History: Paulina Peak

Paulina Peak

Paulina Peak is named for Chief Paulina, a Northern Paiute leader who violently resisted Euro-American settlement in the Great Basin and for several years orchestrated a successful guerrilla war campaign in the deserts and mountains of eastern Oregon. In 1867, after attacking Burnt Ranch on the John Day River, a group of settlers shot and killed Paulina. Paulina was shot in a cove near Ashwood, Oregon. Many geographical sites in Central Oregon carry his name. 

Paulina Peak is around 83,000 years old and is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its summit is the highest point within the Monument with an elevation of 7,985 feet. The Forest Service built a cabin in 1917. 

In 1958, a  road to the top was built to allow access to a U.S Air force radar station, however heavy wind and ice collapsed it and the radar station was never rebuilt. The last lookout building was destroyed in 1969.

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