This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE

This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Today Klamath Falls has the most beautiful courthouses in the entire state of Oregon. After the 1963 earthquake destroyed the old one...and after two County Commissioners were recalled and a study group of about 40 persons fashioned and secured $18 million in bonds to build them….the issue of the courthouse is no longer in doubt.

But that wasn’t the case in the community in the early 1900s.

The County courthouse at that time was one built back in 1888. It was small and had outworn its usefulness by 1910. Some county offices were located in several houses nearby. By now Klamath Falls was blossoming with the construction of the canal system and the arrival of the railroad.

The Klamath Development Company which then owned most all what today is the Hot Springs area of the city came forth with an offer on June 30 1911 to give the County the deed to a site which today is occupied by Klamath Union High school. The deed would carry the restriction that such a courthouse should cost at least $200,000.

The County Court thought this was a great idea. But...wait a minute.

Critics claimed that the site was outside the legally declared limits of the town and really couldn’t be used. The court asked for any other bids. Receiving none they approved the site on December 11.

In the interim a new organization was formed in the community as the Commercial Club and they offered a site bounded by Main, Pine, First and Center Streets, claiming their site was much more valuable than the one offered by the KD company. They also claimed $200,000 was too high a price.

KD dropped their figure to $100,000.

Petitions surfaced to recall the County Court and the club retained a lawyer and brought an injunction against the courts plan. June 13, 1912 a Judge overruled the injunction and ruled that when the people of Klamath County voted in June 1884 for Linkville as their County seat they didn’t just mean the town as George Nurse platted it, but as a community. The Commercial Club group proceeded to hire a contractor and built a courthouse on their location even as another courthouse was being constructed on the KU hill site

So….we had a community with three courthouses at one time.

How was it resolved. Well the attempted recall of County Judge Worden failed, but on December 4, 1913 R. N. Day of the Day Brothers Lumber Company brought suit against the county that prevented them from issuing any further warrants. Judge Worden was the reason. A law had been passed making the County Judge a six year term. Worden was on the 1914 ballot although he maintained he had two years to serve. Marion Hanks was elected.

Work immediately stopped on the KD site since Hanks opposed it. A court ruled that the six year term law had been passed after Worden had taken the oath of office and therefore Hanks was the County Judge. Later the new court repudiated the KD site.

Work stopped on that site but continued at the other site. A number of in stances occurred over the ensuing years. Hanks was recalled...a new support arose for the KD site, but in the end KD finally withdrew their deed, the Main Street courthouse was completed and occupied during the big flu epidemic in 1919. Charlie DeLap told me how one day he shoved county records across a board between the two buildings...and the court moved into the structure.

The KD courthouse was eventually sold and demolished to make way for Klamath Union High School to be built.

The complete details of the three courthouse controversy were first detailed in Volume 5 of Devere Helfrich’s Echoes, and also further expanded in my most recent volume….Great Moments in Klamath History.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Text Box:
This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

             Today Klamath Falls has the most beautiful courthouses in the entire state of Oregon. After the 1963 earthquake destroyed the old one...and after two County Commissioners were recalled and a study group of about 40 persons fashioned and secured $18 million in bonds to build them….the issue of the courthouse is no longer in doubt.
             But that wasn’t the case in the community in the early 1900s.
             The County courthouse at that time was one built back in 1888. It was small and had outworn its usefulness by 1910. Some county offices were located in several houses nearby.   By now Klamath Falls was blossoming with the construction of the canal system and the arrival of the railroad.
The Klamath Development Company which then owned most all what today is the Hot Springs area of the city came forth with an offer on June 30 1911 to give the County the deed to a site which today is occupied by Klamath Union High school. The deed would carry the restriction that such a courthouse should cost at least $200,000.
The County Court thought this was a great idea. But...wait a minute.
Critics claimed that the site was outside the legally declared limits of the town and really couldn’t be used.   The court asked for any other bids. Receiving none they approved the site on December 11.
In the interim a new organization was formed in the community as the Commercial Club and they offered a site bounded by Main, Pine, First and Center Streets, claiming their site was much more valuable than the one offered by the KD company. They also claimed $200,000 was too high a price.
KD dropped their figure to $100,000.
Petitions surfaced to recall the County Court and the club retained a lawyer and brought an injunction against the courts plan. June 13, 1912 a Judge overruled the injunction and ruled that when the people of Klamath County voted in June 1884 for Linkville as their County seat they didn’t just mean the town as George Nurse platted it, but as a community. The Commercial Club group proceeded to hire a contractor and built a courthouse on their location even as another courthouse was being constructed on the KU hill site
             So….we had a community with three courthouses at one time.
             How was it resolved. Well the attempted recall of County Judge Worden failed, but on December 4, 1913 R. N. Day of the Day Brothers Lumber Company brought suit against the county that prevented them from issuing any further warrants. Judge Worden was the reason.   A law had been passed making the County Judge a six year term. Worden was on the 1914 ballot although he maintained he had two years to serve. Marion Hanks was elected.
Work immediately stopped on the KD site since Hanks opposed it. A court ruled that the six year term law had been passed after Worden had taken the oath of office and therefore Hanks was the County Judge. Later the new court repudiated the KD site.
Work stopped on that site but continued at the other site. A number of in stances occurred over the ensuing years. Hanks was recalled...a new support arose for the KD site, but in the end KD finally withdrew their deed, the Main Street courthouse was completed and occupied during the big flu epidemic in 1919. Charlie DeLap told me how one day he shoved county records across a board between the two buildings...and the court moved into the structure.
The KD courthouse was eventually sold and demolished to make way for Klamath Union High School to be built.
The complete details of the three courthouse controversy were first detailed in Volume 5 of Devere Helfrich’s Echoes, and also further expanded in my most recent volume….Great Moments in Klamath History.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.