Hot Lake is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Union 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Hot Lake has an elevation of . It is about east of La Grande, and northwest of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. The first Europeans to see Hot Lake were the 32 members of an expedition under

W. Price Hunt Wilson Price Hunt (March 20, 1783 – April 13, 1842) was an early American pioneer, pioneer and explorer of the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Employed as an agent in the fur trade under John Jacob Astor, Hunt organized ...

, who entered the

Grande Ronde Valley The Grande Ronde Valley is a valley in Union County in northeastern Oregon, United States. It is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, and is drained by the Grande Ronde River. La Grande is its largest community. The valley is long, north to south ...

on January 1, 1812, on their way to the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. On August 7 of that year, Robert Stuart made the first written notation of the place while returning from the Columbia River. Hot Lake became a resting place for travelers, especially when settlers began traversing through the valley on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

in the 1840s. The first hotel was built at Hot Lake in 1864 by Samuel F. Newhard, and a post office was established in 1883. In 1884, the railroad was built through the area. The Hot Lake Resort was built in 1906. The resort began to decline in the 1930s, as a result of the death of its director since 1917, Dr. W. T. Phy, a disastrous 1934 fire, and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The post office was discontinued in 1943. Hot Lake is now served by the La Grande post office.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Union County, Oregon Spa towns in Oregon 1883 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1883 Unincorporated communities in Oregon