Bly is an unincorporated small town in Klamath County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. By highway, it is about east of

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

. , the population was 207.

Geography

Bly is in southeastern Klamath County, slightly west of Lake County, along

Oregon Route 140 Oregon Route 140 (OR 140) is a state highway in southern Oregon, United States. It is the longest state highway in Oregon, running from the community of White City, Oregon (just north of Medford), through Klamath Falls and on to Lakeview. It ...

. By highway, it is about west of Lakeview and east of Klamath Falls. Fish Hole Creek, which flows through the community, meets the South Fork Sprague River slightly north of Bly.

Fremont National Forest The Fremont-Winema National Forest of south central Oregon is a mountainous region with a rich geological, ecological, archaeological, and historical history. Founded in 1908, the Fremont National Forest was originally protected as the Goose Lake ...

surrounds Bly except on the northwest.

Gearhart Mountain Wilderness Gearhart Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located within the Fremont–Winema National Forest in Lake County and Klamath County in south-central Oregon. This area was established in 1943 as a Wild Area and designated as wilderness wit ...

is about northeast of Bly.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Bly has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

History

The name ''Bly'' comes from the

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

word ''p'lai'', meaning 'up' or 'high', referring to its location at the upper Sprague River. The Sprague River post office was established in the area in 1873, and the name was changed to Bly in 1883. At that time, the community was near the east end of the Klamath Indian Reservation. The 21st century community of Sprague River is downstream and west of Bly and Beatty. Around 1900, Bly had two general stores, two hotels, and a saloon. A history published in 1905 referred to the surrounding area as the "precinct" or the "valley" and estimated its total population at 750. The chief products of the valley at that time included cattle, horses, mules, and a few sheep, as well as oats, clover, and hay. In 1935, the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

acquired a site in Bly for a district ranger station to manage the western part of the

. The Forest Service paid $625 for the property. The ranger station was built by

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

workers under the supervision of Forest Service district ranger Perry Smith. The seven original buildings at the Bly Ranger Station were constructed between 1936 and 1942. A modern administrative headquarters building was added to the compound in the 1960s. The ranger station compound was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1981.

Balloon Bomb Memorial (Lake County, Oregon scenic images) (lakDA0010)

World War II

Bly is also the site of the only fatalities of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the continental U.S. due to an enemy balloon bomb attack. On May 5, 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded as it was being pulled from the woods by curious picnickers. Killed in the explosion were: Elsie Mitchell, 26, wife of minister

Archie E. Mitchell The Reverend Archie Emerson Mitchell (born May 1, 1918) was a minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He was born in Franklin, Nebraska.

; Edward Engen, 13; Richard Patzke, 14; Jay Gifford, 13; Sherman Shoemaker, 11; and Joan Patzke, 13. Rev. Mitchell heard the explosion and discovered the bodies. The victims' families were compensated by the government. A memorial was erected at what today is called the

Mitchell Recreation Area Mitchell Recreation Area is a small picnic area located in the Fremont-Winema National Forests, Lake County, Oregon, near the unincorporated community of Bly. In it stands the Mitchell Monument, erected in 1950, which marks the only location in ...

Parks and recreation

The OC&E Woods Line State Trail, the longest linear state park in Oregon, passes through Bly. The

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

was built on the roadbeds of the former

Oregon, California and Eastern Railway The Oregon, California and Eastern Railway (OC&E) was a rail line between Klamath Falls and Bly in the U.S. state of Oregon. After 70 years of bringing logs from nearby forests to local sawmills, the former railroad right of way was converted t ...

, which ran from Klamath Falls to Bly, and a former spur line, the Woods Line.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Klamath County, Oregon 1873 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1873 Unincorporated communities in Oregon