Mark W. Bullard

Bullard was born in Stockbridge, Vermont, on September 24, 1822. His parents were Mark and Abigail (Whitcomb) Bullard. He grew up with three brothers and one sister. In 1849, Bullard left Stockbridge with his brother Job, heading for America’s west coast. He traveled from Vermont to New York, where he booked passage on the steamship Restless bound for San Francisco. The journey took Bullard around the Cape Horn, arriving in San Francisco on 1 May 1850. == West coast pioneer ==

After arriving in California, Bullard and his brother mined gold in the area around the American River before heading north to Oregon. They initially settled in Milwaukie, Oregon. After a year in that area, they left to begin mining along the Rogue River in southern Oregon. In 1860, a farmhand working on Bullard’s farm quit his job and demanded to be paid off in cash. Bullard did not want to pay in cash and an argument ensued. The employee drew his knife just as Bullard’s brother, Seth, come upon the scene. Seth attempted to disarm the man and was stabbed to death in the struggle. == Lakeview founder ==

In 1869, Bullard moved to the Goose Lake Valley in south central Oregon. He was one of the first settlers to make his home in the valley. His first land claim was patented in January 1871. It included located along what is now Bullard Creek near the mouth of Bullard Canyon at the north end of the valley. Bullard later acquired a second land grant. His farm was mostly meadow land covered with tall native grass. Because of the lush environment, a wide range of wildlife was common on his land. Bullard enclosed his property with a crude fence and an irrigation ditch. He built a simple three-room log house on the property. The cabin had a living room for cooking and sleeping. The second room was used as a storage area and wood shed. The third area was a built-in livestock barn. In 1874, the Oregon legislature created Lake County (which at that time, included today’s Lake County and neighboring Klamath County) from what had previously been eastern Jackson County. Linkville (now Klamath Falls, Oregon) was designated as the temporary county seat pending an election scheduled for 5 June 1876. Settlers in the Goose Lake Valley on the eastern side of the new county outnumbered those on the west side near Upper Klamath Lake; however, there was no town on the east side of the county while the west side had Linkville. To remedy this, Bullard offered to donate to establish a new town at the north end of the Goose Lake Valley. By then, residents of the Goose Lake Valley had decided to build the town of Lakeview at the Bullard Creek site and a rural post office had been established at the Bullard Ranch. In the November election, Lake County voters selected Lakeview over Linkville to be the county seat by a vote of 242 to 181. On 7 December 1876, Bullard transferred the parcel to Lake County and a two-story courthouse was built on the site. A short time later, Bullard sold his remaining to John A. Moon, one of his neighbors. After Moon purchased Bullard’s property, he paid Frank Cheesman to survey the town site, and then filed an official plat for the town of Lakeview on 25 May 1877. The town of Lakeview developed around the property Bullard donated for the Lake County courthouse. == Later life and legacy ==

Shortly after selling his Lake County property, Bullard returned to his farm in Pacific County, Washington. Bullard Creek and Bullard Canyon are geographic features at the north end of the Goose Lake Valley that still bear his name. == References ==