History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon. Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

GEORGE P. CROWELL AND FAMILY                       1881

     George Crowell was born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1839. He served in the Civil War in Co. D of the 8th N.J. Regiment.
     After the close of the war he located in Morristown, Tenn., but soon came west. About 1872 he met E.L. Smith at Olympia. Mr. Smith was then engaged in surveying the lands of Washington, and to him Mr. Crowell applied for a job as chainman. He was small in stature and frail in appearance and Mr. Smith did not consider him fit for the work, but rather than refuse his request, he gave him a trial.
     Then Mr. Smith was surprised, for he proved to be one of the best man he had, and he became a fixture in the crew.
     One of Mr. Smith's surveys began at Lewiston, Idaho, extended north to the British line, locating the boundary between Idaho and Washington. They were delayed in getting a start, disappointed in getting help from Indians, their provisions, with the exception of flour, were running low, winter was fast approaching and their course lay through the high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains, the men became dissatisfied and talked of mutiny.
     To go back for more supplies meant financial ruin for Mr. Smith, as he would be unable to complete his survey in the specified time; in this dilemma he called a meeting and asked for the support of his men in putting the survey through.
     The manner in which the matter was decided is told in verse by Mr. Smith and is herewith inserted:

Dedicated to George P. Crowell by E.L. Smith

BOUNDARY SURVEY

Sisters and brothers please listen to me
     To a story of eighteen seventy three
To how we ran the boundary survey
     In the mountains north of Pend 'O' Reille,
Where the Clearwater River joins the Snake,
     Firmly we planted the initial stake.
Then climbed the bluff to the upland plain
     Which stretches north to the river Spokane,
And there alas, we said goodbye
     To prairies fair and summer sky.

Through forests and swamps our course now lay
     And autumn had come with a shortened day;
So we hastened, ever on towards the Polar Star,
     Nor rivers, nor mountains, could our strong hearts bar.
Never man toiled harder, and all went well
     Till we came to the land of Kalispell,
To the lend of the Indian renegade,
     Who laughs at the laws by white man made.
Where Nature is savage as well as man,
     And who travels there takes life in hand.

Higher and higher the mountains rose,
     Colder and colder the North wind blows,
Still we toil on toward the British line,
     For our goal is latitude forty nine.
August, September, October had passed
     November had, come with a winter blast;
But a chill more dread o'er our spirits grew,
     Just as we passed Lake Kaniksu,
For no food was left but a little flour,
     To give us strength in that trying hour.

And fear seized hold of the strongest men
     And they talked of their homes, again and again
And some said "further we must not go
     Through the awful mountains of Idaho".
And they hung their heads when the leader said
     "Men, you have followed where I have led,
For the British Line will you still try?"
     And a single voice answered Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye.
And then spake another, brave Crowell
     "I'll follow him, boys, to the brink of hell.
He has more at stake than we single men
     A family and home." And they cried out "Amen".

That line was reached by the half starved band,
     And the stoutest heart was the little man
Who, when danger and death were drawing nigh,
     Still cheerily sang out Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye.

     For thirteen days the surveyors lived on bread alone, but accomplished their work and returned as conquerors.
     In 1881 Mr. Crowell came to Hood River and found employment, clerking in the mercantile store of E.L. Smith.
     When Mr. Smith sold out, Mr. Crowell invested his earnings in the saw mill business and lost out. He went back to clerking and a few years later bought the stock of A.S. Blowers. He "made good" in his venture and acquired a competence.
     In 1902 he sold his business to Bragg & Co. and retired from active work, passing the last years of his life very quietly in his beautiful home on the hill.
     Mr. and Mrs. Crowell educated Iva Wilkerson.
     Mrs. Crowell, who was formerly Mrs. Marybeth English, has a son, Clarence English. In his younger days he lived in Hood River, but is now a resident of California.
     Mrs. Crowell is a daughter of James K. Stranahan, (deceased). She is an old resident of Hood River, and well known throughout the valley.
     She is fearless and outspoken against all forms of injustice, and oppression, a strong advocate of temperance, education and all measures tending to the up-lifting of the masses.
     Her home has always been open to the young people, and many have been helped to higher ideals and a better life, through her efforts. After a long illness, Mr. Crowell passed away Sept. 5, 1910, at the age of seventy one years. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and the services were conducted by the pastor, Rev. Harris, assisted by the members of the Canby Post, G.A.R. He was buried in Idlewilde Cemetery. The following tribute by one of his comrades is given. "All who know Geo. P. Crowell can give testimony to his upright character, his honesty, his Christian forbearance."
     For years he was the leading merchant of Hood River. During the hard times in Hood River in 1894, when our strawberry crop was left to rot on the vines because of the flood in the Columbia that washed out the railroad, Geo. P. Crowell extended credit to the sufferers, and no one knows how many families were tided over by him during that disastrous year.
     Before the advent of banks in Hood River, Crowrell's store was the depository for any surplus money the more fortunate of our citizens accumulated. He was our banker, and no man ever lost a dollar through Geo. P. Crowell. While he was our only notary public, no one was ever charged a cent for his legal services, 'As honest as George Crowell' got to be a byword with those who knew him.
     By honesty, industry and perseverance his life was made successful. His declining years were spent in one of the most beautiful homes in Hood River. He rounded out his three score years and ten, and more, and was followed to the grave by a concourse of his fellow citizens who sincerely mourned his passing away.
     The record of G.P. Crowell as a soldier was one to be proud of. It is the wish of the comrades of Canby Post that the following mention of Geo. P. Crowell's bravery at the battle of Williamsburg, Va., be published in our local papers. The chaplain of the 8th New Jersey Regiment, in which Crowell served, wrote to his home paper, the Newark Mercury of May 27, 1862, an account of the battle, and gave incidents and honorable mention where found worthy. He wrote:
     "Private George P. Crowell of Company D, as our line of battle, during a desperate assault of the enemy, was ordered to be formed anew some eight feet back, found himself between the fire of our regiment and that of the enemy. He had not heard the order to fall back, so intent was he in firing his gun. But when he comprehended his position, he coolly placed his back to a tree, to shelter himself from our fire, and, face to the enemy, exposed himself to almost certain death, he there maintained his position, constantly firing until the enemy was repulsed and a new line formed by our regiment."
     Miss Carrie Crowell, a sister of Mr. Crowell, has for many years been a resident of Hood River, sharing the home life, joys and sorrows of the family. She and Mrs. Crowell still abide together.
     Miss Carrie Crowell died at the Crowell home.

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