Klamath walk to focus on Link River history 091606

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Walk to focus on Link River history

Photo courtesy of Klamath County Museum Houses and barns line the west shore of Link River in this photo taken around 1900. The history of the Link River canyon will be discussed during a walking tour on Saturday.

September 14, 2006

A walking history tour of the Link River canyon will be offered by the Klamath County Museum beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Titled “People, Plants and History of the Link River Trail,” the tour will begin at the trail's south trailhead, behind the Favell Museum. The free tour is expected to last about 90 minutes. Participants can expect to come away from the walk with free blackberries and plums. The Link River Trail was established in the early 1970s as a recreation facility, but its history goes back many more years. The city's first sawmill was built on the Link River in 1877, and the town's first hydroelectric plant dates to 1895.

For many years, the primary access to the Lakeshore Drive area was along the west bank of Link River. The road was eventually closed to the public, but it continued to serve as an access road for Pacific Power.

Saturday's history walk will include discussion of homes that once lined the west bank of the river, as well as the types of plants - both native and non-native - found along the trail.

Presenters will be Klamath County Museum manager Todd Kepple and Forest Service botanist Sarah Malaby.

The Link River Trail is an unpaved, barrier-free access road with gentle grades in isolated spots.

Other county museum activities planned for this fall include an oak woodlands hike and a pioneer cemetery tour Oct. 14, and a downtown historical walking tour Nov. 11.

For more information contact the Klamath County Museum at 883-4208.