In the Marion County mountains, it's not unusual for the annual draw down of water from the Willamette Valley reservoirs in preparation for winter storms to reveal the foundations of Old Detroit.
But the West's historic draught has apparently caused new remnants of the underwater ghost town - abandoned and flooded with the construction of a dam in 1952 - to emerge from the mud of Detroit Lake.
In October, with water levels at their lowest levels since the dam's construction, a sheriff's deputy discovered the intact remains of a 19th century wagon rising from the lake bed 56 miles southeast of Salem.
"I went on a treasure hunt down along the river, figuring I'd find foundations or something like that," Marion County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Zahn told Christena Brooks for the Statesman Journal. "Then I saw a piece of old history right there."
Last winter's lack of snowfall in the Cascades caused Detroit Lake's water levels to drop about 143 feet below capacity, Brooks reported.
A U.S. Forest Service archaeologist told the Statesman-Journal that she believes this is the first time the wagon has made an appearance from the lake.
A metal plate on the wagon says it was made in 1875 by the Milburn Wagon Company of Toledo, Ohio, which became one of the country's biggest wagon makers after the U.S. government made a huge order to put down the Mormon Rebellion during the Utah War. Low oxygen levels below the lake's surface perfectly preserved the wagon, the Statesman-Journal reported.
Pioneers from Michigan settled Old Detroit in the Cascades in the 1890s, naming it after their home state's largest city.
In 1938, Congress authorized the 463-foot-high Detroit Dam to provide flood control, hydroelectricity, irrigation and a recreation destination. The decision put "the stamp of death" on Old Detroit, according to The Oregonian. After being delayed by World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers began clearing more than 3,000 acres that would be inundated by the dam's reservoir.
The 200-person town of Detroit, an old logging and resort town with a rail station, was moved to higher ground. The man-made lake began filling on June 1, 1952.
A May 21, 1952, story in The Oregonian described the town's messy last days.
"A mile away, perched on a narrow plateau just above the ultimate high-water mark, the new town of Detroit is building," the story reported.
Residents protested the forced move, but really had little say about their destiny. Most of the old town site was owned by Hammond Lumber Co.
"Lots from which the timber has been newly swamped are cluttered with houses moved up the hill," staff writer Paul F. Ewing reported.
Many homes rested precariously on temporary foundations near a new school and recreation hall built by the Corps of Engineers.
"New" Detroit, which considered changing it's name to Detroit Lake in 2010.
Mrs. H.E. Dickie, owner of the Detroit Hotel, said she'd "seen enough of this old town." Her family moved to the nearby town of Lyons.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, Old Detroit isn't the only ghost town to make an appearance during the historic drought:
"A drought in the Mexican state of Chiapas uncovered the ruins of a 450-year-old church. The 'Temple of Quechula,' as it is known, was originally built by Dominican monks near a conquistador highway, but was abandoned in the 18th century after a series of plagues struck the region. This year, lake levels dropped so low that locals were able to take tourists out to see the ruins."
By the way, if you want to check out more photos of how the annual Detroit Lake draw downs reveal parts of Old Detroit each year, check out the Panoramio blog and the PNW Photoblog.
-- Joseph Rose
503-221-8029
jrose@oregonian.com
@josephjrose