Klamath Falls, Ore. – Klamath County turns the “big” 141 tomorrow and to celebrate, Klamath County Museum will offer free admission to the museum.
The 141-year-old county was established as a county in Oregon on Oct. 17, 1882. Originally a portion of Lake County, which in turn had been partitioned in 1874 from Jackson County, the county was named after a tribe of Indians that white travelers called the “Klamath”. In 1890 the census cited a population of 2,444. Since then the county has experienced steady growth with a 2018 population of 67,960 and if you ask County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot, “The numbers that they were saying would be in 2035 you might see 70,000 plus…we’re almost at 71,000 now.”
Klamath County is noted as the spot of the only deaths in the continental U.S. caused by enemy action, during the Second World War, when Elise Mitchell and five Sunday school students were killed when they inadvertently detonated a Japanese balloon bomb while on a picnic on Gearhart Mountain near Bly.
One of the many lakes and mountains of Klamath County include Crater Lake National Park, that along with the Lava Beds near Tulelake attract thousands of tourists and recreational visitors to the county annually and its sunny high desert climate creates an abundance of outdoor recreation available in the Klamath Basin area. So stop by the Klamath County Museum and wish the county a very happy birthday this week.
The museum will be open regular hours, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information contact the Klamath County Museum, 1451 Main St., at (541) 882-1000.
