Bonanza, OR

Bonanza is a Klamath County town in the Lost River Valley, about 25 miles east of Klamath Falls at the end of Oregon Route 70. The 2010 census counted 415 residents. Lost River runs through the town and supplies irrigation water for the surrounding agricultural land, while Big Springs and the three valleys meeting here mark the water-rich meeting point that drew settlement. Bonanza Schools serve kindergarten through 12th grade, and the local economy remains tied to farming, ranching, dairy, and potatoes.

The town developed at an older Modoc site where the Langell, Poe, and Yonna valleys meet. The Bonanza post office opened in 1875, J. P. Roberts founded the town in 1876, and Benjamin Price platted it in 1878; incorporation followed in 1901. The name may refer to the Spanish word for prosperity or to the abundance of spring water. Fire has forced repeated rebuilding, but the town's outline is still easy to read: a school, businesses, homes, and a park along Lost River, with the Klamath Basin's farm country around them.