Lakeview Map
Lakeview is a city in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,474 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 2,655 in 2006. It is the county seat of Lake County. Although it is an incorporated city, the municipal government refers to the community as "The Town of Lakeview", and bills itself as "Tallest Town in Oregon" because of its elevation. Lakeview is situated in the Goose Lake Valley at the foot of the Warner Mountains and at the edge of the Southeastern Oregon high desert.
Native American artifacts in Lake County have been dated back to 9,000 years ago. White traders, explorers and military expeditions arrived in the 1800s. The first white outpost in Lake County was Fort Warner on August 10, 1866, built in the area where the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge is located. The main reason for establishing the fort was to protect white settlers from the native people of the region. General George Crook was active in the area and established camps in the area and fought native Americans. The area around Lakeview was also home to Irish and some Basque sheepherders who were later displaced by cattle ranchers.
The first community established in the Goose Lake Valley was New Pine Creek in 1869, with a post office established December 8, 1876. Lake County, created from parts of Jackson and Wasco counties in 1875, originally included what became Klamath in 1882. The original county seat was in Linkville (Klamath Falls), but was later moved to Lakeview. In 1900 a fire swept through Lakeview destroying 75 businesses. The town was rebuilt in 1901 using brick and corrugated iron roofs. In 1906 a second fire threatened the community, but was contained to a few buildings and homes. A third fire in 1916 consumed most of the homes that had escaped the first two fires.
Nearby cities include New Pine Creek.