Fisher Springs at Muddy Creek, Oregon
A natural hot springs in the foothills above Muddy
Creek gave fruit to a swimming pool.
Our thanks to Sallie Fisher for providing the information for this
story, and Dora Gourley for putting it together!!
Photo of the source of the hot water which spawned the swimming pool
idea in 1901. The area is no more than a four or five foot square.
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W.H. and Mollie Shoemaker owned the land where the
hot water came bubbling out of the ground. W.H., a furniture
manufacturer, used the hot water to turn the wheel which powered his
lathes. *photo of one of his chairs in the possession of Sallie
Fisher. A 2001 article in Record-Courier advises one of Mr.
Shoemaker’s captain chairs made at the springs resides in the Odd
Fellow’s Hall in Baker City.
The springs also powered the first generator providing the
electricity in the area. It was carried from the spring to the house
on a wooden flume.
Benjamin and Cora Fisher purchased the Fisher Springs Ranch from
Shoemakers Oct. 7, 1901. Perhaps it is Benjamin who installed the
generator.
With the hot water already in place, Benjamin built the first
swimming pool, made of logs, on the property. This pool was down the
hill from the second pool and was 10 x 15 ft.
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photo Post card advertising ‘Fisher’s Warm Springs”
in 1928 states the pool was sharing its 26th season for paying
guests. This would indicate the pool was built around 1902.
A second pool, lined with concrete was built up the hill from this
first one in 1916.
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photo of this pool before the concrete edge was
complete. Frieda Zastrow report the boy standing on the right
watching the men swim was H.K. Fisher. This pool continued to
operate during the depression before the new swimming pool at Radium
Hot springs, near Haines, took the business away. After Benjamin
Fisher passed away, his wife Cora acting as life guard, sold sodas
and hot dogs. She also sold cherries and apples from their orchard.
Her children and grandchildren helped run the business and the farm.
H.K. Fisher reported the men and women swam separately with Cora
blowing a whistle to let them know when one genders time was up and
the other one could enter the pool.
The Fishers property was divided at some point with Glenn Fisher,
given the house site near the pool and the farm to the north of the
current Fisher property. Bertha Romans, was given the main farm
property including the spring, orchard and the swimming pool. It is
assumed the pool closed to the public after this transaction and
renters lived on the property.
Doris and Bill Leggett
lived there for a time and Bill and Connie Fisher did also for
several years.
H.K. and Iris Fisher purchased Fisher’s Springs Ranch from Bertha
Romans in 1963. The pool was closed to the public at that time and
was used for family get together’s. It was falling into disrepair,
the flume was leaking and H.K. worrying about the sanitation in the
water supply ran pvc pipe from the flume to the house as a source of
water. When the pool crumbled to the point it lost water when the
supply was shut off due to cracks in the floor it was determined the
risk far out weighed the benefit and in 2001 the water was drained
and the pool filled in.
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Fisher Springs Property remains in the H.K. and Iris
K. Fisher Trusts.
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Clever Chairs and Fisher Springs
Web Masters Note: I remember a young lady who was on her first date with a certain young man, when passing Fisher Springs, the hot water had ran across the road had caused a ditch in the frozen ground. When the rear tires of the car hit this ditch, the back axel of the car was broken!! But wouldn't you marry a guy who broke his axel trying to impress you???
