Chiloquin, Oregon

By Steve Lent, Historian

A campsite for a group of Klamath Indians became known as Camp Chiloquin, the white settler version of Chay-lo-quin, the name of a respected war chief who was alive at the time of the treaty of 1864. Camp Chiloquin was a few shacks and tents scattered over a wide field at the confluence of the Sprague and Williamson Rivers. Since Chiloquin was on the reservation, in order for white settlers to obtain land, they purchased Indian allotments. The first allotments were sold in 1918. Before allotments became available an Indian Trading Post, consisting of store, hotel and livery stable, was begun by the firm of Clepper and Moore, the location leased from the Indians.

Chiloquin began to develop as a town in about 1910, when the railroad was built north from Klamath Falls to Kirk, a few miles north of Chiloquin, and now a ghost town. Chiloquin Mercantile and Chiloquin Warehouse were the pioneer businesses of the town. The first Post Office was established on January 6, 1912. Mary. E. Whittemore was the first postmaster. The daily trip of the train from Klamath Falls to Kirk and back was a leisurely affair with the engineer stopping anywhere along the route with usually several stops along Upper Klamath Lake to pick up fisherman. The train was even known to wait for the last catch to be bagged.

A one room school took care of the children’s educational needs until 1918, when the school expanded to two teachers. In the 1920’s Chiloquin’s elementary and high school districts were formed, and construction began on a school to house both the grade and the high schools. Finished in 1926, the last 2 years of high school were offered for the first time.

The town was plotted by Henry Stowbridge, L.B. Robinson and Mary Jackson to the east of the Williamson River. By 1928 the City of Chiloquin included a town site originally plotted from Indian lands and known as the Juda Jim allotment, all of which lay east of the Williamson River. They west side, known as West Chiloquin, was developed and sold by R.C. and Alice Spink.

The city was incorporated on March 9, 1926. At that time there were 2,000 inhabitants, Three big lumber mills were the main employers. Other businesses included box factories, barber shops restaurants, ,grocery stores, a drug store, a pool hall, movie theater, a dress shop, a shoe store, roller rink, and in 1927, a bank. The town became a boom town with all of the mill activity.

The closures of the lumber mills, the Great Depression and a series of disastrous fires had a major effect of Chiloquin. The industry of the area was adversely impacted by the demise of the timber mills. When the mill in town closed in 1988, it left widespread unemployment. Aside from ranching in the outlying areas, there is no major industry at the present time. The 2020 census listed the population as 767 people.