Unraveling the Growth, Evolution and Disappearance of the Snow Creek Irrigation Company
Trip Recap
On a lovely day for a field trip led by Bob Timmer & Brad Lemmon, 16 ASCO members gathered at the Three Sisters Overlook along highway 20 to learn about the history of the Snow Creek Irrigation Company. With green fields watered by large sprinklers fed by pumps drawing water from some 300-plus feet underground behind us and cars and trucks zipping by, we thought back some 140 years to the earliest homesteaders in this area, now called Plainview. Driven by the need for water for irrigation and livestock in the summer, the homesteaders began to dig canals to channel water to their fields. Starting with the earliest recorded water rights in 1886, homesteaders continued to expand the canal system, consolidating efforts into the Snow Creek Irrigation Company and eventually developed over 50 miles of canals as well as dams at Three Creek Lake and Little Three Creek Lake to hold water for release during the summer. Before departing for stop #2 at Three Creek Lake, we thought about these homesteaders finding a route and then digging and maintaining a 16-mile-long ditch so that a drop of water could reach fields along highway 20.
At Stop #2, we stood upon the top of the dam, rebuilt in 1924 to raise the level of Three Creek Lake by 14 feet. Concerns over the safety of the dam led to a decision to suspend its use in 1989. Departing Stop #2, we proceeded, like a drop of irrigation water, to Junction of outflow from Three Creek Lake, Little Three Creek Lake and the Snow Creek Diversion Ditch, constructed in 1923 to replace the Snow Creek Ditch. After lunch, on to Stop #4 to see sections of the Snow Creek ditch dating to the 1890’s that are preserved along the south side of the Upper Three Creek Sno-Park. We continued traveling downhill to Plainview and then along the Gibson Ditch, now called the Snow Creek Ditch, where it crosses Sisemore road to finish our journey with a walk up a hillside to look to the northeast towards our first stop and to the west towards Three Creek Lake.
One more stop at Tumalo Dam to hear about its history and the root causes of its failure due to its location along the Tumalo Fault Zone. With a sigh of relief, Bob ran out of posters, concluding the field trip.
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Unraveling the Growth, Evolution and Disappearance of the Snow Creek Irrigation Company.
8:00 Am to 4:00PM
September 19, 2025
Trip Leaders: Bob Timmer & Brad Lemmon
Registration starts on Monday, September 8th
The trip is limited to 20 participants
Early homesteaders in the area along Highway 20, between Tumalo and Sisters that is now called Plainview, realized that irrigation was essential to support cultivation and livestock in the dry summers. On this field trip, we will trace the history of irrigation efforts from the first recording of water rights in 1886, to establishment of the Snow Creek Irrigation Company, through the eventual expansion to 53 miles of canals and the construction of dams at Little Three Creek and Three Creek Lakes, and then to the disappearance of the Snow Creek Irrigation Company in the 1980’s.
We will gather at the Cascade Village Mall in Bend, between PetSmart and Ashley's Furniture at 8:00AM. We will then proceed to the Three Sisters Viewpoint on Highway 20 for an overview (stop 1). Then to Three Creek Lake (Stop 2) where, like a snowflake or water drop, commence travel from the lakes through the dams and down the canals. Those droplets not percolating into the porous volcanic soil could irrigate the fields and water the livestock. Stops will be made at Horse Camp (Stop 3), Upper Three Creeks SnoPark (Stop 4), Plainview (Stop 5), and along Sisemore Road (Stop 6), The final stop, 7, will be at the Tumalo Dam, where we will explore its “fiasco” and the early hopes of the Tumalo Irrigation District. We will return to Cascade Village Mall no later than 5:00PM, likely earlier.
There will be short walks on gravel roads or on flat ground at stops 2,3,4, 6 and 7. Total walking mileage for the day will be less than 1 mile. There is very little shade, but we will never be far from the vehicles. Please bring a sack lunch, water and shade protection such as a hat and sun screen. There are restroom facilities at Three Creek Lake and Three Creek SnoPark. Total driving distance is about 75 miles of which 15 miles is on graded gravel roads.
Please contact Bob TImmer at bobtimmer@yahoo.com with any questions.
