The Hall Taxi Company begins offering excursions to Crater Lake for $13. The taxi would leave Medford at 8:00 a.m., stop at Prospect for lunch, and arrive at the lake about 5:00. Seely Hall was driving a 1911 Cadillac. (Not known if the price was one way or return trip.)
September 14 1914 “The road to Crater Lake is perfect,” says Emil Mohr of the Hotel Medford, who has recently returned from the lake. “The recent snow has melted, leaving the air as clear as possible. The lake was never more beautiful. The smoke from the forest fires has gone. Now is the time for everyone who can to visit the lake. The season closes October 1, but until then the roads will be free of dust and the crowd being gone, the rush is avoided.” (Medfrod Mail Tribune)
September 21 1914 “After we discovered the lake in 1853, we mounted our animals, turned to the left, and rode past what is called Wizard Island where there was no snow. I was riding in the lead when my mule left the turf and got on the rocks. He flinched very visibly, supposing his feet were tender, I jumped off to relieve him of my weight, in doing so I stooped toward the ground, and I really thought I could feel heat issuing from the surface, anyway I called to the men say, “We were near Hell for I could feel the heat”. Everyone in the party thought the same thing, but until now I have never written about. J. W. Hillman, from a letter to William Steel.
DISCOVERER OF CRATER LAKE FOUND HEAT ON SURFACE
Will G. Steel, superintendent of Crater Lake Park, has received the following from J. W. Hillman, the first white man to view the lake, concerning the discovery:
“Hope Villa, La., Sept. 14, 1914.
“Hon. Will G. Steel, Medford, Or.
“Dear Sir: Before I could thank you for the ‘History of Crater Lake,’ which you so kindly sent me, I have received your letter of September 7, requesting further items regarding its discovery. I don’t think I omitted any essential point that you have not published in your account, some [omission?] concerning the discovery of the lake in 1853:
“Some unimportant minor matters may have been unmentioned. For instance, I should like to be able to locate for your benefit the last stopping place we made before my companions and myself left for the last day’s ride, which resulted in the discovery of the lake. It could not be called a camp; it was just a waiting place for the party until we returned. It was the head of an arroyo, or steep mountain cleft in the hills, on the right of the trail we were following, and not very many miles from the lake itself.
Rolled Boulders Down
“Just a little while before riding up the mountain, previous to seeing the lake, we crossed a well-worn, wide Indian trail, which we supposed was the route traveled by the Oregon Indians between Oregon, Klamath Lake and California.
“Worst of all, I suppose, I helped destroy some of the scenic effects at our first point of contact. There were several very large boulders near the rim, four or five, I think, and by our united efforts we sent them crashing to the waters below. Our eyes could not follow them to the water, nor could we hear them when they struck, but we knew by the ripple in the lake when they landed, and I judged by the time the rocks were traveling that the water was 1000 to 1500 feet below the rim. I guess the rocks are still lying there, as I never moved them.
Felt the Heat
“While standing on the rim we saw snow reaching from the summit to the water in very many places, but in a few places there was none at all. We mounted our animals, turned to the left and rode past what is called Wizard Island, where there was no snow. I was riding in the lead, and when my mule left the turf for the rocks he flinched very visibly. Supposing his feet were tender, I jumped off to relieve him of my weight, and in doing so I stooped to the ground and really thought I could feel heat issuing from the surface. Anyway, I called to the men, saying we were near hell, for I could feel the heat. Everyone in the party thought the same thing, but until now I have never written it, although in talking of the lake I have mentioned it. I never wrote it, for it did not seem at all reasonable, as I knew that old Crater Lake had taken many years to accumulate the amount of water that was in sight.
Is 83 Years of Age
“Writing is a serious task to me. I am well in my 83rd year and am very weak.
“If in your work of writing about the lake you need any data about Rogue River Valley, you can find a whole fund of information in the person of Mrs. Martha Rapp of Ashland. When I first knew her, in 1852 or 1853, she was a young miss of 12 or 13 years of age, bright, intelligent and a universal favorite. She was often the guest of Mrs. Badger, whose husband kept the hotel in Jacksonville. She was acquisitive for information and remembers everything connected with early years of the valley. She happened to be one of the party of ladies to whom I related the incidents of my trip and the discovery of the lake. She seemed more interested than the older members of the party. Perhaps it was because they knew I was hunting for gold and the Lost Cabin Mine and only found a lake.
“Thanking you again for favors received, I am, yours sincerely,
‘J. W. HILLMAN.”
Medford Mail Tribune, September 21, 1914, page 6
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I recall some noise about this, years ago. There was speculation at the time that the Hillman party having found a relatively warm area that might have resulted from air moving in a fracture from the caldera to the place they noticed the “heat”. Rod Cranson may know about it.
Charles R. Bacon US Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Team February 2008
rbwarfield@juno.com, January 12, 2019 ? Subject: RE: CL Hilman finds Heat
I agree with Charlie Bacon that Hillman’s “heat” was most likely not resultant from a volcanic source. Rather, what Hillman found was the result of solar heated slope updraft. (Ron Warfield, former CL Chief of Interpretation)
October 1914 Twenty miles of new government roads finished in the Park.
October 2 1914 The Medford M.T. reports that Seely Hall and William Steel make a round trip to Crater Lake in only 17 hours.
October 14 1914 Will G. Steel and daughter Jene and Mr. and Mrs. Schenck arrived home Sunday night from a two days visit at Crater Lake. Mr. Steel states that perfect weather prevails at the lake. He calls the attention of motor tourists to the fact that the rim road is not yet connected up, as was announced by Portland newspapers, and advises motor visitors to drive west past the hotel as this will bring them down the sandy portions of the road and down the road’s longest grade. Mr, Steel and party found the drive around the rim a wonderful treat.
Season 1914 An additional $75,000 was granted to the Park by Congress to be used to get road construction underway.
Steel and his family lived in the Park during the summers and eventually moved into a small log cabin located slightly to the southeast of the present Headquarters building. The cabin was torn down in 1934. The main road ran through the present parking lot and in front of Steel’s house. The Rim Road was moved east 100 feet to its present location when the Headquarter building was constructed. Steel would move to Medford during the winter to a residence located across the street from the old Post Office and Federal Building. The Steel family may have lived a summer or two in one of the lower Stone Houses, when they were first built.
Seth Bullis speeds to the Lake and back to Medford in the amazing time of one day. Most wagons required 5 days. A new Fort Klamath Road is built by the War Department. The East Road Shelter cabin is built on Fort Creek. 2,000 Rainbows and 15,000 Brown Trout are liberated in Crater Lake.
A shelter cabin is built at Devil’s Backbone. “The Government should acquire all hotels and lease the facilities.” (Steel)
Mr. Mark Daniels of San Francisco, who served as General Superintendent of the NPS, 1913 to 1915, designed and wore what was in all probability, the first regular Park Service Uniform.
Mark Daniels, part-time NPS landscape architect begins work on the design for a new grand lodge to be placed on the Rim. In his writings and description of the project, Daniels casually uses the term “Rim Village” as the location of Parkhurst’s new grand lodge. The name stuck.
Season 1914 Visitation: 7,056
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