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. , the population was 207.

Geography

Bly is in southeastern Klamath County, slightly west of Lake County, along Oregon Route 140. 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 surrounds Bly except on the northwest. Gearhart Mountain Wilderness 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, nota ...

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 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 United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...

acquired a site in Bly for a district ranger station to manage the western part of the Fremont National Forest. 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 unemployment, 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 ...

workers under the supervision of Forest Service district ranger Perry Smith. The seven original buildings at the

Bly Ranger Station The Bly Ranger Station is a United States Forest Service compound that serves as the headquarters for the Bly Ranger District which is an administrative subdivision of the Fremont National Forest. It is located in the small unincorporated commun ...

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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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; 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.

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 streetc ...

was built on the roadbeds of the former Oregon, California and Eastern Railway, 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