The first automobile to make the trip from Portland to Klamath Falls, Ore., faced three days of rough and muddy roads more suited for horse-drawn stage coaches. The Klamath Falls Evening Herald reported on April 22, 1916, that Harry Telford was the driver of the Michigan-built Saxon motorcar.
Telford told the Evening Herald the car covered 465 miles, averaged 19 miles a gallon and burned a quart of cylinder oil every 78 miles. Today’s roads have cut the distance to 280 miles, about a five-hour drive.
Telford averaged 25 mph on good roads between Portland and Eugene, but encountered a muddy landslide south of Eugene.
The second day he faced muddy roads between Comstock and Glendale. After a short stop in Ashland, he drove over the Siskiyous without trouble, and spent the night in Hornbrook, Calif.
He left Hornbrook at 10 a.m. the next day, taking the 62-mile Klamath River stage route up the Klamath River, arriving in Klamath Falls at 3 p.m. He said the road was in fair shape with some rough spots and mud holes.
The direct Ashland-to-Klamath Falls highway, State Route 66, wasn’t built until three years later, basically following the Applegate Trail.
Source: "Saxon Makes First Trip Through From Portland." The Evening Herald 22 Apr. 1916 [Klamath Falls, Ore.] : 1. Print.
