I would love to see a crucial Casco League game played in this gym, with fans from both teams packed in like businesspeople on a Japanese subway car, straining to get a view of the action. It's exactly what I think of when I think of a small school gym!
For those unfamiliar with Falls City, it is located about 13 miles west of Monmouth and about 10 miles southwest of Dallas in Polk County. Nestled into the eastern foothills of the Coast Mountain Range, Falls City is named for a waterfall on the Luckiamute River that passes through town. It once was the home to the Falls City Lumber Company, a large timber mill that operated in the woods outside of town. In 1920 it moved it's set-up deeper into the coast range and created a town that became known as Valsetz. According to OHH reader "LionCoach," Valsetz was razed to the ground and all that stands from the former town is a utility shed and old foundations. While Falls City never grew in population or economic stature, it has continued to operate for well over 100 years.
Currently Falls City is coached by Terry Newton, former coach at Perrydale and I expect Falls City will soon be very competitive in the Casco League. Look for the Mountaineers to begin to challenge the likes of Country Christian and St. Paul soon as Coach Newton injects some life into the FCHS program.
The town of Falls City has a nice website with interesting facts and a great section on history. It also has other fascinating photos of the falls and my personal favorites, photos of the school throughout it's history.
A photo of the high school:
A fire destroyed the high school in 1938:
Thanks to Sarah for the photo. Her name and photo were used with her permission.
4 comments:
Very cool! I don't believe that I've ever been in that gym before. Great photos.
Since it's not stated in the article, I'd like to make one (rather unimportant) comment on your Valsetz comment, "moved to the town now known as Valsetz":
Valsetz actually no longer exists. The last resident moved away decades ago and the town was razed to the ground. The only thing left is one utility shed and concrete foundations.
Thanks for another interesting article!
Ha ha, nice catch Lion Coach.
I should change it to, "became known as Valsetz." I didn't realize it had been razed to the ground though.
Yes, or "formerly known as Valsetz". It was a company lumber town, and after they closed the railroad and shut the mill down they literally tore the entire town down. Look at it on Mapquest or Google Earth. You can see the roads and the plots where the houses and buildings were, but the structures are completely gone, except one solitary building.
Wow, thanks Lion Coach. That is interesting! Just one lone building there. I wonder what is in that shed?
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