Illahe, Oregon

Illahe is an unincorporated community and the site of a former post office in Curry County, Oregon, United States. Located along the Rogue River approximately 8 miles (13 km) upriver from Agness, the area was home to Takelma Indians, then to white and Karok settlers, before becoming part of a designated wilderness. The area has a riverside lodge and a nearby campground, both named Illahe.

Illahe is located in the Klamath Mountains in the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. The Lower Rogue River Trail, a National Recreation Trail runs roughly parallel to the river between Grave Creek and Illahe through the Wild Rogue Wilderness. The 36-mile (58 km) stretch of the river between these two points is designated Wild and Scenic and is "one of the best-known whitewater runs in the United States".

Climate

Illahe has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) according to the Köppen climate classification system.

History

Illahe was the first of three post offices established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along the canyon of the lower Rogue River between Marial and Agness. After the Rogue River Wars of 1855–56 and the forced removal of most of the Takelma and other native people who lived along the river, a small number of newcomers began to settle along or near the canyon. These pioneers, some of whom were former gold miners married to Karok Indian women from the Klamath River basin, established gardens and orchards, kept horses, cows, and other livestock, and received occasional shipments of goods sent by pack mule over the mountains.