Niagara Heights Water Wheel Last Light

by Wes and Dotty Weber

Title

Niagara Heights Water Wheel Last Light

Artist

Wes and Dotty Weber

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

In 1973, Henry “Hank” Hiebert, a logger at the time, built his home in Niagara, Oregon on a spot near the North Santiam River. Across the highway to the north is a large red water wheel, easily seen from the highway, which was built by Mike Adams Construction in Stayton, Or. in 1984. It was built in sections and assembled on site, for a price of $8000. It is constructed entirely of steel, but it is not the first wheel.
The first wheel was made of wood and was about the same size as the current wheel. It is unclear whether Hiebert and his brothers built this one, or if it was built by a man named Tommy Sned, in Grande Ronde, Or. This wheel failed because it was too heavy for the two large bearings that supported it. Perhaps water soaked into the wood.
The current wheel is powered by water coming down a pipe from Niagara Creek, and originates at a point which is higher than the wheel. The water then goes up a large pipe, which is part of the support structure, and pours out onto the top of the wheel. The water right was granted in 1989, and the reason stated on the application was “aesthetics”. As the wheel turns, the water falls onto the huge slab of concrete which supports the wheel, and then goes back to the creek, so the water is being “borrowed”, rather than appropriated.

Uploaded

January 18th, 2020

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