Klamath Falls, Oregon

The Applegate Trail, which passes through the lower Klamath area, was blazed in 1846 from west to east in an attempt to provide a safer route for emigrants on the Oregon Trail.

The first non-Indigenous settler is considered to have been Wallace Baldwin, a 19-year-old civilian who drove fifty head of horses in the valley in 1852.

Moore (1857–1915), Oregon politician Dan O'Brien (born 1966), Olympic gold medalist in Decathlon Charles O.

The city was originally called Linkville when George Nurse founded the town in 1867.

This led to the Modoc War of 1872–1873, which was a hugely expensive campaign for the US Cavalry, costing an estimated $500,000, the equivalent of over $8 million in 2000.

The name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1892–93.

The name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1893.

The maximum snow depth has been 36 inches (91 cm) on January 3, 1901.

Boivin (1904–1999), speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Ernest C.

The Klamath Reclamation Project began in 1906 to drain marshland and move water to allow for agriculture.

With the building of the main "A" Canal, water was first made available on May 22, 1907.

With the arrival of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1909, Klamath Falls grew quickly from a few hundred to several thousand.

The all-time record high is 105 °F (40.6 °C), set on July 27, 1911, and the all-time record low is −24 °F (−31.1 °C), set on January 15, 1888.

Porter (1919–2006), Oregon politician Marty Ravellette (1939–2007), armless hero who lived in Klamath Falls in the 1960s Janice Romary (1927–2007), U.S.

=== Military airbase === Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, also known as Crater Lake–Klamath Regional Airport, was established in 1928.

In May 1945, about 30 miles (48 km) east of Klamath Falls, (near Bly, Oregon) a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb killed a woman and five children on a church outing.

== Notable people == Sharron Angle (born 1949), Nevada politician Brenda Bakke (born 1963), actress Dennis Bennett (1939–2012), Major League Baseball player Harry D.

The wettest "rain year" has been from July 1955 to June 1956 with 21.78 inches (553.2 mm) and the driest from July 1954 to June 1955 with 6.09 inches (154.7 mm).

== Government == Klamath Falls is a home rule municipality under the Oregon Constitution, and has been governed by a council–manager form of government since its citizens voted...

A downtown district heating system was constructed in 1981 and extended in 1982.

System operation was delayed until 1984 following an aquifer study.

The system was shut down again in 1986 after multiple distribution piping failures were discovered.

By 1991, the distribution piping had been reconstructed, and the system was again operating.

Todd Kellstrom was mayor from 1992 to 2016.

On September 20, 1993, a series of earthquakes struck near Klamath Falls.

=== 2000 census === As of the census of 2000, there were 19,462 people, 7,916 households, and 4,670 families residing in the city.

=== Water rights controversy === The city made national headlines in 2001 when a court decision was made to shut off Klamath Project irrigation water on April 6, 2001 because o...

Such universal criticism resulted in a new plan implemented in early 2002 to resume irrigation to farmers.

According to a National Academy of Sciences report of October 22, 2003, limiting irrigation water did little if anything to help endangered fish and may have hurt the populations.

=== 2010 census === As of the census of 2010, there were 20,840 people, 8,542 households and 4,876 families residing in the city.

=== Air quality === According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in 2012, significant efforts are being made to improve the air quality in the Klamath Basin.

Carol Westfall is the current mayor, having beaten Kellstrom in the 2016 election.

In 2021 tensions between locals and the Federal Government led two local farmers to purchase land at the headgates in Klamath Falls, OR.