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History & Culture
Howard and family pose for the camera on a natural bridge. |
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J. D. Howard, A Monument Legacy
Sometimes the man credited with founding Lava
Beds National Monument wished others had never followed his lead.
It was Judson D. Howard - called Judd or J.D. by his friends - who
mapped and named many of the Lava Beds lava tube caves. Howard’s
relentless efforts also are credited with helping to have the area
declared a national monument in 1925.
Howard’s legacy has mostly gone unrecognized except for a plaque placed
on a rock outside the entrance to Mushpot Cave. Although park files
contain some information on his explorations and discoveries, he remains
something of an enigma. The only mark he left behind are names he
painted inside many of the caves he named. Howard contributed the
earliest photographs of cave interiors, but shied away from other’s
cameras.
People who knew J.D. picture him as a physically unimposing man. Cal
Peyton, who lived across the street from Howard in Klamath Falls,
remembers his as being about 5’5” tall and 130 pounds. "He walked with
short steps and he could walk you into the ground. You’d think the frail
critter would play out and you’d have to carry him home, but if anybody
was carried home, it would be you."
Carol Howe, writing about Howard in his book, Frontier Stories of the
Klamath Country, described Howard as "a short dumpy-looking fellow whose
clothes were neither neat nor stylish."
No matter how he’s pictured, Howard was peculiarly suited to the Lava
Beds. He moved to Klamath Falls in 1916 to work as a miller for Maritin
Brothers Milling Company. A native of Fort Atkinson, Iowa, he grew up in
the Midwest, eventually studying chemistry at the school that later
became the Colorado School of Mines, specializing in flour chemistry. He
came west in the early 1900s, working in Los Angeles before moving to
Oregon.
Much of Howard’s work was at the Martin Brothers Mill in Merrill. From
there he often walked to the Lava Beds region, where he was befriended
by some of the rugged individuals who lived in the sparsely settled
country.
"He went all the time," recalls Jean Puckett, a neighbor. "People would
come and get him because he didn’t have a car."
Howard’s intimacy with the Lava Beds began Sept. 10, 1917, during a
visit with the George Howells family. That first trip set the tone for
future journeys as Howard named Fleener Chimneys and Winemas Chimneys
and explored several caves. From then on his diaries indicate a
continuum of visits. In those early years, Howard often had to crawl on
his hands and knees through dense stands of mountain mahogany. Entrances
to undiscovered caves frequently were possible only after clearing walls
of rock.
But if his travels and discoveries at the Lava Beds were among his
delights, among his greatest disappointments was seeing the area
destroyed by careless or uncaring visitors. Howard once said, "I am
sorry I made a road up to the place. Further, I am sorry I left the
entrance to the Catacombs open after I first entered it. I opened it and
enlarged it, then began to take visitors there. I should have closed it
again and left it unknown as the better stalactites are now gone except
in the remote crawlers".
Howard’s perceived need to preserve the lava tubes and the area’s other
geological features was a major reason why he vigorously pushed for a
federally protected status. Since the creation of Lava Beds National
Monument, that protection has been provided. For that, the enigmatic
Howard would surely be pleased. |
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