Just south of the Harris Homestead was an old water tower that had been used for the railroad (Jerry Adams)

Only this stone pedestal, which once had a plaque, remains after the 2018 fire (Jerry Adams)

• Hikes including this location:
  • Deschutes River Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Deschutes River from Macks Canyon Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)

• Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Latitude, Longitude: 45.51610, -120.82714
• Elevation: 310 feet

Description

NOTE: The water tower was destroyed in the July 2018 Substation Fire.

This historic water tower used to be at mile 11.3 at the end of the Deschutes River Hike, and at mile 11.8 at the end of the Deschutes River from Macks Canyon Hike. Steam engines needed a regular replenishment of water for their boilers, so water tanks were spaced at strategic intervals all along the old railroad lines. This 1912 water tower served the now defunct Deschutes Railroad, abandoned in 1936, and was gravity fed from a spring up Harris Canyon. The water tower was completely destroyed in the 2018 Substation Fire. The only thing that remains is a stone pedestal which held a plaque that commemorated the water tower's restoration in 2009 by a group of Sherman County volunteers.

More Links

• "Deschutes historic water tower restored" (Oregon Live)
• "Lower Deschutes riverbanks destroyed in Substation Fire; river reopens" (Oregon Live)

Contributors

• retiredjerry (creator)