Eastern Santiam Wagon Road Tour – Redmond to Fish Lake

Eastern Santiam Wagon Road Tour

Redmond to Fish Lake

Leaders: Leslie Olson and Steve Lent 

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Trip Recap

An enthusiastic group of ASCO members joined Steve Lent and Leslie Olson to explore the Santiam Wagon Road on September 14, 2024. As always, Steve had some great places to show us with nuggets of local history to share of the road that was built in 1865 from Albany to Fish lake, and then on to Lower Bridge, Tetherow Crossing and points east. The road was used to bring supplies over from the valley and send wool over to mills in the valley.

Stops that we visited were the O’Neil road crossing, where many different wagon roads converged to get over the Crooked River; Lower Bridge; Tetherow Crossing; Camp Polk cemetery; Fish Lake; and Santiam lodge. Jan Hodgers shared her family history in the Camp Polk and Sisters area, as well as the status of the cemetery and history of some of the graves. We had a tour of the buildings at Fish Lake by John Millican with the Friends of Fish Lake, as well as a nice lunch break. We visited the Sheets at Santiam lodge to see the extensive work that they are doing on this historic building.

It was a long but fascinating day and all had an enjoyable time .

Trip Posting

Map courtesy of Forest Service (https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/willamette/recreation/?cid=fseprd579308)

What: Tour of eastern sections of Santiam Wagon Road

When: Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 8 AM to 5 PM.

Participant limit: 15 persons

Trip Leaders: Leslie Olson and Steve Lent

                       For questions please contact Leslie Olson at leslieols@gmail.com.

Background

The Santiam Wagon Road holds an interesting and unique place in Oregon’s history. Unlike other wagon roads that were built to bring settlers to the Willamette Valley, this road was designed to lead settlers and their livestock eastward from the Willamette Valley to the rich pasture lands of Central Oregon and to markets throughout eastern Oregon and Idaho.

The road system covered a distance of almost 400 miles and served as the primary means of transportation across the central Cascade Mountains for most of the 74 years (1865-1939) it was in use. The route served as a livestock, freight and stage route facilitating trade, commerce, and communication, which significantly contributed to the economic enhancement and settlement of both regions. 

ASCO Trip Itinerary

8:00 AM: Meet in the Southwest Corner of the Redmond Home Depot of parking lot.  Voluntary ride sharing can be arranged then.

We will be driving to several sites of the Santiam Wagon Road as it made its way east of the Cascades into Central Oregon. We will look at sites near Redmond, through Sisters and up toward Fish lake, with visits at Santiam Lodge and Fish Lake Depot (if available).