<P> In 1865, the Oregon Iron Company was incorporated with the goal of making the town of Oswego an industrial center for the smelting of the abundant iron ore in the area . The company purchased the entire town of Oswego, including the lake and surrounding hills, which were rich in not only iron ore, but trees that would be turned into charcoal to feed the furnaces . Population in the town boomed, aided by the opening of a narrow gauge railroad from Portland in 1886 . The Oregon iron industry peaked in 1890, but with the availability of cheaper coke - fired iron and steel mills, by the early 20th century it had nearly collapsed . </P> <P> In 1871, the Tualatin River Navigation & Manufacturing Company began work to build a continuous waterway that would connect the Tualatin River to the Willamette . The company planned to build two canals: one to connect the Tualatin to the lake to provide access to the iron smelter, and a second with locks that would connect the lake to the Willamette via Sucker Creek . The first canal was finished in 1872, but due to low water, was not passed through until January 21, 1873, when the sternwheeler Onward made the first trip . In 1873, the completion of the Willamette Falls Locks made traffic past Willamette Falls possible without portage; since the Tualatin was more difficult to navigate anyway, the idea of a second canal was abandoned . </P> <P> A series of wooden dams had been built at the outlet to Sucker Creek beginning in 1860 to provide water power; but since winter floods would wash out these dams within a few years, in 1921 a concrete dam was built, which not only provided a more reliable power source, but also allowed the lake level to be precisely controlled . The level was allowed to rise several feet to cover the unsightly stumps left over from logging and create a more visually appealing shoreline . </P> <P> With the name Sucker Lake considered unappealing to potential residents, the community decided to rename the lake . While "Lake Tualatin" was considered, in 1913 the United States Board on Geographic Names officially renamed it Oswego Lake . In 1961, the USGS officially changed the name to "Lake Oswego," though the old name is usually used to avoid confusion with the name of the city . </P>

What kind of fish are in lake oswego