By Steve Lent, Historian

The community of Redmond, Oregon was incorporated on July 6, 1910. It would be several years before full utilities such as a sewage system and treatment plants were developed. A water storage tank was constructed in 1910 to provide water but a complete piping system was not in place. Sewage systems were not in place. Most of the residences of Redmond at this time were still utilizing outhouses or individual pits to store untreated sewage. The population in 1910 was 216.

A drilling operation behind the old Hotel Redmond in March 1914 drilled into a lava cave at about 20 foot depth. The drilling was done to find a suitable outlet for sewage from the hotel.. A six-inch pipe was installed to move sewage from the hotel to the underground cave. Evidently there were a number of caves beneath the town site. The hotel was a two story wooden structure. Two years previously a cave had been drilled into near the Hotel Redmond and sewage from the hotel was drained into the cave until it became clogged.

Shortly after the drilling operation behind the Hotel Redmond was completed the owners of the Hotel Oregon located across the street from Hotel Redmond hired the drillers to drill behind their hotel. They were looking for a way to dispose of their sewage and hoped another cave would be found. Although it was a convenient way to dispose of sewage it was not known what the consequence might be.

There is a cave system just south of Redmond known as Redmond Caves that has entrances at two locations and was a popular site for events as it provided a cool environment during the summer. Today the Redmond Caves are a popular recreational site. Later surveys determined that there was a system of lava caves beneath the Redmond town site. As the population began to grow it was deemed necessary to provide a more adequate sewage system for the community. The idea of using the caves as a sewage disposal site was fortunately abandoned.