The Willamette valley is home to 13 major dam’s in the Willamette basin. Most of these dam’s are used for flood control, power generation and irrigation. But in the time before these dam’s were built there were many small towns that dotted these area’s and once the dam’s were completed they were swallowed up and lost to time and all that is left is the history of the location and a few pictures that may have been taken.
While out on a fishing trip this January I stumbled across the foundations of what was once the little town of Blakelyville. With a little research it looks like there were five towns at one point under what is now Lookout point reservoir. Carter, Eula, Landax , Signal , and Blakeyville have all been flooded, and become one with the mud of the lake bottom. The first settler in the area was John Blakey who was a stowaway on a ship from Ireland at the age of 12 in 1829 to the United States and then settled in Oregon . He found his way to set up his homestead between Lowell ,Or. and Oakridge along the Willamette River in 1867 . The community which he called Blakeyville covered an area of five or six miles. A post office was established and ran from 1910 to 1918 in what was once the general store ran by John Clark. During this time the postal officials renamed it Eula which was the name of the Blakely’s daughter. Later the railroad changed it again to Armet because Eula was to much like Eola located in Polk County.
Just a little bit of Oregon history that is only uncovered in rare low water times at the reservoir. Most of the other 12 reservoirs in the Willamette basin also have flooded areas under them that can sometimes be seen in extreme low water. With as much mud has built up around the remaining foundations in the last 70 years it does not look like it will really be much longer before they are completely covered and lost to history. Hopefully at least these picture and others like them will remain and show a reminder what was once a thriving community.
A longer article on the area with some pictures:
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/kw52j8202
And if you are interested some books on Oregon’s history:
Shane's Outdoor Fun 