Fort Rock, Oregon

{{Short description| Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States}} {{about|the community in Oregon|the natural feature in Oregon|Fort Rock|the cave|Fort Rock Cave}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Fort Rock, Oregon |settlement_type = Unincorporated community |image_skyline = 2017-07-12 Fort Rock 54.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = View of Fort Rock from Fort Rock State Park |pushpin_map = USA Oregon#USA |pushpin_label = Fort Rock  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Oregon |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Lake  |government_footnotes = |government_type = |established_title = |established_date =  |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi =  |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = |population_total = |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi =  |timezone = Pacific |utc_offset = −08:00 |timezone_DST = Pacific |utc_offset_DST = −07:00 |coordinates = {{coord|43|21|23|N|121|03|14|W|region:US-OR|display=inline,title}} |elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> |elevation_ft = 4331  |postal_code_type = ZIP Code |postal_code = 97735 |area_code = |blank_name = GNIS feature ID |blank_info = 1136297<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1136297}}</ref> }}

'''Fort Rock''' is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Oregon, United States, southeast of Fort Rock State Natural Area.

==History== The community of Fort Rock was named after the natural feature Fort Rock by the town's founder, Ray Nash.<ref name=OGN>{{cite OGN|7th|page=372}}</ref> Fort Rock post office was established in 1908<ref name="OGN"/> under postmaster Josiah Thomas Rhoton.<ref>{{citation |title= Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971 |series= Records of the Post Office Department |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher= National Archives}}</ref> The Fort Rock Valley flourished briefly during the homestead period before World War I, but little remains in the area today.<ref name=OGN/> Fort Rock is one of two homestead-era communities remaining in the area, along with Silver Lake.<ref name="Fort">{{cite web | title = Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum | url = http://www.fortrockoregon.com | accessdate = 2007-03-26 }}</ref>

==Community== thumb|left|175px|Fort Rock general store thumb|left|175px|Fort Rock Restaurant The Fort Rock community is located approximately 1 mile southeast of Fort Rock State Natural Area.<ref>[https://fortrockoregon.com/about-the-area "Fort Rock"], ''Homestead Village Museum'', Fort Rock Valley Historical Society, Fort Rock, Oregon, accessed 14 May 2024.</ref>

Fort Rock had a general store that was in operation since the early 1900s.<ref name=DEQ>{{cite news |url= http://lakecountyexam.com/deq-completes-purchase-agreement-for-fort-rock-store/ |title= DEQ Completes Purchase Agreement for Fort Rock Store |newspaper= Lake County Examiner |date= September 25, 2014 |accessdate= December 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20141207204728/http://lakecountyexam.com/deq-completes-purchase-agreement-for-fort-rock-store/ |archive-date= December 7, 2014 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The store, which also included a gas station, closed in May 2013.<ref name=DEQ/> As of September 2014, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had entered into a prospective purchaser agreement to reopen the store after performing needed underground storage tank (UST) cleanup.<ref name=DEQ/> The store has reopened as of 2017.

Fort Rock also has a community church, a Grange hall, a restaurant and a tavern.<ref name=Sunrise>{{cite news |url= http://www.bendbulletin.com/home/2006240-151/easter-sunrise-at-fort-rock# |title= Easter Sunrise at Fort Rock |date= April 21, 2014 |newspaper= The Bulletin |accessdate= December 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.bendbulletin.com/news/1489892-151/annual-easter-celebration-held-at-fort-rock |title= Annual Easter Celebration Held at Fort Rock |first= Cindy |last= Powers |date= March 28, 2005 |newspaper= The Bulletin |accessdate= December 7, 2014}}</ref>

The Rock View Apartments burned down in 2012; the land on which the apartments was located was owned by the Fort Rock Care Center, which planned to donate it to the Fort Rock Historical Society in 2013.<ref name=Donates>{{cite news |url= http://lakecountyexam.com/care-center-donates-land-to-historical-society/ |title= Care Center Donates Land to Historical Society |date= May 1, 2013 |newspaper= Lake County Examiner |accessdate= December 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20141207204740/http://lakecountyexam.com/care-center-donates-land-to-historical-society/ |archive-date= December 7, 2014 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The senior apartments were only six years old when they burned.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.ktvz.com/news/Fire-Destroys-Senior-Apartments-in-Fort-Rock/15292844 |title= Fire Destroys Senior Apartments in Fort Rock |last= Lerten |first= Barney |date= June 26, 2012 |publisher= KTVZ |accessdate= December 7, 2014}}</ref>

Today, the Fort Rock community is supported by alfalfa farming, cattle ranching, and tourism. As of 2023, the town’s population was estimated to be 134 people.<ref>Swisher, M.E. "Jack", [https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/fort-rock-town "Fort Rock (town)"], ''Oregon Encyclopedia'', Portland State University and Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon, 13 November 2023.</ref>

==Museum== Today, many of the buildings in Fort Rock are part of the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society's Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum, which is a collection of homestead-era buildings moved there from the surrounding area, starting in 1988.<ref name="Fort"/> The museum was created by the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society to preserve historic buildings that were in danger of being razed by the Bureau of Land Management or were being vandalized in their remote locations.<ref name="Fort"/> Buildings include a church, a log cabin, a doctor's office, a school, a land office, and several other cabins and houses.<ref name="Fort"/>

==Climate== Fort Rock has a dry-summer Mediterranean climate with cold winters and warm summers featuring colder nights due to large diurnal temperature variations. Freezing temperatures can occur at any time of the year. There are on average 260 days annually where the temperature reaches at or below freezing (8 of them in July).

{{Weather box |location = Fort Rock, Oregon, 1990–2020 normals, extremes 1948-present |single line = Y |collapsed = Y |Jan record high F = 47.3 |Feb record high F = 53.9 |Mar record high F = 58.6 |Apr record high F = 66.8 |May record high F = 77.3 |Jun record high F = 81.3 |Jul record high F = 89.6 |Aug record high F = 88.8 |Sep record high F = 82.7 |Oct record high F = 73.5 |Nov record high F = 56.8 |Dec record high F = 44.5 |year record high F = 89.6 |Jan record low F = 3.2 |Feb record low F = 3.9 |Mar record low F = 15.4 |Apr record low F = 17.6 |May record low F = 23 |Jun record low F = 28.8 |Jul record low F = 29.4 |Aug record low F = 28.7 |Sep record low F = 22.6 |Oct record low F = 16.1 |Nov record low F = 2.5 |Dec record low F = −1.1 |year record low F= −1.1 |Jan high F = 38.6 |Feb high F = 43.7 |Mar high F = 48.5 |Apr high F = 57.5 |May high F = 66.5 |Jun high F = 74 |Jul high F = 84.4 |Aug high F = 83.1 |Sep high F = 75.7 |Oct high F = 64.3 |Nov high F = 48 |Dec high F = 39.3 |year high F = 60.3 |Jan low F = 14.3 |Feb low F = 18.2 |Mar low F = 21 |Apr low F = 22.7 |May low F = 28 |Jun low F = 33.9 |Jul low F = 35.8 |Aug low F = 34.2 |Sep low F = 28 |Oct low F = 22.8 |Nov low F = 19.1 |Dec low F = 14.6 |year low F = 24.4 |Jan precipitation inch = 1.6 |Feb precipitation inch = 0.9 |Mar precipitation inch = 1.2 |Apr precipitation inch = 0.6 |May precipitation inch = 1 |Jun precipitation inch = 1 |Jul precipitation inch = 0.4 |Aug precipitation inch = 0.5 |Sep precipitation inch = 0.4 |Oct precipitation inch = 0.7 |Nov precipitation inch = 1.5 |Dec precipitation inch = 1.9 |precipitation colour = green | unit precipitation days = 0.01 in | Jan precipitation days = 9 | Feb precipitation days = 7 | Mar precipitation days = 7 | Apr precipitation days = 6 | May precipitation days = 6 | Jun precipitation days = 6 | Jul precipitation days = 3 | Aug precipitation days = 2 | Sep precipitation days = 3 | Oct precipitation days = 4 | Nov precipitation days = 7 | Dec precipitation days = 8 |Jan snow inch = 11.4 |Feb snow inch = 7.5 |Mar snow inch = 5.3 |Apr snow inch = 2.1 |May snow inch = 0.7 |Jun snow inch = 0.0 |Jul snow inch = 0.0 |Aug snow inch = 0.0 |Sep snow inch = 0.0 |Oct snow inch = 0.6 |Nov snow inch = 4.3 |Dec snow inch = 9.8 |source 1 = Weatherbase<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=590353&cityname=Fort+Rock%2C+Oregon%2C+United+States+of+America|accessdate=2020-06-26|title=Fort Rock, Oregon Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)}}</ref> }}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== *{{commonscat-inline}} *[http://photos.salemhistory.net/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOBOX1=&CISOFIELD1=title&CISOOP2=exact&CISOBOX2=Fort%20Rock,%20Oregon&CISOFIELD2=subjec&CISOOP3=any&CISOBOX3=&CISOFIELD3=descri&CISOOP4=none&CISOBOX4=&CISOFIELD4=audiena&CISOROOT=all Historic photos of Fort Rock, Oregon] from Salem Public Library *[http://www.fortrockoregon.com/buildings.html Photos of Fort Rock buildings at the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711020741/http://www.fortrockoregon.com/buildings.html |date=July 11, 2011 }}

Category:Unincorporated communities in Lake County, Oregon Category:1908 establishments in Oregon Category:Populated places in the United States established in 1908 Category:Unincorporated communities in Oregon