Wolf Creek
| One of the oldest structures remaining in Wolf Creek and one of the most famous is the Wolf Creek Tavern. The original tavern was constructed in 1883 by Henry Smith. There are many stories about this building and as many legends as truths. For example note the sign that says built in 1857 when in fact there was nothing like this in Wolf Creek in 1857. For a complete history of the area from Wolf Creek to Leland along with hundreds of exceptional photos of the early families, buildings, and mines there is no better source than a book called, First There Was Twogood. |
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This 430 page historic compilation of Northern Josephine County was written and produced by Larry and Dariel McLane of Sunny Valley. Should you desire to own this essential part of our regional history you can purchase it by calling (541) 479-2069. This particular photo was taken about 1920 and provided to Larry by Sally King.
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As one comes South down I-5 toward Wolf Creek they can look
off to the right and see the train tracks heading toward Stage Coach
Pass. A short distance the tracks make a loop and circled back up
the mountain to gain elevation to go over tunnel 8 before dropping down
into Glendale. Today that loop is made on solid earth but when the
railroad was first built at the beginning of the last century a wooden
trestle was used to gain elevation. Because wooden
trestles often caught fire from the steam locomotives most of them were
filled in with earth until they disappeared into the fill. On the
top left is the Wolf Creek depot which sat on the North end
of town across the tracks from the highway. This photo also comes from
"First There Was Twogood" by Larry McLane (see above). The photo
comes from his personal collection. The lower photo shows a locomotive
pulls up the mountain toward Glendale and Tunnel 8.  |
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