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A Town Born of Determination and Visions Of Things That Could Be<\/strong> Merrill seen from the top of a hill to the west <\/strong> An Indian Village was on the Lost River just south of Present Day Merrill <\/strong> Van Brimmer Brother’s Cattle Operations led to Tule Lake Basin Development <\/strong> Fall is a lovely time with trees changing color and Lost River turning a bend <\/strong> The population of Merrill was 844 people in 2010 <\/strong> Stukel Mountain rises up to the north of Merrill <\/strong> The Merrill Rotary Club has sponsored the Potato festival since 1947 <\/strong> Who doesn\u2019t enjoy a parade?<\/strong> Potatoes, Potatoes, Make a Potato Festival Go Round and Round <\/strong> Who Says There is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch? <\/strong> The greatest harvest farmland produces is its children<\/strong> Elementary kids turn out to celebrate their champions <\/strong> Oregon Route 39 Transitions Into California Highway 139<\/strong> Places To Eat For One And All With Views <\/strong> Merrill Wears It’s Age Well <\/strong> As Goes Rural America So Will Go The United States<\/strong> Food<\/span><\/strong> Lodging<\/span><\/strong> Crafting<\/span><\/strong> Stores & Services<\/span><\/strong> Agriculture<\/span><\/strong> Churches<\/span><\/strong> Community<\/span><\/strong> Merrill City Offices<\/span><\/strong> Photos for this page were taken in 2004.<\/p>\n \u00a92014 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Town Born of Determination and Visions Of Things That Could Be Merrill, Oregon is at the northwest corner of the Tule Lake Basin and a mile north of the California border. Oregon Route 39, and the fabled Lost River, … Continue reading
\nMerrill, Oregon is at the northwest corner of the Tule Lake Basin and a mile north of
\nthe California border. Oregon Route 39, and the fabled Lost River, run through it.
\nLike all of the Tule Lake Basin communities, and most of rural America, Merrill
\nhas a rich agricultural history. Merrill is the oldest city in the Tule Lake Basin.<\/p>\n![\"merrill,](\"http:\/\/anderstomlinson.com\/tule-lake\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/merrill-from-west.jpg\")
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\nIn the foreground, where the cows are grazing, is land that benefited from one of
\nthe first irrigation projects in the basin. The Van Brimmer brothers began digging
\na canal in 1882 from the Lower Klamath Basin, behind the camera-person, to the
\nTule Lake Basin. In 1886 their irrigation project began supplying 4,000 acres with water.
\nThey recouped construction and expenses by charging grateful users $1 per acre
\non the west and south side of the Lost River.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe famous Modoc Indian leader Captain Jack returned in 1865, after a years’
\nforced absence by a federal agreement struck with four Indian Tribes, to his family
\nvillage site on Lost River. In 1869 life would change for the Indians and
\nsettlers in Tule Lake Basin. There were war clouds on the horizon.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nJ. Frank Adams started ranching on Tule Lake Basin land northeast of Lost River
\nin 1878. He supported the Van Brimmers with their irrigation canal project and
\nstarted to build another six-mile canal system that tied into the Van Brimmers’
\ncanal and provided water for the east side of Lost River.
\nTo the south was the shores of Tule lake. Over the years Adams would
\nexpand his canal system to cover most of the land north of Tule Lake and east of
\nthe Lost River. Irrigated agriculture in the Tule Lake Basin was proven feasible.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNamesake rancher Nathan S. Merrill bought 152 acres for $3,000 from J. Frank Adams
\nin 1891. Adams had bought the land from the Van Brimmers two years earlier.
\nNathan and Nancy Merrill \u201cdedicated the streets and avenues of Merrill for use of
\nthe public forever,\u201d as recorded at the Klamath County Court House on May 28,
\n1894. The original townsite was 80 acres. Antone Castel, hired by the Merrills,
\ncreated plans for a town with two business thoroughfares, residential streets
\nalong with school and park sites. Merrill financed Thomas Martin to build a
\nflour mill which opened for business was established in August, 1984. A post
\noffice was established in 1896. Merrill was incorporated into Klamath County in 1903.
\nA successful water well was drilled in 1905. Merrill was on the map.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBy 1909 Merrill was second only to Klamath Falls in population with 300 people. Wheat had
\nbeen the principal crop in the Tule Lake Basin and Merrill was now known as “Flour City<\/em>.
\nBesides the flour mill, Merrill had electricity, two hotels, school, bank, creamery, shingle mill,
\nthree churches, the Merrill-Weekly Record<\/em> and hopes of growing to 1,000 residents.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nToday, Merrill is a small town with tree-lined streets. Many second and third generation
\nfamilies live here. Some work in Klamath Falls and call Merrill home. It wasn’t always so
\npeaceful: fires in 1911, 1920 and 1921 did major damage to downtown’s business districts.
\nEach time Merrill rebuilt – it was the town that could. In 1912 cinders, brought from
\nthe Lava Beds by boat, covered the dirt roads. Tule Lake’s federal reclamation project,
\nhad begun and there was room for more settlers.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAs one drives through town it is hard to miss the 30\u2032 by 50\u2032 American flag next to the
\nwater tower. Late in October the town\u2019s biggest celebration is held, the annual Potato Festival
\nwhich started in 1934 to celebrate the end of the harvest and farming life in general.
\nA parade, dances, free BBQ, exhibits and a queen coronation make for a lively weekend.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nIf all is normal, the nights will be cool and crisp when the Potato festival gets
\nunderway in middle October and farmers will be in their fields harvesting potatoes.
\nThe farmers will make the time to visit the festival but the harvest beckons.
\nMeanwhile their families and communities will spend weeks making sure the festival
\nis representative of Tule Lake Basin and Klamath County agriculture. the two day
\nfestival includes high school and pop warner football games, car shows, marching
\nbands, horseshoe tournament, dunk tank, talent show, exhibits, judging, vendors,
\nlive entertainment and country family fun for all.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n2001 was a year from hell. The Klamath Reclamation Project’s irrigation water
\nwas turned off by the Federal government. There was a drought and several species
\nwere pitted against each other by-and-with Endangered Species Act’s struggle with
\nnatural resource management. There was concern if it was right to even have a
\nPotato Festival in light of current events. A consensus determined there would
\nbe a festival but it would be called the Farmer’s Festival. The Potato Festival
\nreturned in 2002 at the same time the National Academy of Science determined that
\nthe shutoff was unwarranted. Then was then, and now is time to enjoy the moment.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nA large crowd lines up for a free barbecue after the parade is finished.
\nDonations help the Lions Club assist the community.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLost River High School serves both Merrill and Malin, eight miles to the east. In 2004,
\n20 boys out of a graduating senior class of 56 played football and helped Lost River
\nwin the 2004 State Class 2A championship. The team had a grade-point average of 3.34.
\nAlso, a girl was accepted by Stanford University. Academics count in rural America.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nIn 1895 Merrill had its own 20′ by 40\u2032 school house. The Merrill School District had 56
\nstudents in 1904, 13 of whom were on the honor roll. The brick elementary school, built in
\n1911 served grades 1 -12 for many years, burned down in 1949. Merrill elementary
\nstudents went to the high school until their school was rebuilt and opened in early 1951.
\nMuch of life in Merrill is centered around the children.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBusiness in Merrill was alive and well in the 1950’s. Residents visited their
\nlocal stores. Main Street was bustling with commerce. Life would change in
\nthe 1960’s. Larger stores in Klamath Falls, 20 miles to the north offered
\nmore products and less expensive prices. America was in love with their cars
\nand thought nothing of driving twenty miles to buy a pair of shoes. Folks
\nstill lived in Merrill but now much of their business was done in Klamath Falls.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLooking back to 1906. A Klamath Republican<\/em> reporter wrote this about Merrill.
\n“Merrill now has two general merchandise stores stocked with everything the citizen
\ncan wish for his home, one furniture store where the home can be furnished from
\ntop to bottom at prices that compare favorably with those of the metropolitan
\ncities, three well equipped hotels doing an excellent business – so much so that
\nthey are not sufficient for the needs of the town an up-to-date restaurant building
\nis now being fitted up with lodging rooms in connection, two cigar and
\nconfectionery stores, two blacksmith shops, one drug store, one butcher shop, the
\nonly creamery in the county, two livery barns and a big feed barn under course
\nof construction, four saloons, bank, doctor, newspaper, very large and fine opera
\nhouse, harness shop, shoe repair shop, millinery store, flouring mill of fifty
\nbarrel daily capacity, a real estate firm and is represented by most of the
\nleading fraternal societies as well as churches. A large capacity brick yard
\nwas recently established and a large brick bank building is to be constructed.”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe world has changed since Nathan and Nancy Merrill decided to build a town on
\nland they purchased at the northwest corner of Tule Lake Basin. One would think
\nthey would be proud that Merrill still exists. What they would think of modern
\nworld may be something different: they came from the land – today comes from the
\nmedia. Life hasn’t changed much for the cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, cats,
\nchickens and wildlife. Where there is water there is life. Merrill is more
\na neighborhood than a town. Here, most everyone knows your name.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nIt was not that long ago that most Americans were living off the land and
\nthere was always a new frontier to settle when life became crowded.
\nAnd then, due to multiple causations, farm folks, especially the children,
\nstarted heading to the cities as the frontiers closed and viable homesteading
\nland, with water and workable soil, became scarce. There are reminders
\nof the old ways in places like the Tule Lake Basin. Merrill is one of
\nthose towns where life is more like the old days than it is in modern cities
\nand suburbs. America needs Merrill, Oregon – the little town that could.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMartin\u2019s Food Center<\/strong>, 541-798-5722, 137 E. Front St.
\nA&M Shell Station<\/strong>, 541-798-5916, 104 E. Front St.
\nThe Polar Bear<\/strong>, 541-798-5724, 231 W. Front St.
\nTacos a La Mexicana<\/strong>, 541-798-5558, 405 E. Front St.
\nThe Waterhole<\/strong>, 541-798-5520, 216 E. Front St.
\nPappy Gander & Company<\/strong>, 541-798-5042, 237 E. Front St.
\nCasa Villanueva<\/strong>, 541-798-9800, 212 W. Front St. Merrill 97633
\nYummy\u2019s Cowboy Cuisine<\/strong>, 541-773-8877, 135 E. Front St.<\/p>\n
\nMerrill Motel<\/strong>, 541-798-5598, 435 W. Front St.
\nWild Goose Lodg<\/strong>e, 541-798-2701, 105 E. Court Dr.
\nMerrill Mobile Manor and R.V. Park<\/strong>, 541-798-1654, 425 W. Front St. <\/p>\n
\nCounty Cork Collectibles<\/strong>, 541-798-5096, 14141 Falvey Rd.
\nHeart To Heart Quilters<\/strong>, 541-798-9111, 107 E. Front St.
\nTater Patch Quilts<\/strong>, 541-798-5955, 109 E. Front St. <\/p>\n
\nTrue Value Hardware<\/strong>, 541-798-5911, 234 E. Front St.
\nUmpqua Bank<\/strong>, 541-798-5212, 206 E. Front St.
\nR & J Auto Repair<\/strong>, 541-798-5161, 137 E. Front St.
\nEd Gilman C.P.A.<\/strong>, 541-798-5602, 128 E. Front St.
\nKatherine Clark Tax Preparer<\/strong>, 541-798-5827, 120 S. Merrill Rd.
\nRanch Dog Resort<\/strong>, 541-798-5111, 110 N. Main St.
\nMerle\u2019s Custom Butchering<\/strong>, 541-798-5425, 200 E. Fourth St.
\nThe Merrill Clinic LLC<\/strong>, 541-798-5073, 125 N. Lincoln St.
\nHis and Her Hair Care<\/strong>, 541-798-5600, 122 N. Washington St. <\/p>\n
\nBasin Fertilizer and Chemical Company<\/strong>, 541-798-5655, 22990 Malone Rd.
\nPape Machinery<\/strong>, 541-798-5660, 21600 Hwy. 39
\nMalin Potato Co-Op<\/strong>, 541-798-5665, 415 N. Main St.
\nParks-Hickey Hay Sales<\/strong>, 541-798-5373, 540 N. Main St.
\nArrowhead Seed<\/strong>, 530-667-5534, Fourth and Lincoln St. <\/p>\n
\nMerrill Presbyterian Church<\/strong>, 541-798-5918, 210 W. Second St.
\nSt. Augustine Catholic Church<\/strong>, 541-798-5823, 905 E. Front St.
\nMerrill Assembly Of God<\/strong>, 541-798-5321, 225 N. Monroe St.
\nMerrill Baptist Church<\/strong>, 541-798-5122, 700 W. Front St. <\/p>\n
\nU.S. Post Office<\/strong>, 541-798-5228, 138 E. Front St.
\nMerrill Branch Library<\/strong>, 541-798-5393, 365 W. Front St. <\/p>\n
\nCity Hall<\/strong>, 541-798-5808, 301 E. Second St.
\nPublic Works<\/strong>, 541-798-5808, 301 E. Second St.
\nPolice<\/strong>, 541-798-5821, 301 E. Second St.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nMalin, Oregon<\/strong><\/a> is nine miles northeast of Tulelake and eight miles east of Merrill, Oregon. In 1909, scouts from the Czech Colonization Club in Nebraska surveyed western federal irrigation projects. They decided the Klamath Project was the best location for a new Czech Colony. Malin was named after a Bohemia farming community.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nTulelake, California<\/strong><\/a> is a young city. It sits on land in Siskiyou County, just south of the Oregon border, that was reclaimed from Tule Lake by the Klamath Reclamation Project which diverted water down the Klamath River. Tulelake is on Highway 139 which connects Bend and Klamath Falls, Oregon along with Alturas and Reno, California. Some thousand people live in Tulelake at an elevation of 4,066 feet above sea level. This is rural American farmland and wildlife refuge. This is big sky country.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nNewell, California<\/strong><\/a> was born out of the War Relocation Authority’s Japanese-American Internment and later Segregation Center. This would become a city that housed as many as 18,000 internees. A substantial infrastructure was in place with the camp closure in May 1946: five deep wells, red cinder roads, many surplus buildings, water, sewer, electricity, Southern Pacific Railroad lines and Highway 139. A concept was raised of creating a township to serve the new Veteran Homesteaders. Five years later, June 1951, lots in Newell were for sale.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> Upper Klamath Basin history timelines<\/strong><\/a> looks at volcanic landscapes rich in history. The story begins 350,000,000 B.C.E ago and continues on with its first human inhabitants, or the abundant range of flora and fauna that have existed here. The timelines continue into recent times including the 2001 Klamath Reclamation Project’s water shutoff.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n