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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Man indicted on murder and manslaughter charges in Greenway death ... Rogue flows won't increase until salmon move ... Pacific Northwest cities enact voluntary water reductions ... Man indicted on murder and manslaughter charges in Greenway death ... Rogue flows won't increase until salmon move ... Pacific Northwest cities enact voluntary water reductions ... 'You will find me in the lake' They found her exactly where she said she would be, floating face down under the Link River Bridge. Comment By BILL MILLER MailTribune.com By BILL MILLER Posted Feb. 13, 2011 at 12:01 AM Updated Feb 13, 2011 at 2:45 AM By BILL MILLER Posted Feb. 13, 2011 at 12:01 AM Updated Feb 13, 2011 at 2:45 AM If you go --> The Baldwin was a hotel until 1977, when it was saved from destruction by Klamath County. It now houses the Senator Baldwin Hotel Museum. The museum has posted some of Maud Baldwin's photographs on... » Read more X If you go The Baldwin was a hotel until 1977, when it was saved from destruction by Klamath County. It now houses the Senator Baldwin Hotel Museum. The museum has posted some of Maud Baldwin's photographs on its website at www.co.klamath.or.us/museum/index.htm . To visit in person, drive either Highway 66 or Highway 140 to Klamath Falls and merge onto Highway 97 north. Exit at Main Street. You will see the four-story brick building on your left at 31 Main St. » Social News They found her exactly where she said she would be, floating face down under the Link River Bridge. Never married, 47 years old and daughter of an Oregon state senator, Maud Evangeline Baldwin had finally given up. Born in summer 1878, "Vinnie," as her family called her, was her father's princess, the only girl in a family of five. He lavished his attention on her and made sure she had everything she needed or desired. Wallace Baldwin, her uncle, was said to be the first non-Indian to settle in Klamath County, arriving in 1852. Four years later, Wallace moved to Jackson County, settling with his sister Harriet on a homestead near Talent. His letters home to Missouri made Southern Oregon seem so exciting they enticed his younger half-brother, George, Maud's father, to come west in 1872. Only 16 years old, George took a room in Ashland and began studying tinsmithing at the Academy, the forerunner of today's Southern Oregon University. He married, moved to Klamath Falls, opened a tin shop and began his climb to success by building up one of the largest retail hardware businesses in Southern Oregon. In 1906, he built the city's first four-story brick building, selling hardware on the lower floors and renting out rooms on the uppers. Three years later, he moved the hardware store out, made some changes, and reopened the building as the Baldwin Hotel, the first hotel in town with running water and electricity. The hotel and her father's political career marked the beginning of Maud Baldwin's downward spiral. George Baldwin's political success mirrored his business career. He moved from city councilor to county treasurer and county judge, and ultimately served two terms as a state senator. Maud was expected to be there for her father, appearing at all social and political functions and helping however she could with her father's career. It was a duty she didn't enjoy. There were exceptions. Maud attended Oregon State Normal School in Monmouth, beginning in 1894, and in 1905 studied at the California College of Photography in Palo Alto, Calif. She had taken up photography as an amateur in 1898 and over the next 15 years opened a succession of studios, eventually becoming a successful professional. Family pressures began to intrude even more in her life and, by 1915, Maud was trapped in the needs of her father's career and stuck managing day-to-day operations at the hotel. Tragedy piled on tragedy. The hardware store went bankrupt. She fell in love with one of the cooks in the hotel's kitchen, but her father refused to let her marry. And then came 1920. George Baldwin's wife suffered a stroke that left her an invalid, needing Maud's constant care. No sooner had Maud begun that tedious chore than her father died and she was left to run the hotel all alone. The pressures grew to be too much. In May 1926, she gave up. "I am going insane and cannot stand it," she wrote. "You will find me in the lake." She walked a few hundred feet from the hotel into Lake Euwana and kept her promise. Writer Bill Miller lives in Shady Cove. Reach him at [email protected]. By BILL MILLER MailTribune.com By BILL MILLER Posted Feb. 13, 2011 at 12:01 AM Updated Feb 13, 2011 at 2:45 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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