POST OFFICES WITHIN THE PRESENT BOUNDARY OF WASCO COUNTY

     The names and data pertaining to the post offices of Wasco county was supplied by Edwin R. Payne, Salem, Oregon post office clerk, stamp and cover collector who said, "my stamp and cover collecting hobby led to old covers (envelopes) postmarked from post offices in Oregon that no longer exist. In order to know where these places were I started a list of dead post offices. Others gave me help and I made research in old postal guides in various libraries, but such directories gave no dates of establishment or discontinuation of offices. I interested Lewis McArthur in the subject and through him and a close friend in Washington, D.C., we hired girls to copy the Oregon post office ledgers, about 4000 work sheets, in the National Archives! From those sheets I have compiled the Oregon post office list of all offices! They could be obtained in no other way and from no other source. All of this information will be in the third edition of Lewis A. McArthur's OREGON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES which will be off the Binford & Mort press in Portland November 1952. It is a must for history lovers and collectors."

From Mr. Payne's list of Oregon post offices we have compiled two lists of Wasco county post offices. The first list are the 55 offices within the present boundary of Wasco county. The distances indicated from The Dalles are by the original roads, not our longer highways.

Name of post office.                           First Postmaster          Established      Discontinued   Distance

Antelope (settled 1884)

Bakeoven

Big Eddy

Boyd (11 Mile House)

Celilo (settled 1882)

Celilo (was Ferry

Clarno  (Wheeler & Wasco)

Criterion (settled 1905)

Cross Hollows (Shaniko)

Dalles, The (settled 1838)

Dalles changed to Wascopam

Dalles, The

Dalles City Incorporated

Dant(was Frieda)

Deschutes Bridge(Miller)

Deschutes Bridge(see Moody)

Dillon (was Ferry)

Dufur (15 Mile House 1885)

Endersby (on 8 Mile)

English (Columbia District)

Fairbanks (Lower 15 Mile)

Ferry (On Celilo Canal)

Flanagan(8 E Sherar)

Freebridge (on lower 15 Mile)

Friend

Frieda (Ore. Trunk R.R.)

Kaskelia (Ore. Trunk R.R.)

Keen (3 S. Nansens)

Kingsley (8 S. Dufur)

Matney (Upper Mill Creek)

Maupin

Moody (Stiles or Miller)

Mosier (settled 1854)

Mt. Hood (Near Tygh)

Nansene (In Long Hollow)

North Junction (O.T.RR)

Ortley (7-Mile Mt.)

Pratville (Wamic)

Ridgeway (7 S. Shaniko)

Rowena (9 W. on U.P.RR)

Simnasho (Warm Springs Res.)

Sinamox (Ore. Trunk R.R.)

South Junction (O.T.RR)

First postmaster

Howard Maupin

Andy Swift

Herdon Maurey

J.E. Barnett

Irwin Taffe

Chas. E. Frye

Chas. Huntley

Ira Canfield

Wm. Gibson

Milo M. Cushing

W.C. Waldron

Wm. Tom Ferry

Chas. A. Williams

George Fligg

C.C. English

Cyrus C. Cooper

Wm. Tom Ferry

Jess Flanagan

Le) F. Peterson

Theodore Buskuhl

(Changed to Dent)

Ralph Brown

Owen Jones

Robert Kelley

Isaac Matney

Wm. H. Statts

Ida Carlisle

John J. Lynch

Wm. Hollandworth

Wm. O. Adams

J.C. McCurdy

L.D. Firebaugh

Mary J. Mackie

Mary Cook

Frank Bourhill

Established

Aug. 7, 1871

Dec. 1, 1875

May 2, 1911

March 6, 1884

Nov. 26, 1889

May 20, 1915

Sept. 15, 1894

Sept. 11, 1913

May 23, 1879

Nov. 5, 1851

Sept. 3, 1853

March 22, 1860

June 22, 1857

Dec. 1, 1950

March 3, 1860

Feb. 20, 1888

April 8, 1914

Jan. 11, 1878

April 20, 1892

July 2, 1896

Oct. 31, 1905

Oct. 26, 1912

Oct. 11, 1905

Jan. 29, 1908

Feb. 28, 1903

June 16, 1950

June 15, 1914

April 14, 1911

Jan. 24, 1878

June 12, 1895

Dec. 18, 1909

Dec. 7, 1911

June 31, 1884

May 27, 1872

May 17, 1880

June 23, 1927

Feb. 9, 1912

Nov. 24, 1879

March 3, 1892

July 7, 1911

Aug. 6, 1886

Jan. 2, 1914

June 21, 1911

Discontinued

Mar. 30, 1918

July 31, 1938

Mar. 15, 1914

Oct. 31, 1949

June 30, 1928

May 27, 1887

Sept. 3, 1853

March 22, 1860

Dec. 6, 1880

Oct. 14, 1893

May 20, 1915

Oct. 13, 1906

Aug. 12, 1898

July 31, 1909

April 8, 1914

March 15, 1912

July 30, 1910

Nov. 30, 1950

June 15, 1921

March 31, 1912

Nov. 30, 1920

April 23, 1896

Oct. 1, 1928

Jan. 11, 1878

Oct. 14, 1904

April 7, 1932

Nov. 30, 1922

Sept. 1, 1880

Oct. 31, 1905

Nov. 15, 1918

Dec. 31, 1914

1949

Distance.

65SE

51SE

5E

11SE

12E

12E

85SE

45SE

58SE

0

0

0

0

80SE

19E

19E

8E

15S

13S

10E

10E at 38E

12E

25SE

60SE

OTRR

20SE

22SE

15SW

50SE

19E

17W

30S

19SE

OTRR

10W

45SE

8

7SE

9W

60SE

OTRR

Name of Post Office   First Postmaster          Established      Discontinued   Distance

Shaniko (Cross Hollow)           '` -John Wilcox '          March 31, 1900           58SE

Sherars Bridge (Below Ty~)";~ Eira-Hemmingway    July B, 1868    Jan. 4,'1883     30SE

Sherars Bridge (Settled'1860)"Joseph Sherar Jan. 4,' 1883    Jan. 25,1'9,38  30SE

Smock (5 S. Wamic)  Elizabeth Ledford       Oct. 2f, 1899   May 31,'1909- 50SE

Taylor (10 SW Dufury - ' 11cier Taylor           Aug. 20j'1909 , Sept. 30, 1910           25SE

iygn vatiey      ' " ii. Staley      June 17, 1873  = "       30SE

Victor(6 W. Ma;Apin)            Vila Jones        Nov. 14, 1893 Nov. 12, 1,812            40SE

Wamic(Was Praltrilley            Mary Chamberlain      Nov. 24, 1884 -           45SE

Wapinitia         Jerry Young    March 21, 1878           Fob.. 8; f935   47SE

Wasco(2 E Dufur-12 Mi.House)"Williem Gilliam      April 2B, 1868            June 3, 1872'   12SE

Wascopam (The Dalles),         Milo M. Cushing         Sept. 3, 1853   March 22, 1860           0

Wrentham (On lower 15 M1.); Mrs. M. Farrington    Oct. 12, 1900  June 30, 1818  12E

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POST OFFICES OUTSIDE THE PRESENT BOUNDARY OF WASCO COUNTY

     Wasco County was established in January 1854, being taken off Champoeg (Marion) and Clackamas counties. Wasco county in 1854 commenced at Cascade Locks, followed the summit of the Cascades to the California boundary; east along that boundary, east along the Idaho-Nevada and Idaho-Utah boundary, east along the Wyoming-Utah boundary to the territory of Nebraska at the summit of the Rocky mountains at Fort Bridger; thence northwest along the summit of the Rookies; including Yellowstone Park and including Butte, Mont; thence west to the Columbia river and Cascade Locks; comprising an area of over 250,000 square miles!­ and the largest county the U.S. ever had!
     The federal postal service in this vast area was not established until Nov. 5, 1851 at The Dalles. There were some settlements in this Oregon Territory such as Fort Bridger in 1843; Fort Laramie 1849 altho in Nebraska Territory was counted in Wasco county for postal purposes; the Walla Walla mission of 1836; Fort Hall (near Pocatello) Idaho 1836; Cascade Locks 1843; Fort Hall as an American military post in 1849; Fort Laramie as a military post in 1849; Fort Colville 1855; Fort Boise 1859; Spokane; Wallula trading post of 1821; The Dalles Mission of 1838.
     After Wasco county was created Baker and Umatilla counties were taken off Wasco in 1882. We examined Mr. Edwin Payne's postal list and all post offices in Baker and Umatilla counties before and in 1862 are counted as Wasco county post offices. Some of these are Umatilla, LaGrande, Union, Auburn, Eagle City, Shanghai, Independence, Marysville, Augusta (Baker City) Express Ranch; Umatilla county Cayuse, Cove, Emigrant Springs, Egon Station, Pendleton, Pilot Rook. When Grant County was taken off Wasco in 1884 they had Dayville, John Day, Prairie City, Canyon City, Camp Watson. When Lake County was taken off Wasco in 1874 it had the following towns Draws Valley; Antler, Lakeview, Goose Lake, Paisley, New Pine Creek, Silver Lake, Summer Lake, Whitehall, Whettle's Ferry. In Klamath, then a part of Lake there was Bonanza, Klamath Agency, Klamath, Klamath Falls, Lost River, Merganser, Keno, Tule Lake, Yainax. Over on Malheur was Jordan Valley and Camp Harney near Burns. In Gilliam county taken off Wasco in 1885 we find Arlington called Alkali, Baird, Blalock, Clem, Condon, Crown Rock, Fleet, Legality, Oasis, Scotts Ferry on John Day and Willows.
     In Jefferson County which we lost as Crook in 1882 Cleek, Cross Keys, called also Troutcreek, Willoughby, near Grizzley and Warm Springs over on the Indian Reservation, Cherry Creek, Haycreek. In Deschutes County which we lost as Crook in 1882 there was Camp Polk, now called Sisters.
     In Wheeler county, which we lost to Crook in 1882 there was Bridge Creek, Burnt Ranch, Fossil, Liberty, Mitchell, Lost Valley and Wagner.
     In Morrow County, which we lost as Umatilla in 1862 there was the old emigrant and stage stop Cecil.

Sherman County

     Sherman county was taken off Wasco in 1889 and had the following post offices:
     Badger, Biggs, Deschutes Bridge, Emigrant Springs, Erskineville, Fultonville; Grass Valley, Grover, Kent, McDonald's Ferry, Moro, Rufus, Rutledge and Wasco, called Spanish Hollow.

Hood River

     Hood River county was taken off Wasco in 1908 and at that time the following post offices were In Wasco county: Cascade Locks, Dee, Hood River, Menominee, Mt. Hood, Shell Rook, Stratesburg, Tucker, Viento and Wyeth. Below are listed 112 post offices in old Wasco County, outside the present boundary.

Name of Post Office               Established      Discontinued   Postmaster       County            Remarks

Auburn (6 W.Baker)    Nov. 1, 1882   Oct. 31, 1903  Baker

Alkali (Arlington) '      Nov. 7, 1881   Dec. 31, 1885  Gilliam-           Arlington now.

Baird (15 S.Arlington)' Too.- 8, 1884  Feb. 8, 1886    Gilliam

Blalock(10 ;:.Arlington) -Jan'. 'l1, 1881          Gilliam

Bridge creek   5uPy 2; 1888   Jan. 20, 1882   i1healer            Pack train stop 1882.

Burnt Ranch (Grade P.O.) June 28,1880         July 31, 1901 G.M. Wasson    Wheeler, Pack train stop 1882.

Biggs   July 12, 1888   Sherman

Badger            Dec. 19, 1882 Aug. 5, 1887 T.R. Badger       Sherman

Canyon City    April 23, 1864 Grant   Gold struck 1859

Cascade Locks            Dec. 4, 1878    Sam Hindman Hood River     Established 1843

First Name of Post Office      Established      Discontinued   Postmaster       County                        Remarks­

Camp Polk (Sisters).   March 18, 1875 July 28,1888-            'Sam Htndman -          Deschutes        Not Sisters; Ore.

Camp Watson Noir. 11,1897  Nov. 3,1886    Chas. West      Grant   On

Creek   May 19, 3.281 Fob,21,1883    Je?:arson          3:J-.Or:anIey   .

Clam-. .           -Not;21,1884   Mar.31,1937    Clem Doneman           Gil.laam           15        •n

Cross Keys (Treutcreek)          July 3,1878      Jul:r 31,1902   Jasper Friend Je°<.      Fuct •.•---o Occnyon

Crown Roe:~~.Hu-ntiey) .      Feb.     le76     Nov.-z8,lm      III- eear           Near

Cove '  May 4,1863.    June 29,1868   S.G. French     Un?cn  ievo     °.O.

Condon           July 10. 1884   -           Gi1Aiam         S..:•a.d 38 i0~s

Cecil    Oct.3,1867      Aug.17,1870   James Best      Morrow           S;:agc str.p.

Cayuse            Oct.29,1867    Umatilla S4•.1

ge :top.

Dee (On Lee cattle trail) Feb.17,1906 Hood River Cattle trail. 7.838.

DeMoss Springs (Badger)        Dec.19 1882    July 14,1923    ,T.R.;?adger    Sherman          stop 1843.

Deschutes Bridge (Moody). Mar.3,1860         Dec.6,1860      Wasco Emi rant Fore. 1843.

Deschutes Bridge (Miller) Feb.20,1888           Oct.14,1893    R.Burnall         Sherman          Forr. IP45-13`,0-17 yrs,

Dayville (On John Day)           Dec.8,1838      James Brackett            Grant   Pack Tram, stop 1859.

Draws Valley  NovAT,1873....Mar.1,1886-   M.P. Garrison  Lake    Early stage atop.

Eckles  Nov.20,1893   May 21,1894   A..Renkin. .     Wasco Location unknown:; .

Encampment (Meachem)         May 8,1882     Mar.26,1690    Umatilla Em2grp_a strop.

Emigrant Springs        Jan.20,1887     June 29,1889   Wm. Peddlcore           Sherman          Fees 31F10-w.

Emigrant Springs        July 29,1889    June 12,1895   Sherman'         Mao to K?.ondike.

Erskine-;ijla     Dec.19,1882    April 20.,1907 Abiel Erskine  Sherman

Express Ranch (Durkee)          April 21,1865 July 2,18.79-    Baker   Pack irein stop 1880.

Egan's Stage Station   Nov.25,1665   Nov,23,1887   Umatilla          Pa::L Train atop 1882.

Eldorado Mines          Sept.1,1669     Nov.29,1879   Maaieur,          MAnc; tuwn 1861.

Fort Dalles      Col.W.11. Loring-       Masco  ' Bui:.t 1849.

Fort Colville    Wash. State Bt:;-?.1: x855.

Fort Hall (,i75 Mi.E)    -           Idaho'  Estabtx7hed 1836.

Fort Halt.        Col.W.W. Loring        Idaho   '           U.S., c'c. ;, :1649.

Fort Larar'e(1167 Mi.E)          March 14,1850            Tr.Neb.1854    March 3,185!,  Nebraska, Vim, Fo:t 184:9.

Fort Br?dg,~r"773 Mi.E)        1854    Jim Bridger     Wyoming        :.Bo.S.,'-t 1.8-:3:.

Fort Boi >:( 197 MI.E)           -           Co1.Geo.Wr tgret .     Idaho "".          U:-S. Fort 1859.

Fort Walla Walla         Col.W.W, Lori.ng       Wash.Staiie U-_°., F,rt

Walls Walls. Mission   Marcvs Whitman         Wash,Sta+o Esiab.i sb*d ?.336.

Farewell Berld            March 19',1867 Nov.19,1867 Wm. Packwood          Malbour           'Eri'.?_raac k stage stop.

Fleets (FleetwIlle)        Nov.4,1831.    Apr.12,1888 George Fleet—  Gilliam

Francicville      Jan.4,18e3       Jan~28;1883 J. Jordan            Wheeler           5 F:. C1ci-no.

Fultonville       Jan.5, 1882      Sept.26,1886 Co1.James Fulton         Sherman          NW of Wurao

Fossil   Feb. 28•,1878' Wheeler           S^tiled 1Po0's.

Goose Lake     .. Dec.ll, 1871

Grass Valley    Mar.21,1892

Grant   Apr.9,1883 ' . May 21,1908

Grover Mar.20,1898' Sept.18,1890

Goldendale, Wash.      IS88

Lake'   Freight stop.

Sherman          Ewi ;re.-at Trail 1884.

Sherman          Wiis:xad ?any 1894. Sherman -          ME?: to Wasco. Wash.State Stake Stop.

Hardin May 23,1882   July 31,1890 S. Bixby Crook  Near Peulina.

Hood River     Sept.20,1d58   Nathan Benson           H.R.    Firs- .sac•.lement 1853.

Haycraak         Dec.13,1875    July 31,1920    Jeff.     3.s,da:a1 Shaep Co.

Huntley (Pine Creek)   Feb.28,?.°76    June 23,1876   Wheeler           Nsc.r Clarro

Howard           May 10,1077   May 15,1918   Crook

Independence (Mine town)     1880    Baker   Old Mine town.

John Day City Jan.20,1885     Abraham Hines           Grant   Established 1860.

Jordan Valley  Feb.13;1867    Harney            Established 1860.

Kent    Feb. 17,i037    M.H. Bennett  Sheriaan

Klamath          June 20,1°72   Apr.9,1873      A. Handy„,     Klamath

Klamath Falls (Linkville) Dec.17,1P71           Geo. Nurse      Kleriath

La Grande       May 28,1383   B.P. Patterson Union  Emigrant Stop 1850

Lost Valley     April 28, 1879 Dec.31,1926   F.H. Baldipg   Wheeler

Legality           Nov.24,1c84   July 19,1888 H:K. Knott.       Gilliam 20 MI.S. Arlington.

Langel Valley  Deo.11,1871 - Mar.15,1930    Klamath

Marysville (Conner Creek)       Baker   Mining town.

Moro   April 1,1884 `  . Sherman

Menominee (Nicolai)   Nov.13,1900   Mar.31,1909    ~~        Hood River.West Hood River.

Monkland        July 14,1886    'May 31,1919  Shaman Mail to Moro.

200

First Name of Post Office      Established      Discontinued   Postmaster       County                        Remarks

Moody (Deschutes Bridge) Dec.7,1911 '" Oct.1,1926           Ida Carlisle      .Asoo   Moved-to Sherman Go.

Mt. Hood (Tygh Valley)         May 27,1872.  Jan.11,1878:.   Wm.Hollandworth      Wasco In Tygh Valloy.

Mt. Hood (Hood River) - Ilay 25,1890          N.R.    Hood River Galley.

Meadocrrille (Stage Sta.)         Feb.2,1867      Oct.26,1874 :  - Hawkins Shelton      Umatilla Near Stanfield

Owyhee Ferry Mss 8,1887      Sept.16,1868 . Malheur Emigrant Caossing.

Oasis   May 5,1884     Nov.3,1888 "-.            Tom Alrhurst   Gilliam

Olex    , .         Oct.27,1874    _          James'Hutler    Gilliam

Pocahontas      Apl.4,1863      Jun*. 24,1872 = Tom McCurran         Union  Peek Train stop,l880.

Prineville (Prim)          Apr.3j187l       [dmt Heisler    Crook  Stage k Freight stop.

Paulina            'Mar.23,1882   Crook ''

Pendelton (Marshall)    Alr.21,1865-    Uma.   °1880 Pack Train stop.

Pilot Rock       Dec.2,1868      :.          -           Uma.   . 1850 Emigrant stop.

Pine Creek       -..June 23,1878            Dec.10,1877.- Wheeler Near Clarno. .

Rockville (Scott's Ferry) Nov>26;1878           Aug. 21,1889  A. Varney       Gilliam            On John Day rlver,185e.

Rutledge         June 6,1884     Mar.23,1908    Joeseph Rutledge Sherman

Rufus, Jan.8,1886       Sherman

Scott's Ferry (Rockville) Feb.9,1867   Nev.28,1878   David IG. Leonard Gilliam    Also Leonard's Ferry.

Silver Wells     Aug.6,1878     .4~ly:5,1881    Joe Brown       Crook

Shanga!51       1860    '           Baker   Mining town.

Shell Rock       Apr.14,1873 „ . Aug.11,1878 David Graham            H:R.    Moved to Coiling, 11n.

Spring Valley  Feb.28,1878    -Apr. 14, 1880 Henry H. Wheeler       Grant   Early Stage stop,1864.

Straightsburg   Oot.19,1888    Nov.18,1891   Henry Straight            H,R.

Spanish Hollow (Wasco)         Mait;2,1870     Mar.17,1882    -           Sherman

Silver Lake      Dedz9;1875    G.C. Duncan   Lake    Early Stage itop,1871.

Summer Lake  Dec.8,1875      .. .        Lake    Early Stage stop.

Sprague River.            NoVaZ,11873 Jan.31,1883     John Garland   Klam.  Near Biy

July 3,1878      Oct-2,1M        Mary A.THompsom ,  Wasco Location Unknown.

Jan.15,1892     June 2,1900     B: Tuckef•       H.R.    5 MI.SW Hood river.

Thompson . Tucker

Upper Ochoco .          April 3, 1871 Aug.2,1880 .- James H. Miller  Crook

Umatilla          Sept-22,1851 Jan.6,1852 . Francis Boyer ClaokamuOldest in Uma. Co.,_

Umatilla,         May 28, 1883  Umatilla Established 1851.

Viento

Jan.24,1896     May 31,19}9   Hood River

Walla Walla Mission   1836    . . , , Marcus Whitman Ore.: Territory

Wallula            1821    Ore. Territory.Hudson Bay Post..

Warm Springs Oet.30,1879    Jeff. . Established 1858

Wasco (Spanish Hollow)         March 17,1882            Wm. Barnett   Sherman-:

Willoughby     . May 20,1872 Aar.7,1879      Robert Warren            Jeff.     Near Grizzley.

Wyeth April 18,1903 Dec.15,1938    -           H.R.. ,..

Willows           Dec.17;1878    Oct.15,1942    J:W: Smith      Gilliam

White Wall      Dec.9,1875      Apr.28,1879    Lake    Near Paisley.

Yainax

Aug. 29, 1872 Nov.8,1907     Klamath 4 E Sprague River.

------------------------------------------­

HOOD RIVER

     Hood River county also has the following 4 post offices established since it was taken off Wasco in 1908. They were FIR established March 10, 1910 and discontinued June 15, 1915; Odell, established as Newton June 11, 1910 and changed to Odell March 11, 1911; Parkdale established March 24, 1910.

------------------------------------------­

SHERMAN COUNTY

     Since Sherman county was taken off Wasco in 1889 the following 9 post offices have been established: Biglow, Oct. 24, 1894, closed Feb. 12, 1902; Early Jan. 9, 1902, H.K. Potter, P.M., closed Aug. 30, 1919; Gorman, Aug. 25, 1892, closed Oct. 5, 1900; Grebe Feb. 24, 1916, Henry Grebe, P.M., changed to Thornbury Oct. 9. 1920 with H.T. Thornbury, P.M., closed Nov. 29, 1923; Klondike Jan. 11, 1899, A.B. Potter P.M., closed Nov. 30, 1951; McDonald's Ferry Mar. 15, 1904, W.G. McDonald, P.M., closed Oct. 14, 1922 -- was Scotts Ferry on John Day; Miller, first known as Deschutes Bridge 1880-1888-1893, then as Moody Dec. 7, 1911 to Oct.1,1926 with Ida Carlisle, P.M., then changed to Miller Oct. 1, 1926. Mrs. Carlisle retired as postmaster in 1950.
     Miller is the oldest post office in Sherman county. What was the 1880 postmasters name? In 1888?
     For a time, when Miller was called Moody (1911 to 1917) it was on the Wasco County side of the Deschutes river. On April 3, 1917 it was moved to the Sherman county side and changed to Miller Oct. l, 1926.

WEST WASCO COUNTY POST OFFICES

THE DALLES

     The Dalles Mission was established in 1838. The first emigrants arrived in 1843 -- Dr. Marcus Whitman. Fort Dalles was established in 1849 by Col. W.W. Loring; Fort Dalles was abandoned in 1886. The Dalles was the end of the Old Oregon Train between 1842 and 1920.
     The Dalles post office was opened Nov. 5, 1851 with Wm. Gibson, postmaster; closed as The Dalles Sept. 3, 1853, Wascopam post office was opened Sept. 3, 1853 with Milo Cushing, P.M.; closed as Wascopam March 22, 1860.
     The Dalles post office was opened for the 2nd time as The Dalles March 22, 1860 with W.C. Waldron, P.M. Dalles City was incorporated June 22, 1857 by James K. Kelley, attorney and later first Dalles Mayor. For other history of The Dalles see pages 1 to 191. Is oldest town between Cascades and Rockies.

---------------------------­

CRATES POINT

     Crate's Point, opposite The Dalles Country Club and at the mouth of Chenowith creek, was first known by emigrants as the embarkation point for their journey down the Columbia on rafts, between their first arrival at The Dalles in 1843 and the establishment of the first steamboat service between here and the Cascades in 1848; and to a limited extent even later than 1850. The mouth of Chenowith creek was a protected harbor for rafts, bateaux, dugouts, canoes and small barges. Quite a camp of Indians always made their home in that vicinity for that reason and the additional reason that there always was an abundance of fresh water mussels and fish as well as roots, grasses, very important food items for the Indians and for Mr. Crate as well as hungry emigrants. One of the finest single collections of Indian relics, bowls, arrows, scrapers, lances etc. on display at the Maryhill Museum of Fine Arts was collected by the Walter Klint family on this place at the mouth of Chenowith, ample testimony to its importance.
     There were lots of pine trees in that vicinity which were cut for rafts and hauled by the emigrants to Chenowith harbor and lashed together in sizes big enough for 6 wagons! The slopes of the banks of the creek made it easy to roll the wagons on to the rafts, remove the wheels and tie them down. The small sail barges, which hauled 4 to 6 wagons, also used the harbor. The Hudson Bay Co. bateaux type of flatboat, which could haul up to 6 tons and carry a dozen passengers or oarsmen, used the protected harbor to haul freight for those desiring to abandon wagons here and go on down the river, with what possessions the bateaux could handle or carry. Women and children were rowed down the river in canoes or the larger log dugout canoes which would accommodate a dozen people and handled by the Indians who were their master draftsmen. The passengers got out at the Cascades; walked the 8 miles down past the lower rapids where they entered the Canoes again to go on down to Milwaukee or Oregon City. The Indians "lowered" or floated their canoes down on ropes and pulled them back up the rapids the same way.
     When one sees and understands this Crate Point emigrant picture, the tremendous amount of work to make rafts, the danger of floating them down the river in bad weather and at the Cascades; the rainy fall weather; the choppy river waters on windy days; the waiting for small boats to return; sickness, hunger, one can see why Joel Palmer and Samuel K. Barlow would rather face the timber, and bog holes of the mountains, than the Columbia river! Even after the Barlow road was opened early winter snows often closed it before October emigrants could get over the Cascades and they too had to report to the scows and rafts or abandon their wagons for bateaux and canoes. The cattle and horses were driven over the Dee (Lost Lake) Cattle trail by the men and boys. Some families even lashed their belongings to the backs of their horses and walked over the Lost Lake trail to Oregon City! -- women, children, babies, in rain, snow; sleet, ice and all! Crates Point was NOT a post office but it was an important place.

Edward Crate

     Edward Crate was born in Canada (1821) and came west for the Hudson Bay Co. as a trapper and boatman in 1836. His run was from Vancouver to Nelson and Revelstroke on the Canadian Columbia 1000 miles from Vancouver and return with furs for shipment at Vancouver. He knew every inch of the navigable part of the Columbia river. Some of his stations on that trip, to which he took supplies and returned with furs were The Dalles, Wallula, Chelan, Fort Okanogan, Kettle Falls, Fort Nelson, Revelstoke. The bateaux required 6 boatsmen or more, it could haul 6 tons and had masthead for sail and was steered by one oar in the rear used as a rudder. The trip north was made in the spring and the return trip in the fall.
     During the June high water of 1842 he claimed he landed his bateaux near a pine tree where the Methodist church is now located, indicating about a 70 foot crest! He was always belittled and ridiculed for having made that statement until the 59 foot flood of 1894, when those who had spoken in ridicule against him came around and apologized in most humble terms.
     In 1847 he helped Peter Skeen Ogden rescue the survivors of the Whitman Massacre at Walla Walla and brought them down the Columbia in his bateaux. He served in the Cayuse Indian War of 1848 with Capt. Thomas McKays Mounted Riflemen in the Walla Walla campaign. He filed on his Donation Land Claim at Crates Point April 1, 1851 being granted 840 acres. He married Sophia Boucher (1844) and they had 14 children, among them John and Joe, for years Dalles City policemen. His log Cabin stood on his claim from 1851 until it burned in 1948. His apple orchard still bears fruit after 100 years! He died at his Crates Point home in 1894 after 43 years of continuous residence, being the oldest settler in the county at that time! He and his boys carried mail from The Dalles to Walla Walla, in a hack, the fall and winter of 1851 when that service was first established and until Umatilla was founded in the fall of 1851 for receiving and dispatching mails. The Dalles and Umatilla, Walla Walla, Wallula, Fort Hall and Fort Bridger were all in Clackamas County.

Edward Crate

     Edward Crate, according to his son John Crate in a Chronicle story of June 1921, served as a "post rider" for the Hudson Bay Co., it being his duty to carry messages (first mail carrier) from Vancouver to their interior Columbia river trading posts. The trips were made in bateaux, a flat bottomed boat with 5 rowers on each side and large enough to carry several passengers and quite (6 ton) a load of freight. Mrs. Crate, with their children, accompanied him on many of his post to post trips. In 1847 he went to Wallula at the outbreak of the Cayuse Indian War and were camped near the fort when a band of Indians descended upon them. It was the custom of the Indians to leave their horses standing in a line. Mrs. Crate evaded the Indians, with 3 small children (Ed., Nancy and Jane) by crawling under the bellies of that long line of Indian cayuses, to gain access to the fort!
     The Whitman massacre took place at the mission, 25 miles distant, which resulted in the death of Dr. Marcus Whitman and 12 others. The Indians had planned on killing Henry Spalding, near Pendleton where he was teaching the Umatilla Indians; but he escaped with his wife under the protection of the Hudson Bay Co. and they joined the Whitman survivors and brought in boats to Vancouver by Edward Crate. The Indians were a constant menace as they made their trip down the river, many times being shot at by arrows caus­ing the occupants of the boats to lie in the bottom much of the time.
     Edward Crate joined a band of volunteers who went to Walla Walla to punish the Indians for the Whitman massacre. While in the mountains with 65 men, they were surrounded by the Indians for 2 days and nights. The Indians used bows and arrows. The volunteers used muskets and 1 small cannon which shot small pieces of iron. The guns saved the men and after 48 hours the Indians retreated.
      In 1849 Mr. Crate severed connections with the Hudson Bay Co. and came to The Dalles to make a Donation Land Claim, which gave each man and his wife 320 acres. He had his choice of all the land here end was the first permanent white settled On account of the natural river landing (harbor) at the mouth of Chenowith creek he chose that land on the south (west) bank. Of his first landing in this vicinity he said he landed a bateaux, by a pine tree which stood near the present site of the Methodist church at 5th and Washington (1842). Later pioneers  thought his version of the height of the river was an exaggeration, but the 1894 high water established the plausibility of his story of that first landing.
     A log house was built upon his land at Crates Point but on account of Indian trouble the family went to Oregon City for the winter (1849) and John Crate was born there April 28, 1850, in Dr. McLaughlin's flour mill on an island in the Willamette river. When John was 3 weeks old the family returned to The Dalles where he (John) has lived 71 years (1921) longer than any other resident of Wasco county! His earliest recollection was the excitement prevailing when George Snipes killed an Indian at Rowena in 1854. Ill feeling existed between the Warm Springs and Klickitat Indians and at that time a large Warm Springs Indian village extended on both sides of Chenowith creek while an equally large encampment of Klickatats formed on the north bank of the Columbia river at Granddalles (Dallesport). The Klickitats had stolen several of the Warm Springs papooses and when the opportunity offered they destroyed the property of white people. A family named Oliver had taken a Donation Land Claim on the north side of the Columbia opposite Crates Point. One evening the settlers on this side were startled to see the Oliver house on fire. In the bright firelight the Indian could be seen riding their horses around the burning building! Having become afraid of the Indians the Olivers had crossed to the Oregon side previously.

George Snipes First Resident at Rowena

     At Rowena the George Snipes resident was attacked by Indians about this same time, one moonlight night. He and Martha loaded their muzzle-loaders with buckshot and killed one Indian and wounded another. The Indians took their dead and wounded and retired (see pages 87, 88 & 89). George and Martha Snipes and Josiah and Elizabeth Marsh came to The Dalles garrison for protection, but after a short time returned to their homes. The Edward Crate family remained at their Chenowith creek home. The Warm Springs Indians were always friendly to white settlers. Nathan Olney had a store on Chenowith creek, then known as Olney creek (near highway 30 crossing). He sold supplies to the Indians, emigrants, soldiers and early settlers in 1849. After he left that vicinity the creek was called Chenowith for Justin Chenowith an early settler on the east bank of the creek where the Klints now live. He had plans for a town there at one time.
     Edward Crate bought oxen from the emigrants but the winter of 1851-2 was so severe that when spring came he only had one yoke of work oxen left. Ten years later he bought more stock but the winter of 1861-2 lasted until April, with deep snows and 24 below, and that time he lost all his stock! They raised grain and vegetables on the land. My father paid $1. for 12 corn seed in 1859! The next year he was careful to save seed. The discovery of gold on the Powder river near Baker brought people from all parts of the east and California to The Dalles where they packed to the mines. The miners returned to The Dalles for the winter. They, together with the teamsters, packers, soldiers, gamblers, cattlemen, rivermen and merchants made up the varied population of The Dalles in 1860-62. The cattle in those days fed on the bunch grass which grew all over the hills of eastern Oregon and eastern Washington. Sheep, cattle and horses made up the herds. Edward Crate died in 1894 being 45 years a resident of Crates Point!
     In 1872 John Crate drove cattle for Ben Snipes in the Yakima area. Ben Snipes was a brother of George. He was the biggest stockman and Cattle King of the state of Washington at that times (He was also a druggist and business man of The Dalles). In 1875 I (John Crate) worked for the Michalbach Meat Market (120 E 2nd). In 1881 I went into the cattle buying business. In 1892 I became a member of The Dalles police force and I served in that capacity for 20 years! In 1905 I was shot by Frank Summers, in the White House saloon, while making an arrest. The shot passed through the lung, just above the heart, going through the body! The bullet dropped from the clothing when it was removed! The wound healed but it causes some discomfort ever since. I have been an active member of The Dalles fire department since 1875. The fires of 1878 and 1891 were our most serious fires."
     Henry Klint, 1862 emigrant from Iowa to The Dalles where he was for 6 years a contractor, in 1868 moved to his Crates Point farm and vegetable gardens where the family spent their entire life. The place is now operated by his son Walter Klint. It has been in the family 84 years!

ROWENA

     Rowena is a railroad station on the Union Pacific and highway 30 about 9 miles west of The Dalles. It was named for H.S. Rove, who, according to Fred W. Wilson, was superintendent of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. at the time Henry Vallard built the railroad into The Dalles in 1882; and when the railroad construction reached Rowena they had to have a name for the depot and siding. Someone suggested naming it Rowe, after H.S. Rowe, but Mr. Rowe objected that it was too plain a name. Another bright soul with the railroad thought of putting the 'na' onto Mr. Rowe's name, making it Rowena. That name was acceptable to Mr. Rowe and it was set down in railroad records, and later in postal records as Rowena.
     The first record of any activity of white people at Rowena is noted in the writings of the missionaries where, "in 1840 Daniel Lee of the Methodist Mission at The Dalles conducted revival services at Rowena for the Indians; taking with him 12 Indians from the Wasco tribe at The Dalles." This would indicate that Rowena was an important camp grounds of the Indians at that period and without doubt he held other services for them at Rowena.

George and Martha Snipes - First Settlers

     In the George Snipes Love Story (pages 87, 88 & 89 of this history) as related to his son James at The Dalles on May 17, 1918, regarding his residence at Rowena he said, "In 1854 we went to Rowena to live. I started a fruit orchard on my Donation claim at Rowena, known yet as the old Snipes place. We sent to Lwelling's Nursery at Milwaukee for the trees and planted the same year apples, pears, cherries and peaches from the pits. Three of these pear trees are living now, one is a Bartlett, the trees is small, the others are larger. There is one Astrachan apple tree, three Golden Sweets, one Yellow Newtown Pippin, and one is a big red apple, the name I do not know. They bear every year. The Golden Sweet is a fine apple and compares favorably with fruit from modern orchards; it bears well, the orchard has good crops and is 62 years old (1918). These are what is left of the first fruit trees planted in all of eastern Oregon. In 1862 we came back to The Dalles from Rowena and have lived here ever since."
     In another one of the 7 different George Snipes Love stories that have been written he added, "In 1855 the snow was 5 feet deep at Rowena. In 1859 I planted my orchard at Rowena." In the version recorded by Lulu D. Crandall, he said, "One moonlight night, in 1858 at Rowena our dog came whining and scratching at the cabin door. I looked down at it in the darkness to discover it had arrows in its body. I told Martha to get up and load the guns with buckshot that Indians were outside the cabin and had shot the dog. While she was loading the guns I scratched the caulking from between the logs and in the moon­1ght I could see 5 or 8 Indians. I blazed away and noticed one of them fall. I could hear arrows strike the side of the cabin! I fired the second gun and another Indian fell. Apparently they considered this enough and retreated with their dead and wounded. The next day we left for the security of the garrison at The Dalles remaining there until the next spring."
     In John Crate's account of Crates Point (page 202) he verified this incident by saying, "At Rowena George Snipes was attacked by Indians, one moonlight night. He and Martha Snipes loaded their muzzleloaders with buckshot and killed one Indian and wounded another. The Indians took their dead and wounded and retired. George and Martha Snipes and Josiah and Elizabeth Marsh came to The Dalles garrison for protection, but after a short time returned to their homes."
     The George Snipes home at Rowena, according to Wean Tindall, is now known as the Richard Campbell place, a large 2-story white house, the addition to the original home being made in 1905. In looking up the original ownership of all land at Rowena, in connection with flood rights under the Bonneville Dam, Wess Tindall claims the records on file do not show ownership at any time by George Snipes. However his father Elam Snipes, who came west with the rest of the Snipes children in 1863, is shown to be the original owner of the Snipes property at Rowena. This would indicate that George Snipes turned over his place at Rowena to his father Elam who was the next oldest resident living on the Snipes place, both at Rowena and in Hog Canyon, up to about 1900. Elam's son Edgar Snipes was drowned swimming cattle across the Columbia river at Rowena in 1887 when he became entangled in his lariat rope and was drug under the water by the beating hoofs of the cattle that had also became entangled in the rope.

Rowena Post Office

     The Rowena post office, according to the postal records (page 197) was established July 7, 1911 with Frank Bourhill, postmaster and closed Nov. 15, 1916. According to Fred Tooley, dairyman of that area, George and Frank Bourhill were from Scotland settling in the Rowena area about 1910 and left for the Sherman county wheat country after they left Rowena. For the next 8 years, according to Wess Tindall, who operated the Rowena Auto Court, the people of Rowena came to The Dalles for their mail.
     Then in 1924 the Mosier Rural Route was extended from the Josiah Marsh Gravel Pit, on the Marsh Flat, to Rowena and return. This service continued until 1939 when Mosier Route 1 was consolidated as an economy measure, by the post office department, with Route 4, The Dalles; service being extended down highway 30 to Rowena and Mosier and back to The Dalles over the old State road over 7 Mile Mountain.

Business Establishments

     The Rowena store, established by Frank Bourhill in 1911 is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Deitrick. Mrs. Deitrick was formerly Mrs. Lou Riggs and they operated the store and service station since 1925.
     J. Wess Tindall established the Tindall Auto Court which they sold to Artie Black. It is the 1952 Inn of modern day history of the west, taking the place of the old Horse and Buggy Inns of 40 years ago.
     George Hathaway operates a small store and restaurant where the weary motorist can get a snack to eat.
     Rowena has a good grade school with Martha Black, teacher. It transports upper grades to The Dalles.
     Rowena has good electric light service, at high prices, being just beyond PUD service on Chenowith creek, giving the P.P. & L. the privilege to keep the old high rates in existence. Telephone service to Rowena is very poor and needs to be improved upon by a direct connection to The Dalles instead of Mosier.
     The new Commercial Highway will run between the railroad and the present highway, cutting up and ruining all the little farms at Rowena. Rowena's most outstanding man was Howard Robinson, one of the 4-Horsemen of Public Power in Wasco county (see page 75 for Biography).

MOSIER

     The incorporated city of Mosier, population about 400, is located on the Union Pacific railroad and highway 30 about 17 miles west of The Dalles. This distance figure will be reduced by the completion of the new $25,000,000 Commercial highway between The Dalles and Portland, to about 15 miles.

Jonas H. Mosier

     Florence Stager in an article in the 1948 Historical Edition of the Chronicle said, "Jonah H. Mosier (Mozer) was born March 10, 1821 in Penn. (the History of Central Oregon says Maryland) March 10, 1821. He married (1846) Jane Rollins at Paradise, Miss." The History of Central Oregon says he went to California gold fields in 1849, returning to Mo. for his family and coming west by ox-team to The Dalles in 1853 where he became the first building contractor of The Dalles, then a tent city. He erected a hotel for Milo M. Cushing, a store for Biglow and nearly all the other stores and buildings in down-town The Dalles in 1853-1854. In fact he built so many buildings in The Dalles that he exhausted the supply of lumber. He looked around for a likely supply accessible to the Columbia river, where he might establish a saw­mill and transport his lumber to The Dalles by barge (then called scows) where it was so badly needed.
     In 1854 he chose the mouth of Mosier creek for his sawmill site and filed on a Donation Land Claim of 640 acres, now comprising the townsite of Mosier, fenced it with a worm fence of split rails to keep his stock, used for logging, where they could be rounded up. His first sawmill and home were burned down before he hardly got started. Fire was just another problem to be met and overcome, so he rebuilt his mill and home only to have them burn down a second time! Such a double tragedy would have disheartened a weaker man and cause  him to give up and move away. To top the disasters of fire Mosier's mill was washed away in a flood in 1858! Three times was enough so he gave up the mill business and expanded his cattle and real estate holdings. He was a blacksmith, carpenter, miner, farmer, merchant and one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county. His mill at Mosier was operated by waterpower.
     In 1865 he lost his ever faithful and devoted wife leaving him with 7 children, another tragedy much worse than fire and flood! The next year he met and married a widow with 3 children and to their union two more children were born making an even dozen.
     The History of Central Oregon says the Mosier family originally came "from Germany to Maryland where Jonas was born in 1821, then moved to Penn. and later to Ohio and in 1839 to Missouri where Jonas was apprenticed as a cabinet maker, and carpenter which he followed. He was also a general store clerk becoming proprietor of a store in Missouri, which indicates he was well educated for his times. In 1849 he formed a general partnership, with 7 or 8 other young fellows and went to the gold fields of Calif. They had a very hard trip and had to cut hay and sell it to pay for his return trip by boat after 18 months. He equipped himself for his second trip west by ox-team, this time in 1853 with his family to The Dalles where he arrived with 3 head of oxen, out of the original 6, an old cow, a worn out wagon and $1.75 in his pocket!
     The Dalles was then a military post, the only store being kept by William Gibson, the postmaster, in Nathan Olney's old log cabin on the bank of Mill creek at First and Union, with hewed logs for a counter and an adjoining tent in which he lived besides the stores for W.D. Biglow and Milo Cushing he built the dwellings for Col. N.H. Gates and Judge W.C. Laughlin and helped lay out the town of The Dalles.
     At Mosier he was in partnership with Thomas Davis in the mill business because it was more than a one man job to operate a sawmill. He had his troubles with the Indian's at Mosier and many times he had to enter their gatherings with a club in his hands and thrash the whole group of them single-handed, to make them behave and quit stealing his cattle and possessions. He never used a gun on an Indian. He treated the good Indians with fairness and justice and thrashed the bad ones until they became better or left him alone. All the Mosier Indians learned to respect him. He lived among them during the Yakima Indian War of 1856 while everyone else run to Fort Dalles for protection. Mr. Naoh Mull became his second mill partner. He sold his lumber for $30 per 1000 bd. feet and never could supply the demand!

Mosier Inn

     With his profits from lumber sales he replaced his log cabins with a sawed lumber home which became the Mosier Inn where travelers could purchase a meal and bed for the night and put up his horses or make repairs in his blacksmith shop or shoe "the horses there. Pierce Mays once told the story that he stayed at the Mosier Inn and after the evening meal he was looking around for something to read and noted that Mosier had a large collection of books in a fancy bookcase. Being a well read attorney, he opened the case and started to pull out a book only to discover, to his amazement, that they were all WOODEN books! Mays didn't say whether they were made at the Mosier sawmill or not, nor why Mosier kept such a collection? It might have been just to fool lawyers and travelers. Mosier was a well educated man, a lawmaker and legislative representative from Wasco county. He didn't get his education out of Wooden books either. Mays was quite a story teller and this might have been one of his Paul Bunyan stories about Mosier.
     In 1865 he took a herd of cattle to the Kootenai mines and made a fortune, but lost his wife that same year. In 1866 he married the widow Lewis, while down in the valley buying cattle for the miners. In 1867-68 he drove cattle to the Montana mines for good sales. He died in 1894 leaving an estate of 1000 acres. His children were Jefferson Mosier, born at Mosier in 1860 and who received private educa­tional instructions from George Ryan who was hired for 12 years to teach the Mosier children the 3-R's. Jefferson was a farmer, banker and real estate man of Mosier; Alice (Mrs. S. Faucette); Mary (Mrs. S. Adams); Lydia; Benjamin; Emily (Mrs. A. Mansfield); Josephene Willoughby. Neither Jefferson nor Benjamin Mosier had any children. Ryan commenced his school work in 1864 and his school term was 12 full mouths, 6 days a week, and only the 4th of July and Christmas off as holidays! The first public school was in a log cabin out on what is now the east edge of Mosier on the old State Road in 1875 with a 3 months term. The second public school was in another log cabin about 12 miles east of Mosier. Miss Cordelia Therman was the first teacher at the first school while Rev. Garrison of Hood River was the 2nd teacher.

Josiah Marsh

     Josiah Marsh and his wife Elizabeth (Bell) Marsh came by ox-team to The Dalles in 1854, filing on their Donation Land Claim at what we now call the Marsh Gravel pit ranch that same year. The Marsh family had more trouble with the Indians than Mosier, and sought the safety of the woods many nights. Their only son Abel Mars, born in Iowa (1849) came west with his parents to Marsh Flat in 1954. His first marriage was to Sallie Lyle of Lyle, Wn. and his second marriage to Mary Doyle, daughter of Michael Doyle of upper Chenowith creek district, who came to Oregon via Isthmus of Panama in l874; Mrs. Doyle's brothers were Ralph and Charles and sisters Edna and Ina. The children of Abel Marsh were Effie (Mrs. Mike Thornton) of the Chenowith creek area; and (Mrs. E.C. Fitzgerald) of The Dalles; Wm. and Harold Marsh. -- History of Central Oregon.

William C. McClure

     Wm. C. and Amelia (Sullivan) McClure came to The Dalles with the "big emigration" of 1852, their son Thomas J. McClure being 6 years old (1852) when he accompanied his parents, 3 wagons and 12 oxen on their trip to Oregon. They went on to the Willamette valley arriving there with one ox and one old cow they had traded for. Wm. C. McClure was from Tennessee and his father was an 1812 War veteran and died at Mosier in 1878 being the only known 1812 War veteran buried at Mosier. The McClure family settled on their Mosier farm in 1866 where Wm. C. McClure died on his homestead in 1895, his widow following in death the next year. Thomas J. McClure received his early education in Yamhill county where the family lived till 1884 when they came to The Dalles, living on 3 Mile creek until they went to Mosier in 1866. Wm. T. McClure was another son of Wm. C. A daughter  Amanda (Mrs. Andrew Marsh) and son Wm. Marsh live on the McClure place (1905). -- History Central Oregon.

Amos Root

     Amos Root was born in Ohio son of John and Sarah (Hurst) Root and received his early education in Ohio. He went to Iowa and then to Colorado where he worked in the mines. He came west by rail to the Willamette valley (1875) where he ranched but Indians drove him out and he came to Mosier in 1878 where he purchased a ranch and is credited with planting the first fruit orchard in the Mosier valley of pears, cherries, peaches and prunes. He married Hannah Holderman of Indiana and their children were Elmer of Ortley, Leo; Leslie, Clyde, Alice (Mrs. Wallace Husband), Zella (Mrs. Jones), Nora and Edna all of Mosier.

Leander Evans

     Leander Evans fruit rancher of the Mosier valley who in 1905 shipped 1000 boxes every year was born in Bloomington, Ill. (1849) son Samuel and Evelyn (King) Evans. Mr. Evans married (1875) Mary Swasey of Mo. and their children were Fredrick and George. They came to Mosier in 1887. -- History Central Oregon.

Alexander Stewart

     Merchant of Mosier and postmaster at the turn of the century was born in Wisconsin (1856) son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Clark) Stewart of Penn., was educated in the schools of Illinois and Iowa, taught school and clerked, then went to the mines of California for 7 years; then railroaded in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Arkansas and Wyoming as roadmaster and section foreman. He came to Oregon in 1893 and became Union Pacific section foreman at Mosier for 3 years then purchased a store from R.A. Powers. He married (1898)Rachel Roland of Portland. -- History Central Oregon.

John & James Lewis

     James Lewis, farmer of Mosier was born, at Harrisburg, Ore. (1857) son of John Lewis who came to Oregon in 1847 and filed on a Donation Land Claim in the Goose. Hollow residential section of Portland and later operated a pack train from Portland to Yreka, Calif. and from The Dalles to the Salmon River mines in Idaho as well as many other mining points before there was any roads to operate wagons over.
     In 1852 his outfit was ambushed by Indians and two of his men killed and the elder Lewis had to flee for his life. He helped build the Cow Canyon Military road for army under Gen. Joe Hooker before it became a toll road for stages and freight wagons! – for which he received  $3500. In 1864 John Lewis went into the stock raising business and steamboat business in the Willamette Valley. His wife was Martha Howard daughter of James Howard 1844 covered wagon pioneers of Oregon and was gunsmith for Dr. Marcus Whitman at Walla Walla (1844). After John Lewis died his widow married JONAS H. MOSIER (1885) and she died in The Dalles in 1903 after a 9 year illness.

     James Lewis lived at Mosier with his half-sister Dollie Mosier; Jefferson Mosier was a half-brother; and he had sisters, Ida Cook and Emma Taylor. He later owned 1300 acres in Klickitat county. Dollie Mosier received her education at the Sisters school in The Dalles and taught school at Bakeoven and other places. -- History of Central Oregon.

James Miler

     The James Miler family came to the Mosier area as one of its early families of 1867. In 1876 their daughter Esther Miler married George Renoe of Ortley; she died at Mosier in 1897.
     Some of the other old timers were the John Mardens; the Bradshaws; Laken Lamb (1877); the Bills; the Phillips; the Dunsmores; Joe Strandby; the Marshalls.

Jamima Pennywasher

     During the Indian scares some of the early residents of the Mosier area took to the Columbia river in boats, but according to Charlie Renoe of Hardman who was raised in Mosier valley, it was the Indian squaw Jamima Pennywasher who forewarned the Mosier family of an impending massacre, during the Yakima Indian war, and for that act of kindness she was banished by the Indians from the Mosier tribes! She appealed to Jones Mosier for help and he built her a cabin at Mosier in which she lived for many years and worked for the Mosier family and others. Mr. Renoe added that Mosier had no suitable place for a wharf or boat landing for mail, freight or river passenger service. The only place a boat could land was below the Josiah Marsh Gravel pit, about 4 miles up river from Mosier; and for that reason most of the people came to The Dalles for mail, freight or supplies until the railroad was built into Mosier in 1882.

Post Office

     The official post office department records show the Mosier postoffice was established Dec. 31, 1884 with John J. Lynch the railroad agent and store operator as first postmaster and he served until 1892, according to Willis Gholston, 1952 postmaster who did considerable research work for this history per­taining to the history of the Mosier post office. Previous to the coming of the railroad Mosier received no mail service. That first post office and store was in a small building, just south of the railroad tracks and depot. In 1891 the post office was moved into the depot.
     In 1892 Jonas H. Mosier became the postmaster and he moved the office into an addition to his home, which still stands and is used for an apartment house; and he served until 1894 when his wife Martha became postmaster, holding the position until May 22, 1899. On this latter date Alexander Stewart be­came Mosier's next postmaster (May 23, 1899 )with the office in his general store until March 31, 1903 at which date his wife Rachel became postmaster. She served until October 31, 1910.
     Lenora Hunter became Mosier postmaster November 1, 1910 and she served until her retirement March 31, 1948. The office was moved to its present location in the old bank building upon the appointment of Willis L. Golston April 1, 1848. Mr. Golston served until Oct. 4, 1950 when he was activated in the Naval Reserves, his brother Glenn serving from October 5, 1950 until March 31, 1951; Willis resuming his duties April 1, 1951.

R.F.D. Service

     Route 1, Mosier was established August 1, 1924 with Leslie Root laying out and carrying the route until December 31, 1924. It was a standard 24 mile route up Mosier Valley, to Rowena and return over highway 30 from the Josiah Marsh Gravel Pit, and back to Mosier over highway 30. William Sendlinger carried the route from January 1, 1925 until 1938 when R.1, Mosier was consolidated by the post office department, as an economy measure, with R.4, The Dalles. The Mosier territory was then served out of BOTH The Dalles and the Mosier post offices (see R.4, The Dalles) with Blake Gallaher the carrier until his retirement Oct. 31, 1951. Harold Ryan then transferred from R.2, The Dalles to R.4, effective Jan. 1, 1952, becoming the new Mosier carrier. In 1933 Wm. Sendlinger was transferred by the Department to the newly consolidated Dufur routes where he served until his death Jan. 2, 1945. The Mosier route follows out the west side of Mosier creek to the forks; up the switchback and back to Mosier on the east side of the creek. It then follows east over the old State Road to Ortley and The Dalles. The route follows highway 30 from The Dalles through. Rowena to Mosier.

Incorporated City

     Mosier became a platted town in 1891 but the plat was not filed in county records until December 29, 1909 by Jefferson N. and Mary Mosier. It became an incorporated city in 1914. Its first church was built in 1904. In 1905 it had 2 stores, a box factory, a blacksmith shop, an Inn, school and Beacon Lodge No. 182 IOOF was established. In 1907 a hotel was opened by John Willburg. The Mosier Bulletin was established March 10, 1909 by H.G. Kibby. He sold to Rodger Moe of Hood River. It suspended publi­cation when Moe went to war in 1917. The big Mosier fire of Nov. 26, 1919 wiped out the business district of Mosier and it was never reestablished in its old location.

Mosier in 1910

     The Polk Directory of 1910 said Mosier had a population of 500, a good city school and 8 country schools; a Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Adventist and Christian churches; the Mosier Valley Bank, a newspaper, a hotel, 2 sawmills, 2 planing mills, a box factory, several stores, a barber shop, a blacksmith shop, a butcher shop, a bakery, boarding house and livery stable. The following persons or families got mail at Mosier:
     Wm. Akers, Floyd Allington U.P. Agent, Percival Arthur & E.H. Burt Drug Store, A.P. Batman, Chas. Bennett, Bertha Booth, Henry Bothfur, C.C. Brooks, John Brown, John Burggaf & Wm. Vogt real estate, Ed Burt, John Burtchett, C.J. Carlson, G.L. Carrol, John Carrol, Rev. R.H. Chaffee, Geo. Chamberlain, R.D. Chatfield, W.E. Chown, Rev. H. Campbell Clark, Elvira Cobb, James Cole, barber, Dave Copple, cafe, M.H. Croft, E.W. Davidhizer, W.A. Davis, Clarence Dunsmore, David Duvall, Grace Duvall, Ralph Duvall, Roy Duvall, J.M. Elliott; Fred Evens, George Evans, Ira Evans, John Evans, Lee Evans, Sam Fisher, Emil Fraederick, S.E, Francisco pool hall, Frank Ginger; Amy Gove, Gordie Graham, G.W. Grose, A. Grosser, Geo. Haacke, mgr. Mosier Lumber, Chris Hags, Otto Hage, D.H. Hail, broker, D.P. Harvey, meats, J.H. Heilbronner, A.J. Henke & James Cole barbers, Jim Higley, Leo Higley, Paul Higley, Hotel Pines, John Wellberg, prop., Ed Howe, D.W. Hudson, Mattis Hudson, Nora Hunter, Wallace Husbands, blacksmith, W.E. Huskey, deputy sheriff, Henry Huxley, Ruth Ireland, G.W. Johnson, Nicholas Johnson, dentist, Horace Kibbe, Mosier Bulletin, Tom Lelliott.

Mark Mayor, C.A. McCargar, Tom McClure, Chas McCrum, John McGregor, Anna McLain, telegraph operator, Wm. Marsh, carpenter, E.J. Middleswart, Modern Woodmen, G.P. Morden, Mosier Bulletin, Mosier Commercial Club, Mosier Fruit Growers Assn. Amos Root, Pres., Mosier Valley Bank, capital $10,000, J.N. Mosier, Pres., Alex Stewart, Vice-Pres., Robert Ross, Cashier., Mosier Lumber Co. Geo. Haacke, Mgr., Mosier Valley Telephone Co. C.T. Bennett, Pres., C.G. Nichol & Co. merchandise, Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co., F.A. Allington, agent, George Parish, railroad section foreman, J.H. Reeves, David Robinson, physician, Amos Root, Clyde Root, Leslie Root, Robert Ross, Royal Neighbors, Mrs. Edna Adamsn Sec., Sadie Schlegel, waiter, hotel Pines, Violet Schlegel, cook, hotel Pines, Earnest Schobse, dentist, Geo. Sellinger, Wm. Stevenson, mason, Alex Stewart, merchandise, Rachel Stewart, postmaster, Boyd Sturgess, James Sturgess, C.R. Templeton, Wm. Vogt, H.E. Waite, L.A. Ware, John Wellberg, prop. Hotel Pines Mrs. Myra Wellberg, George Wood, painter, George Wright, carpenter, Wm. Wright, Vincent Young.
     Mosier was on the Jason Lee Cattle Trail of 1838 via Lost Lake, Bull Run and Milwaukee. In 1883 Joel Palmer made the first passable road for wagons through Mosier to Hood River, with aid of emigrants. In 1887 it was improved by Wasco County Court after it was acquired by the State of Oregon as a public road free of tolls. Highway 30 was extended through Mosier in 1921 from Portland to The Dalles. In 1952 highway 30, through Mosier is being converted into a fast Express Highway for Commercial Trucks & Busses. Mosier has good electric power service but at high rates.

ORTLEY

     The little town of Ortley, that was so prominent in our history 40 years ago, was located about 9 miles west of The Dalles on top of 7 Mile Mountain, on the old state road to Mosier. The plat of the townsite was filed in the records of Wasco county Oct. 9, 1911 by the Hood River Orchard & Land Co., Wm. A. Firebaugh of Portland, President and J.H. Devlin of Portland, Secretary and witnessed by Elmer Root, (son of Amos Root of Mosier) one of the original owners of the Ortley townsite. Other original owners were Abe Doughty, Mr. Boyon, William Marsh, son of Josiah of Mosier and Silas Wm. Davis, owner and operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line, who sold it to the Firmen Bros.; Geo. Renoe.
     Devlin & Firebaugh were Hood River and Portland insurance, real estate and loan brokers. Besides John H. Devlin and Wm. A. Firebaugh other associates were James L. Firebaugh, in charge of the Hood River office, Roy L. Firebaugh, salesman between Portland, Hood River and Ortley and Lee D. Firebaugh who was the manager and promoter for the Hood River Orchard and Land Co. at Ortley, postmaster and store operator. The post office of Ortley, named for the Ortley apple, was opened Feb. 9, 1912. Mrs. Bert (Gertrude) Loomis, sister of the Firebaugh brothers, was the second postmaster from April 1, 1916 to March 31, 1919. Mr. Firebaugh operated the post office in the Ortley company store while Mrs. Loomis maintained it in the Ortley Hotel which she and her husband operated. George Rumrill was postmaster from July 9, 1914 to March 31, 1916. When Mrs. Loomis moved away in 1919 H.L. Hallyburton became postmaster April 1, 1919 and served until the office, was closed Nov. 30, 1922.

Mail Transportation

     When Ortley was first established, according to H.L. Hallyburton, Lee D. Firebaugh went to Mosier for the mail and store supplies (1912); then he asked the post office department to transport the mail and they called for contract bids. Mr. Firebaugh bid in the contract for $500 a year, in behalf the Hood River Orchard & Land Co. who handled the mail the first few years and they hired Earnest Lennox and 4 or 5 of their other employees, at different periods of time to handle the mail route. There being nothing in the mail contract they gave it up and Elmer Slouthour made a bid of $1000 a year. The department rejected this $1000 a year bid and called for new bids. Elmer Slouthour next bid $1500 and there being no other bidders he was given the contract. Earnest Lennox next bid the route in and carried it until July 31, 1924 at which time the Rural Mail Route No. 1 (R.F.D.1, Mosier) was established.

A Cooperative Community

     The most unusual and unique thing about Ortley was the European and Asiatic plan of everybody living in the city and going out to their 5 and 10 acre tracts of Ortley apple orchards to farm. According to Mr. Hallyburton this was due to the fact that the only source of water for dwellings and farm buildings was within the city of 250  population. Lee D. Firebaugh laid out the town in 1911 in one acre lots, which they sold with water rights for $800 an acre lot. The company had acquired from Mr. Root, Mr. Marsh and other original holders some 700 acres of land. Outside the platted town of Ortley they laid out that acreage in 5 and 10 acre tracts. They planted Ortley apple orchards on those tracts and sold them to buyers for $1700 and up, tax free at the end of 5 years, and guaranteed every tree to be growing. Their experience proved that there was too much moisture in the winter, too dry in the summer and too windy for successful apple orchards, but it took 10 years to learn that!
     In the meantime, the Hood River Orchard & Land Co. sunk $200,000 in the project. It owned everything. It built the community store and post office, over top of which was a good dance hall where many fine Saturday night dances were held for Dalles people as well as those from the Mosier area, and which was used for general meeting purposes and church services. It stocked the community store and Lee D. Fire­baugh was the manager and part-time clerk. From time to time they had nearly 200 Italians, Greeks and other laborers clearing land, and planting orchards. They advertised in Portland papers for year-around help, laborers, carpenters, cement masons etc. Mr. Hallyburton, who was a carpenter, came to Ortley in 1911 and helped build the town. It had a garage for the new Franklin and Cadillac with which the Firebaugh's used to meet old train 17 or 18 and whisk prospective buyers up 7-Mile Mountain to the Ortley Hotel where they were wined and dined and sold an apple orchard. The hotel was owned and operated by the company. It had a kitchen, nice dining room and lobby, a 2-bed apartment down stairs, with bath, and 5 or 6 nice rooms upstairs, some with bath. The blacksmith shop, built by the company, was operated by Asa B. Strong. A nice little school set down the street. There was a company house for laborers.

Home Owners

     The best known home and track owner was retired Col. Cornelius Gardner, who owned a homesite in Ortley and a 15 acre orchard tract on which he spent $15,000 and which his estate later sold for $1500! W.W. Fields came out from Ohio, bought 20 acres, built a $6000 home and went broke within 7 years! Mr. Gardner, Mr. Holley, Mrs. Lozier, Loretta Montgomery, John Sprague, Wm. Foust, Chas. Winchester, Jim Maxfield, Mr. Tompkins, L.E. Adell, Bert Loomis, George Rumrill, Harry Spaulding, Mr. Sprague, Mr. Curtain, Elmer Slouthour, Arthur Koontz, Earnest Lennox, Bert Jackson, Mr. Smith, Mr. Cavanaugh, Mr. Todman and H.U. Schonover were some of the home and orchard owners whose names were recalled, after 40 years, by Mr. Hallyburton. A1l of these families lost their savings at Ortley! - and moved away. The home and farm buildings they invested in would have done credit to any community. Lumber for them cost $9 per 1000 bd. feet and carpenters could be hired in 1912 for $2 a day! Lee D. Firebaugh, who now lives at Cannon Beach told Mr. Hallyburton he personally lost $30,000 invested at Ortley! They commenced going broke as early as 1917 when some of the above people, in lawsuits against the company, claimed that the orchards they bought would not bear apples in paying quantities, like they were led to believe they would. One or two of those suits for recovery of investment were carried to the state Supreme Court and that costs money to say nothing of the adverse publicity the company and town received which prevented sales of orchard tracts to other likely prospects. Most of the home end orchard owners accepted their losses, sold for what they could get, leased or abandoned their investments and moved away!

Bankruptcy

     One by one as the investors went bankrupt, some assigned their property to H.L. Hallyburton who removed the trees, (a hard job in those days before tractors like we have now) for one year's rent. He planted potatoes and wheat. The potatoes did not do so good but it was good wheat ground and he continued to make money from wheat, during the World War 1 period and prosperous 1920’s, and with his profits he bought some of the land and buildings from owners, other land he acquired through delinquent taxes, some he rented or leased. In 1919 the Hood River Orchard & Land Co. filed a petition in bankruptcy and he acquired some holdings from them just before the petition was filed.
     The deep snow of the winter of 1919-20 caved in the roof of the store and community hall, in which Mr. Hallyburton had potatoes stored, and he had to setup nights to keep a fire going to keep them from freezing. He moved the post office to his home and wanted to close it, but the postal officials wanted him to keep it open as their Star Route contract ran to 1924, but he closed it anyway in 1922. From time to time Mr. Hallyburton sold the homes and buildings of Ortley to people for lumber.

Electricity

     As early as 1912 the Pacific Power and Light Co. ran a power line up to Ortley at a cost of $10,000! They too, “had confidence” in the growing town. Finally all the customers but Mr. Hallyburton, moved away and Mr. Kilmore, the local P.P.& L. manager used to motor up to Ortley and say, “$10,000 invested for one customer who pays the company the minimum of $1.10 a month for house lighting! If that old man would just forget to pay his bill for ONE MONTH we could out him off and eliminate the maintenance of this line!" But Mr. Hallyburton was the very best customer the. P.P. & L. had. He always paid his bill before the 10th of the month so he could save the 10¢ allowed by the Oregon Public Utility Commission for prompt payment of bills! Mr. Kilmore would just prance and pace back and forth but there was nothing he could do about eliminating power service to Ortley until Mr. Hallyburton moved away in 1948.
     The first telephone service to Ortley was through Mosier, but since there was a toll charge every time he wanted to call The Dalles he finally eliminated the Mosier connection in favor of The Dalles.  Mr. Hallyburton sold to George H. Johnson in 1939 who now owns or controls 2000 acres of land in that area including all of the former sight and holdings of Ortley.

Hallyburton Biography

     H.L. Hallyburton was born (1867) at Morgantown, N.C., son of W.F. and Tampa Hallyburton. His oldest son was selling real estate in Portland in 1910 when he came to Oregon. He moved to Ortley in 1911 as a carpenter, helping to construct all the buildings in the little town. He and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and with his sons Ralph and Ben continued to live at Ortley after all the others had left, eventually acquiring nearly all their holdings and prospering by a change in the farming methods and crops. His wife was Cornelia Lodermilk of N.C.

Harry Jones

     Harry Jones moved to Ortley in 1865 and was a brother to Mrs. Miler. Jones sold his place to the Milers and Miler sold to Elmer Root. Harry Jones was the first resident of Ortley.

Silas Wm. Davis

     Silas Wm. Davis, carpenter, boatbuilder, Dalles to Celilo railroader, teamster, Dalles to Wapinitia Concord Stage Coach owner and operator (1885-1897); born (1832) at Mexico, Mo., son Wm. Hornbuckle and Eliza (Baker) Davis; married Emeline Ranoe of Fulton, Mo., came to Oregon in 1885 via Sharer's Bridge and Tygh to The Dalles on account his wife having mountain fever. He worked for 20 years for the Oregon Steam Navigation Co.; and pre-empted a homestead at Ortley in 1871 which Forman Bros. acquired upon his death in 1897. George Ranoe pre-empted an adjoining 180 acres which he later sold to Davis making the Ferman Bros. holdings 320 acres in 1897. The Davis and Renow families raised horses and hay on their places. The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line required about 150 head of horses and the necessary feed to keep them going on a year-around basis.
     The Davis and Enfield Parris families left Platsmith; Iowa in Capt. White's Emigrant ox-team train in June of 1885 for their 8 months trip to The Dalles. Mountain fever (typhoid) from bad water was their worst enemy altho one or two men were killed by Indians. They arrived in October at Tygh. Most of the emigrants went on to the Willamette Valley via the Barlow road. Being sick with Mountain fever for the last 3 months of the trip Mr. Davis left her with the Dan Butler family at Tygh while he came on into the Dalles to look for work and establish a home. The family lived 4 years in The Dalles while Mr. Davis worked for the O.S.N. Co. In 1889 the family moved to Celilo where Mr. Davis built boats for the O.S.N. Co. upper river trade and Mrs. Davis cooked for 14 carpenters. In 1871 they moved back to The Dalles to a small home at 208 E. 4th. Mr. Davis worked on The Dalles to Celilo train, the first one of a morning left at 5 A.M. with freight and passengers for Celilo to connect with the 7 A.M. boat. The afternoon trains carried most of the freight. In 1872 they filed on their Ortley ranch home and lived there intermittently until 1879 when Mr. Davis become a partner of Hiram T. Corum in a store and hotel at Wapinitia (1882). F.X. Paquet had a small trading business in Paquet Gulch. Jerry Young operated a small store and post office at Oak Grove (1878) which was transferred to Wapinitia in 1882. In 1885 Mr. Davis acquired ownership of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line which he operated, with the help of his sons William and Edward until his death in 1897. Their children were Cora (Mrs. H.T. Corum) Wapinitia; Lizzie (Mrs. Allen Fligg) Endersby; Edward and William of The Dalles; Anetta (Mrs. Orvin McNeal) The Dalles, mother of the writer of this history; Tina (Mrs. Edward Mahany) of Hood River, Ethel (Mrs. Willis Thorn­bury) of Hood River; foster child Betty Butler, daughter of Danie1 Butler of Tygh (Mrs. George Peters) of The Dalles; Ross Laughlin, son of Robert A. Laughlin of Wapinitia; and Maud King of Salem.
     George Renoe of Ortley; brother of Emeline Davis, came to The Dalles by rail and stage (1888) was a surveyor with Gov. Zenith Moody and purser on his boat Teaser; married Esther Miler, daughter of James Miler of Mosier and had Pauline (Mrs. Glenn Boyer) Seattle; Ora (Mrs. George Snipes) Portland; Iva (Mrs. Art Petty) Seattle; Charlie (who married Irma Phillips of Mosier) of Hardman; Virgil, Veterans Hospital Portland. Mr. Renoe died at Mosier in 1923 and his wife Esther died there in 1897. They also had a place in Hog Can.

MATNEY

     The little known Matney post office, located on Upper Mill Creeks at the foot of the James M. Hartman Grade about 15 miles southwest of The Dalles, was established June 12, 1895 with Isaac Matney, postmaster and closed April 23, 1896.
     The Isaac Matney family came from Missouri to The Dalles in 1885, according to Mrs. James Gosson, and in 1888 when Sam Johns established his lumber mill on upper Mill creek, Isaac Matney contracted to haul supplies from The Dalles to the mill. At that time the only fit road upon Dutch Flat ran up Dry Hollow and came out about half way up the Skyline road and followed the ridge on up to the lower end of Dutch Flat, then called Melby Flat, according to Glenn Hammond, which extended back to the school house. Dutch Flat proper begins at the Dutch Flat school, according to Lulu Crandall early Dalles historian. About 5 miles above the Dutch Flat school the James M. Hartman Grade was built down on to Upper Mill creek. At the foot of the Hartman Grade Isaac Matney had a small store and post office. There were some 30 or 40 families on upper Mill creek at that time who came to the Matney post office for their mail, which was brought out by Issac Matney along with supplies for the Sam Johns Mill, from The Dalles. There was also a school house, one of the largest in attendance in Wasco county at Matney. The Sam Johns Mill was some 5 or 6 miles above the Matney post office and school.
     The children of Issac Matney were: Frank, who lives in California; Charlie who lived in Portland; Roy who died young; Jenny (Mrs. Al Turner) of Upper Mill Creek and whose daughter Grace is Mrs. Obrey Gossen; Ivy (Mrs. Jack Davis) who lived with Frank in California. Some of the other original settlers at Matney were: James Hartman, Jake Babcock, P.G. Whetmore, C.W. Whetmore, Al Turner, Kent Turner, Jack Davis, Sam Johns, Lloyd Mitchell, Walter Scott, Mr. Clark, Mr. Fancher and sons Wm. and Douglas, Vess Fox; and later Bert and Charlie Wyatt, Peter Pagan and sons Guy and Hugh 1893, Mr. Wise, Arthur Day 1908, Glenn Hammond 1910, A.J. Preston 1909, Lester Marquiss.

Sam Johns Mill

     The History of Central Oregon said: Sam Johns was born in Wales (1883) son of Thomas and Bessie (Prit­chard) Johns from the vicinity of Cardiff. The family came to the U.S. In 1888 settling first in Kansas where Thomas Johns was for 30 years master mechanic for the Kansas and Southern railroad. In 1880 the family came to The Dalles where Thomas Johns worked for the railroad here. In 1886 they (Thomas and Sam Johns) started their sawmill 16 miles up Mill creek. They erected a flume from the mill to the vicinity of the Col. Wright school where they had a planing mill, and floated the lumber to The Dalles from the Matney post office and Johns Mill. They operated the mill to about 1904 when the government acquired and took over all timber in the reserve, closing them out. For a time the lumber flume was used by Dalles City to bring water down for city use until the first city pipe line was extended to the Wicks reservoir. Sam Johns worked as a machinist for the O.R.& N. railroad. After the closing of the mill Sam Johns bought a stock ranch on lower Mill creek of 1200 acres besides their home at 18 near Mt. Hood. He had 150 head of shorthorn cattle on his place in 1905 and had Vespasian and Suffolk Punch draught stallions weighing 2000 pounds, producers of fine work horses needed in those days. Thomas Johns, the father, died in The Dalles in 1902. Sam Johns married Alice Walker and their children were Dora and Alice (Mrs. Ingrim) mother of Sam Murehead of Mill Creek. Sam Johns brothers were Walter and David. Sam Johns was Dalles City council man for 6 years around the turn of the century.
     The Historical edition of the Chronicle of July 1950 quoted Alice Johns (Mrs. Ingram) with the following story on the Sam Johns Mill:
     The Thomas and Sam Johns Mill was officially known as The Dalles Lumber Co. but it was called by everybody "the Johns Mill." In 1903 or 4 the mill was forced to suspend operations because the government bought the Mt. Hood forest land and outlawed cutting of any timber within forest boundaries; but the mill was a money-maker while it operated. Johns encouraged the building of Suicide Grade, between upper and lower Mill creek about 1904, as a closer connection with The Dalles. Construction workers were James Hartman, who built the Hartman Grade in the early 1880's, Gid Whetmore, Isaac Matney, Vess Fox, Al Turner. This was the last road James Hartman built for he died working on that grade, according to Glenn Hammond. There were others whose names have slipped memory.
     Steam power was used to run the mill and the concrete boiler blocks are still visible. Logging was did by oxen, according to Chas. Renoe. Water for the flume was taken out of Mill creek. The flume itself was a "masterpiece of bridge engineering and trestle work" 16 miles in length, unequaled any­where else in the west! It was maintained summer and winter, kept leak-proof and smooth enough for passage of lumber. It had a "cat-walk" on both sides for patrolmen in some places it spanned ravines 50 feet above ground end slippery, wet or icy catwalks that far off the ground is a long ways for the patrolman to fall, and fall they sometimes did. Down past Mill Creek Falls, the way the flume was anchored to the hill-side, amazes the onlooker. The flow of water down past Mill Creak Falls, in the flume, made the "shooting lumber" very dangerous and that was the part of the flume, according to Charlie Renee, which took the greatest beating, required the most repairs, was the hardest to patrol and caused the largest number of accidents; and it was 1½ miles in length and had headgates to control the water for the 1000 foot drop!
     When Dalles City acquired the flume, after the lumber mill closed, for city water purposes, Jim White was foreman and some of the employees on the flume under him, according to Chas. Renoe of Ortley, were Bill Riff, Archie Gosson, Nate Hubb, Wm. Hubb, Lafe Davis and Chas. Renoe. Rock Allen, an old Canadian had a cabin on upper Mill creek and he gave the crew a great deal of trouble by always taking a pinch bar and spreading the boards in the V-bottom of the flume so it would leak enough water to irrigate his alfalfa! He would set on his cabin porch with a 45-70 buffalo rifle over his knee and watch the boys repair the leaks. No one wanted to argue with that 45-70; it was safer end easier to keep the leaks repaired, or at least try to. The crew thought the mounties had probably run him out of Canada for using that 45-70 too much where no buffalo were around.
     As stated before the planing mill was located rear the Guard House of Old Fort Dalles (Col. Wright school grounds) and they operated a sash and door factory down town and shipped lumber.
     The logging crews were Chinese, according to Mrs. Ingram and Doc Sing was the "boss Chinaman" who did the hiring and Sam Johns paid Doc Sing for their labor and he paid the loggers. They were good workers. On 4th of July Doc Sing would dress in his Chinese silks and bring firecrackers up to the Johns children who were the envy of all the other children.
     The boys of The Dalles had their fun "riding lumber" on hot days, in the flume. The boys also use to steal watermelons up Mill creek, put them in the flume and float them down to the planing mill where they we're eagerly consumed, according to Roy Johnson, whose father was Lewis Johnson a Civil war veteran who lived in one of the Old Fort Dalles buildings near the end of the flume. Roy is PUD director.

Dutch Flat by Lulu D. Crandall

     Dutch Flat begins at the Dutch Flat school where there is a clearing. An old German settler by the name of Henry Nordick built a cabin there in 1871 and his cabin-home has passed into history as "Dutch Flat." It was the only landmark of habitation, after leaving Robert Cooper's place in Dry Hollow, until Brook's Meadows were reached where David Newell went to hunt and trap in 1865! Robert Cooper and George Rush knew Nordick and claimed he went to Yakima where he died. David Newell was a native of Wisconsin, from a good family and well educated, would rather do a favor than be favored!  He came to California during the gold rush of 1849 and followed the miners to Oregon. On arriving at The Dalles he noted the old Fort was being rebuilt end that wages were good, so he stopped to work as a brickmaker and made brick used in the construction of Old Fort Dalles in 1858! Besides hunting and trapping Mr. Newell made charcoal for the blacksmiths in town. He cut wild hay, which grew in great quantities at Brook's Meadows. He died at Robert Cooper's home in 1875. The ruins of his barns at Brook's Meadows were visible in 1905, but the forest ranger has replaced the Newell cabin with a neat new cabin and telephone. At Brook's Meadows there is a water ditch, 4 or 5 miles long, which turns Dog river into Mill creek for Dalles City water supply. It was dug in 1888. My first trip to the Meadows, in 1870, was made with the Pentlands who owned the ditch then. In 1872 R.W. Crandall moved his sawmill from the headwaters of 15 Mile creek, to the spring which still marks the Crandall mill (Polywogg) about 18 miles from town. There is nothing there now but the spring in the clearing. Mary of the early settlers of Dutch Flat hauled their water from this spring. It was the only water between The Dalles and the Meadows! The Crandall mill operated about 4 years. Then Cates & Frizzell owned it for 2 years. They sold it to Daniel W. Butler (of Tygh) who moved it to Dufur where he operated it for a short time with his brothers Polk and Isiah Butler of Kingsley.
     A sign at the headwaters of 5 Mile creek said "Bascom Springs." Bascom was a pioneer painter of The Dalles, who liked to hunt, fish and trap. He was later struck by a railroad engine and spent his remaining days in a wheel chair about town.

Johns Mill

     The Johns Mill was first built about 2 miles north of the Crandall mill and the water of the Crandall spring was brought down for their use. The Johns Mill was afterwards moved down onto Upper Mill creek. The site is now (1905) only a clearing in the woods and a pile of sawdust to mark the pioneer millsite. The yellow pine cut at the Dutch Flat mills was of the finest variety and quality. It was sold to the iron works of Portland to be used in pattern making. It was very fine, soft and suitable for that purpose. The Crandall mill formerly belonged to Orlando Humason and Henry Jackson of Dufur and The Dalles. It was first located in the Wolf Run district of Ramsay creek.
     Robert Newell originated the idea of digging a ditch to connect Dog river and Mill creek in 1888, so as to give the Johns Mill more water and the Robert Pentland and Dalles Woolen Mills more water for their water-wheel power. Robert Pentland bought the woolen mill property and made it over into a flour mill. The Sam Johns Mill flume was later used by Dalles City for city water purposes before the Instal­lation of the first wooden pipe line.

Dutch Flat

     Dutch Flat had a school and cemetery but no town or post office. The first road up on Dutch Flat was up through Dry Hollow, following the early Indian trails. Jacob Obrist and Albert Walters were early 1883 settlers.

Jacob Obrist

     Jacob Obrist was born in Penn. (1833) son of John and Anne Obrist of Switzerland and Penn. He came to Oregon (1883) settling on Dutch Flat. The Nelsons end Chittendens were the only other 2 families there. Jacob Obrist married Ellen Kirkham in Mo. and their children were Wm.; Frances. A. who married Sarah Morgan and had Ellsworth and Leona (Mrs. Ear1 Lash); Harry, married Florence Spence and had Jacob and Dale; Charlie who married Mary Brown and had Wilman and Edwin; John who married Emma Craig and had son Vernon, County Commissioner of Wasco county; Mary, single; Jacob, single.

Albert Walters

     Albert Walters was born in Germany (1845) son of Andrew. After traveling all over the world in the German merchant marine, he came to the U.S. in 1889 and settled on Dutch Flat in 1883. His children were Orre; Wm.; Robert; George; Fred and Harold an orchardist of The Dalles and Hood River.

Obrist & Spicenger Grades

     Jacob Obrist established his Obrist Grade on the south side of Dutch Flat in 1883. This became the first mail route road in 1904 from The Dalles. The Spicenger Canyon grade upon Milby (Dutch) Flat was built in 1904 for loop purposes-so a mail route could go up Mill creek, thence up Spicenger Canyon, (now (1952) called Orchard Road) to Dutch Flat, so as to serve the west side of the flat; thence down the James Hartman Grade to the old Matney post office location, down Upper Mill creek and Suicide Grade to Lower Mill creek and return to the post office. Route 2, The Dalles commenced rising that grade in 1908. It was closed where the new Skyline road was built. The mail route now goes up the Skyline Road, southeast across the flat and down the Obrist Grade to Three Mile Upper Mill creek only has 2 families.

SUICIDE GRADE

     The story of Suicide Grade is somewhat the early story of Route 2, The Dalles which was established (see page 32) in 1908 as a standard horse and buggy route of 24 miles; following out Mill creek road to the Spicenger Canyon (Orchard road), up to Dutch Flat, down  the Hartman grade to upper Mill creek and down Suicide Grade to lower Mill creek and back to town. In 1931 the post-office quit sending 2 routes up on to Dutch Flat, so they re-routed R.2 to go out 3 Mile, up the Obrist Grade, across Dutch Flat to the James Hartman Grade, down to upper Hill creek, down suicide grade to lower Mill creek and back to town. By that time automobiles had replaced the horse and buggy, as a means of transportation.

Bad Roads

     The problem of unsurfaced mud roads, which confronted these pioneer automob1les, on the back roads of America which lead to our farms, was all but unbelievable. The sea of mud in rainy weather and during the bad thaws of February would mire a saddle horse on some of these old primitive Dutch Flat and other Wasco county roads. At that time Wasco County had the worst county roads of any county in the state of Oregon! It was due to the fact that Wasco county had 1500 miles of roads and small income for surfacing those roads. Also Wasco county roads, especially in the northern part of the county around The Dalles are really all MOUNTAIN ROADS, as there is virtually no level ground! A level mud road is bad enough and a mountain mud road is worse.
     All mail carriers of the nation faced the same problems then. In Oregon then l/3rd of all our roads were mud roads while in the nation at large 2/3rds were mud roads. Among the 45,000 R.F.D. carriers, C.C. McDevitt, editor of the National Rural Letter Carrier publication wanted to know where the worst roads and routes were at, and invited stories on their conditions from all over the United States. The writer of this history made the report on Route 2, The Dalles, at that time carrier by Frank Gibson, and judged by the editor and his committee as the WORST MAIL ROUTE IN THE U.S!

The Worst Mail Route in the U.S.

     Route 2, The Dalles was judged the Worst Mail Route in the U.S. because of the deplorable condition of year-around roads as they existed in 1931. At that time improved graveled roads stopped at the Harold Sexton place as Dry Hollow. From there on up 3 Mile it was dirt in good weather and mud in bad weather to the Silas Evans place. There the road at that time followed the rook-strewn bed of 3 Mile creek to the foot of the Obrist grade. It was impossible to blade the round rooks and boulders of that creek bed or improve it to any great extent. The spring high waters washed it to pieces. It was notorious for breaking car springs. The creek had to be forded 4 or 5 times and the old carburetors used to suck water stalling the cars in mid-stream.
     The Obrist Grade was built in 1883 by Jacob Obrist to get wagons, sleds and hacks over. It was never intended for cars. It was a 24%  grade and nearly as badly rock-strewn as the creek bottom. It rose 1000 feet in 1½ miles! It was narrow with only 2 turnouts! It was narrow, steep and rutty and badly washed every spring. Melting snow through the day made a glare of ice at night. Sometimes it snowed 8 or 10 inches on that glare ice! Only heavy truck chains would bite into it for traction! An additional 500 pounds of rooks, in the back of the car gave better ballast to hold it to the roads! More than 12 inches of snow eliminated car service, generally an auxiliary carrier with saddle horse was hired by the regular carrier, to complete service until better weather.
     Dutch Flat itself was not "flat" as the word implies. Very little of the road was level and it too was unimproved mud roads, full of snow-drifts in the winter and a first class quagmire an February during thaws. The roads were lower then the surrounding fields and acted as canals to drain the water becoming full of bubbling springs and soft and spongy! In other places mud would ball up on the car wheels until they wouldn't turn under the fenders! Gibson carried a block and cable, gear to pull him­self out of bog holes! Sometimes he was mired down 6 or 7 times in one day!

The James Hartman Grade

     The James M. Hartman Grade was a drop of 800 feet in 1½ miles. About half way down it had a soapy slide around 150 feet in length, a greasy soil formation as slick as ice in wet weather! That grade was considered too narrow to be bladed by county equipment! Its 12 inch deep ruts keep the car on the grade! The 4 to 8 foot snows on that grade eliminated winter service. Fallen trees blocked the road in the spring. Upper Mill Creek was about the same type of roads as Dutch Flat.

The Suicide Grade

     The Suicide Grade was built in 1904 by James M. Hartman, Vess Fox, the Whetmores and others of Upper Mill creek to get down to lower Mill creek and to The Dalles. The grade made a drop of about 1000 feet in one and two-tenths (l.2) of a mile! It was always considered a good "test on the nerves" to come down or go up it in good weather. But in winter weather when it became a glare of ice or ice packed snow, it was really a terror! Winter in that region commenced in October and ended in March! Every day that the mail carrier, or any farmer in that area, traveled down that grade in a car, at that season of the year, he was simply taking his life in his own hands! Every day, it was just simply flirting with suicide to come down that grade in an automobile! When it became icy it was one of the finest toboggan slides you ever rode over, except the low side wasn't banked enough for safe fast travel, and there was two elbows in the road to negotiate! They had to be "made". The heavy truck chains and good engine compression prevented disaster!
     When these facts were called to the attention of the post office department they ordered a re­routing of the route so that the carrier came up the Skyline road and down the Obrist grade thus completely eliminating both the Hartman and Suicide grades. More recently Vernon Obrist, grandson of Jacob and Wasco County Commissioner, has seen to it that Dutch Flat road received some much needed gravel; that the Obrist grade be rebuilt on a water grade up 3-Mile canyon; and the old 3-Mile creek bed replaced by a graded road on the bank, which took nearly 70 years to accomplish!

LOWER MILL CREEK

     The Donation Land Claims of Charlie Denton (Nielsen place), Theodore Mesplie (between the 2nd & 3rd bridges) Lafayette Caldwell and John Halligan had to be filed on before 1855, as the law expired on December 31 of that year. This indicates that Mill creek was an attractive farm and home area nearly 100 years ago, same as it is today. Mill Creek Falls, drop 118 feet is an outstanding attraction.
     In checking the water rights of ranches in that area, on file in Roger Wilhelm's water office, they show the Theodore Mesplie right dating back to 1854; the Charlie Denton place the same; the Curtiss place 1854; the Emma Brace place in 1855; the Marie Chatterton place 1855; the L.A. Sandoz place in 1855; the Earnest Bonomi place in 1881; Dalles City in 1862; Henry Meyer in 1863 and the old Andy Urquhart place at the first bridge in 1860. We know too that M.M. Cushing moved out to Mill creek about 1860 when he quit the store business in town and before he moved to lower 15 Mile.

Directory of 1883-1898

     The Dalles directory of 1883 show Charlie Denton, Theodore Mesplie, Theodore Miquet, C.E. Sandoz, and N.W. Smith as Mill creek farmers. It mentioned H.C. Nielsen as a tailor in The Dalles.
     The Dalles directory of 1898 shows Charlie Denton, George Bunn, C.E. Sandoz, L.A. Sandoz, L.F. Sandoz, Victor Sandoz, Germain Sequi, Mike and Henry Spicenger, Andrew Urquhart, Edward Wicks, E.L. Curtiss, George Webb, Hans Nielsen, Theodore and John Mesplie, John Stegman, James Marquiss.

Andrew Urquhart

     Had a 180 acre Mill creek ranch (1905) was born in Scotland (1848) son of James and came to the U.S. In 1852 settling in Lewis county, Washington (1855) where he went to school at Napavine. He moved to his Mill creek home in 1877. His brother Alexander was postmaster at Rufus. His father James was a Yakima Indian War veteran. -- Hist. Central Ore.

Louis and Charlie Sandoz

     Were sons of Fredrick and Julienne (Fry) Sandoz being born in Switzerland in 1850 and 1851 respect­fully. Louis came to New York in 1868 and went to Illinois where he farmed until 1874 when he went to California gardening for millionaires down there. Charlie came to the U.S. in 1870 and settled in Kansas and in 1874 went to Los Angeles to garden and in 1878 came to The Dalles with his brother Louis each buying about 80 acres of the old Lafayette Caldwell Donation
Land Claim. Louis Sandoz married Kate Hunter of N.J. and had Eileen, Isabelle, Catherine, Arnold, Edward and Rollin.
     Charlie Sandoz married Laura Heroux of Chicago and their children were Julius and Emily.
     They own a very fine fruit and garden farm. -- History Central Oregon.

George Bunn

     George Bunn, was born in Germany (1849) son George and Katherina (Boxheimer) Bunn was educated in Germany and learned the bakers trade. He was wounded in the France-Prussian war serving through 9 engagements. He came to the U.S. in 1879 and carried mail in Lewis county, Washington. In 1884 he filed on a home­stead in Sherman  county and bought a half section raising wheat and horses. In 1896 he came to The Dalles to give his children better educational advantages. He married Opolonia Brant in Germany and they had Charlie of The Dalles; George of Wishram, Wash.; John of White Salmon; Alma; Mary; Clare; Barbara. He had an 80 acre place on Mill creek. -- History of Central Oregon.

James W. Marquiss

     James W. Marquiss was born (1841) son of Jacob and Esther (Ellis) Marquiss. His father died in 1842 and his mother came across the plains by ox-team in 1847 marrying George Jeffery in the Willamette valley where James went to school. He served in the 1st Oregon Cavalry (1861-84) then farmed in Morrow county
(1865-89) coming to The Dalles that last year where he operates an orchard in the Mill creek area. He married Clara Allison and they had Frank of Goldendale; Lester of The Dalles and Ada (Mrs. A.A. Urquhart) of The Dalles. -- History of Central Oregon.
     Mill creek takes its name from the Old Fort Dalles sawmill located at 9th and Mill creek 1n 1854. Another sawmill was located about the same time at the Andy Urquhart place at the first bridge. Then the Johns sawmill and flume were constructed in 1886 on upper Mill creek. In the 1930's there was a sawmill on the north fork of Mill creek. In 1868 the rock for the construction of the U.S. Mint on 3rd street was quarried at the Mill creek school house and hauled into The Dalles by wagons. The Sam Murehead Cannery is a very important industry, not for its size, but for the QUALITY of The Dalles Fruits and Vegetables that it cans! When we stop to think the finest fruits and vegetables in the world grow here at The Dalles, yet we eat products out of a can of inferior quality and goodness, from some other region, it should pay you to have the job done by Murehead and know you have the best.
     The Mill creek school is one of the oldest in the county. The writer of this history attended that school in 1910. Mill crook transports over paved roads to The Dalles schools. The Mill creek grange- community hall dates back to World War I days. The most outstanding men in the history of the Mill creek settlement were Charlie Denton, Sam Johns, Issac Matney, James Hartman the road builder and W.R. Bailey, one of the 4-Horsemen of public power and now a director of the People's district.

1910 Taxpayers

     The Polk directory of 1910 lists the following taxpayers of Mill Creek, there may have been others: George Bunn, Nels and Fred Erickson, George Krauss, John Pashek, Randall Barrett, Phillip Backer, Geo. Blakeley, O.D. and Emma Brace, E.L. Curtiss, Charlie Gibson, James Gosson, Glenn Hammond, Chas. Hazen, Sam Johns, J.W. Marquise, Isaac Matney, Theodore Mesplie, B.W. & Florence Morton, Wm. Byers, Hans C. Nielsen, A.J. Preston, C.E., L.A., L.F., and V.E. Sandoz, Walter Scott, Germania Sequi, Mike Speichender, John Stegman, Al Turner, Ben and Wm. Ulrich, Andy Urquhart, George Webb and Bert Wyatt.
     Charlie Denton, the old Indian fighter of 1858 used to keep at nursery at the Nielsen place, and in those days Fort Dalles officials offered a bounty for Indian scalps. Charlie brought in a white scalp one day with the Indian scalps, and they wanted to know how he came by it? He claimed the man was with the Indians when he killed him and didn't want to lose out on the bounty, so brought the scalp in. That was good enough, he had no business being with the Indians. They paid the bounty to him, he used to say!

The CHENOWITH DISTRICT

     Part of the history of the Chenowith district we have set forth under Crates Point, under the early history of The Dalles and under the George Snipes Love Story.

First Settlers

     The Donation Land Claim settlers, according to the records of the Wasco County Assessor Harry Green, were, Edward Crate of Crates Point, Justin Chenowith on the east bank of the creek, near the mouth, and after whom the creek is named. He had visions of a town down that way in the 1850's because the military officials refused to permit settlement close to the old Fort Dalles, but when they relaxed their restrictions Chenowith's visions of a town fell by the wayside. John Irvine was another Land claim settler on the south side of the railroad and highway, but along Chenowith creek. Dr. C.W. Shaug’s Donation Land Claim joined the Wasco bounty Hospital grounds, on the west and ran over to the railroad. He sold to George Snipes who lived there, from 1882 to 1922. To the east of the Snipes claim, including the County Hospital, Catholic Cemetery and over to Mission street of The Dalles was the Catholic Mission Donation Claim. Most of it was later sold to Charlie Michelbach and Frank Stadelman. Henry Klint moved on to Chenowith's claim in 1863. About this same time "Shoo Fly" Brown moved up to the intersection of Brown and Chenowith creeks; Michael Doyle settled up a little further on the Doyle Grade near the Doyle school on upper Chenowith. W.H. VanBibber settled about this same time on the flat above the Grange hall about 3 miles on the old state road, operating a cattle ranch.

1910 Taxpayers

     The 1910 taxpayers of the Chenowith area were Peter Fleck, Henry Estes, Henry Klint, Frank Stadelman, Michael Doyle, J.A. Fleck, W.W. Harris, J.C. Hostetler, Mike Rdmington, Jess Simonson and George Snipes. This list seems incomplete, although back 40 years ago, there wasn't even a good road down through the sand dunes of the old State road to Mosier. The county grounds was a bog hole where cattle roamed. The only house, after leaving the Fleck corner on Chenowith and Cemetery roads, was the Snipes big brick house, west of the county grounds about a block. The big Hostetler house was down next to the creek, on what is now the outdoor Theatre road. The Harris and Remington homes were on the upper side of the road beyond the Snipes brick house. Judge F.S. Gunning paved a part of the Chenowith road in 1915. It had been used since 1838 as a cattle trail until the building of the Barlow road in 1840, which cut down the volume of cattle traffic but never eliminated its use entirely. It became a usable road by 1854 and completed to Mosier by another 10 years and to Hood River before 1870. The Oregon National Guard held one of their summer encampments there, between the Snipes and Hostetler homes; in the gay '90's.

Commercial and Industrial

     The southeast end of the district has always been the cemetery, location for the community. In 1910 Woodruff the Hermit, lived in his cave above the Catholic cemetery. The Blakeney Brick yard and kilns were adjacent the upper end of the I.O.O.F. cemetery in 1910. The sand pits were always an excellent place for commercial sand for cement purposes. Wasco County Fair was held at the county grounds up until World War I and the Pendelton Roundup was started there and later moved to Pendelton when Dalles people lost interest in it! It has a very good school in the west end of the district which transports the old­er pupils to Dalles schools. Very excellent water can be had by drilling down about 400 feet, tapping an "underground-river" with inexhaustible flow. The community boasts a good store and an out-of-door movie theatre. It has good mail service and The Dalles Auction Yards offers farmers of the Mid-Columbia area a place to market livestock at best prices. Over north of the railroad tracks is the Stadelman Fruit Growers Cooperative plant, where about 1/3rd of Dalles cherries are marketed; the shipyards of the Inland Navigation Co.; Port of The Dalles Oil Docks and The Dalles Oil Town. Several Taverns line the highway and at least 3 restaurants, a laundry, 3 automobile agencies, 2 tractor houses, several service stations and three auto wrecking yards; the state police and highway headquarters, Dalles City sheds.
     At least three good auto courts (the typical Inn of 1952) lines the highways. The consolidated freight terminals and body and fender shop. The Dalles Riding Academy rents horses and the back roads make good "bridle paths". The County Fair and Hospital Grounds is used for carnivals and circus attractions and some athletic events and is in an excellent location bisected by a county road. The Bonneville Power Administration substation and a Pacific Power and Light Co. substation provide The Dalles with ample power.

Organizations

     The Chenowith Grange and the Fort Dalles Riders have meeting halls down near the creek and hold some of the best business and social meetings of The Dalles areas in their halls. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Clubhouse, is on the old highway and Fair Ground road intersection and is open to all veterans and friends every day of the week. The old Japanese community hall was abandoned during World War 2 when sentiment would no longer permit their gatherings during the war period.

Chenowith Irrigation Co.

     A community cannot develop without water. In 1948 a community cooperative was formed by D.G. Remple, George Herman, C.L. Johns, Jess Ott, Earl Rawslan, Harris Stout, Tom Kirkham to sign up members and drill a well, lay water mains and sell water. The 4-Horsemen of this Chenowith Water project were Dr. D.G. Remple, Earl Rawsian, Harris Stout and H.G. Miller, who supervised the well drilling, the pump purchase, laying of the mains and preliminary work of the district's formation. Bert Clayton drilled the well. About 100 members were signed up and first water sold in 1947. Now the cooperative has 250 members and the whole community reflects in growth the efforts of the above 4-Horsemen of water.

Outstanding people

     The most outstanding people, in addition to the 4-Horsemen of water, in Chenowith creek history are Edward Crate, Justin Chenowith, George Snipes, Charlie Harth, one of the 4-Horsemen of Public Power; Jose Hostetler; banker; Frank Wink, auctioneer; Erma Wells, newspaper writer and Jess Ott, retired PUD director. There are others unknown to this writer.

SUNSET HILL

     Sunset Hill, better known in recent years as Scenic Drive, is the home of Radio K.O.D.L., the location of Sorosis City park, the Eastern Oregon Tuberculosis Hospital and many fine homes. For more than 100 years Sunset Hill was a cow pasture where only the venturous Sunday afternoon hiker would have the courage to climb the mountain paths for appreciation of the view. Then in the Gay '90's Emil L. Schanno, Oregon State Horticulture Commissioner and Inspector of Fruit Diseases and Pests, located his orchard back of Sorosis City Park, pioneering in that area as a fruit grower. Judge George Blakeley, Dalles druggist, the A.M. Williams family, M.Z. Donnell, Frank Payne had orchards in that area, some approachable from the Skyline road in the back and called Cherry Dale Orchards,  according to Hannah (Krauss) Davenport.

Pioneer Cemetery

     The Pioneer Cemetery, on Sunset Hill, was given as a public burial grounds by W.D. Biglow about 1882. The names of pioneer families buried in this cemetery, except for a handful which has been cared for, are unknown. It was preceded in date (1850) by the Old Fort Dalles Military cemetery locatod at 16 & Garrison. The remains of old soldiers and first pioneers were removed in the 1920's so there is no trace of Fort Dalles Military cemetery. The old Masonic Cemetery was laid out in 1864, purchased from the Wm. Logans. Families buried in the Masonic Cemetery are the J.M. Cook, Jeffery, L.L. Powell, James H. Crosson, C. McFarland, J.W. French, F.S. Howland, James Walker, H. Wentz, John Epplinger, Geo. Leibe; James H. Neyce, C.M. Lockwood, operator of The Dalles to Salt Lake City Stage line, James Young, J.A. Campbell, B.C. Munger, T.W. Miller, some of the members of the Orlando Humason family altho Orlando Humason, father of Wasco County is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery; Ulrich Myers, Jacob Juker, 2nd postmaster of The Dalles, W.A. Whitehead, Wm. Logan owner of the property between Lewis and Thompson Addition, above 11 street, A.W. Ferguson, J. Couser, Chas. Kubler, R.F. Gibons, E.G. Corne, T.J. Peabody, T.B. Hall, O.S.  Savage. Ben Korten and Jacob Juker were Mexican and Indian war veterans. Cemetery data by Lulu D. Crandall.

Sorosis Park

     The 20 acre area known as Sorosis Park was donated by the U.S. Government to Dalles City for public park purposes only, through the efforts of the Sorosis (meaning sisterhood) Club of The Dalles, in 1914. The club officers at that time were Mrs. Alexander Thompson, President, Mrs. N.A. (Alta Taylor) Bonn, 201. W. 4 was Secretary and Mrs. William Shackelford was chairman of the committee who took the matter up with our congressman and obtained patents for the park from Old Fort Dalles Military Reservation Claim of 1830. The Sorosis Club was disbanded during World War 2, but according to Mrs. Bonn, daughter of Wm. Taylor 1845 emigrant to Salem, the park has been held intact except for the small donation of land to the State of Oregon for the Eastern Oregon T.B. Hospital, the story of which appears on page 115. The waterline into Sorosis Park reservoir was laid in 1928, according to Jack Chambers, retired Dalles City Water Superintendent, direct from the Wicks reservoir 8 miles up Mill creek. Two lines run from the old Mesplie reservoir, near the Mill creek school, the first of which was laid to the 18th street reservoir about 1904; and previous to that time Dalles City and Mr. Pentland had a small reservoir near the Fred Erickson place at 18 & Hill creek road, into which the water from the Sam Johns flume poured and was piped from there into the Court Street reservoir at 8th.

Grant Rock

     Grant Rock, at the head of Pentland street was named for Pres. U.S. Grant. In 1883 when Pres. Grant passed through The Dalles as a guest of Henry Vallard, upon completion of the railroad, Samuel L. Brooks, Dalles Merchant, talked with Pres. Grant recalling the President's early military life in the west and visits to Hood River and Fort Dalles, while stationed at Fort Vancouver. His visit to Fort Dalles has been confirmed by George Snipes and Judge M.C. George. Old Fort Dalles stories claim he visited and climbed upon the large rook to enjoy the shadows of the clouds on Klickitat hills, and lounged in its shade while discussing the beautiful view obtained. Since that visit the soldiers at old Fort Dalles called it Grant Rock and it has passed down through 100 years of our history as Grant Rock.

Oldest Residents

     The oldest residents of the area we now call Scenic Drive are, on the west approach, the George Krauss family at 10 & Trevitt and Hannah Krauss (Mrs. John Devenport) says that they moved up there in 1889! - 63 years ago! Mrs. Davenport's husband operated a livery stable at First end Union and her father had an orchard in that area. Ira Messenger bought a piece of property from M.Z. Donnell, pioneer Dalles druggist, in 1909, adjoining Sorosis Park and Scenic  Drive on the west side of the park and he has been there 43 years! He was "all alone" up on Sunset Hill in 1909 and he said he used a wagon road which wound around Grant Rook down to Pentland street to get to town ever. Over between the Pioneer Cemetery and Sand Rock Quarry was the Ball home later acquired by Tom Smith. They used the old cemetery road to got up to their home. The city acquired right-of-way for Sorosis (Scenic) Drive about 1928 when they put in water for the T.B. Hospital which was opened in 1929. Tom Smith built his house about 1910. All the other homes which line both sides of Scenic (Sorosis) Drive are comparatively new homes built largely since and during World War 2, by people who agreed with Ira Messinger's appreciation of the wonderful view of The Dalles and the Columbia river gorge from Sunset Hill.

Outstanding People

     Besides the above pioneer families Emil Schanno, the above pioneer orchardist who came to The Dalles in 1860; George Blackley, druggist; M.Z. Donnell, druggist; Carl Williams, merchant; Ed. Williams, merchant and musician; Ollie Krier, merchant and musician; Barney Kenworthy, owner and operator of Radio K.O.D.L. and Dr. J.M. Odell, superintendent of the Eastern Oregon Tuberculosis Hospital appear to be the older outstanding people of the area. This writer is not acquainted with the names of the newer families who live on Scenic Drive and the outstanding people among them. It to safe to say that there are probably more outstanding people who live on that 3 mile section of drive than any other 3 mile section in Wasco  county!

THREE MILE – DRY HOLLOW

     The history of the Three Mile-Dry Hollow section, south of The Dalles, is 100 years old! The old Indian trails up through Dry Hollow and Three Mile to their "happy hunting grounds" in the mountains, are far older any white man's memory. The Miller-Thorndike-Starkey orchards area over to the Matlock grade on the Steel road was an old Indian battleground, according to Mrs. F.L. Johns. While there is no known battles between the soldiers of Old Fort Dalles and the Indians, this side of the Deschutes river, in 1855-56; this "Matlock Hill Battle Grounds" was most likely between Indian tribes, the local Wasco-Warm Springs Indians defending their trading grounds at The Dalles from invaders from the east or south or both. Mrs. Johns reported finding many fruit-jarsful of arrowheads in that vicinity when it was an open cow pasture of the Sam and David Creighton places, now known as the Rawson, Richard Renkin and Floyd Tibbetts places.

First School

     The district is now best known for its many cherry orchards although there is some hay and cattle raised. While the children are now all transported to Dalles schools by busses over good roads, it is interesting to note that the first Three Mile school house, in 1871, according to Mrs. F.L. Johns, was built on the C.G.E. Hill place on 5 MILE, about half way up the old road between the present location of the 5 Mile school and the top of the hill (F.L. Johns homestead). The children from 3 Mile, 6 Mile and Pleasant Ridge all walked to this school house, some walking as far as 5 miles each way each day! This school was known as the Mt. Zion School. The Mt. Zion School was moved to the top of the Hog's Back Ridge (between 3 and 5 Mile) in 1878 near the F.L. Johns homestead house, after water was found there.
     There was no known water on top of the Hog's Back Ridge, until one day an Elderberry bush was found growing, on the very top of the hill, not far from the road. Pioneers knew, according to Mrs. Johns, that wherever an Elderberry bush would grow water was not very far away. The men dug down and soon struck a good flow for school use. The school remained on Hog's Back Ridge from 1878 to 1885 when it was moved to the present location of the old abandoned Three Mile school at the foot of the old Bell Grade on upper Three Mile, being used for school purposes until about 1929 when they transported.

Power

     The Pacific Power and Light Co put a 4 mile limitation to power service for farmers in the 3 Mile area. Beyond that point the company wanted $50 a pole and wanted to retain ownership of the line after the farmers paid the $50 a pole for its extension! The farmers beyond the 4 mile zone had to "wait in the dark" until the PEOPLE’S District was formed so the REA could bring them lights and power for their farms and homes over their own cooperatively owned line in 1941.

First Settlers

     Victor Trevitt, according to the records of Wasco County Assessor Harry Green, settled on his Donation Land Claim in 1854 on what is now known as the Virgil Rawson place 3½ miles out on 3 Mile. The biography of Victor Trevitt is given on page 70 of this history. In addition to this claim he owned Trevitt's Addition to Dalles City, a 38 acre triangle from First up Mill creek to 6th; west on 8th to Union and north on Union to First.
     Rev. E.P. Roberts was an early 1858-59 settler on Dry Hollow, just beyond the city limits. This place is still in the Roberts family. after more than 90 years! These are the kind of people who are the back­bone of our community and its history. Once they settled on their claims they NEVER gave them up, they never moved! Good times and hard times were all taken in their stride! Their family was born, raised, lived and died in the community! There was no substitute for The Dalles in their lives! The Rev. Roberts was a teacher, farmer and Congregationalist Circuit rider and a very outstanding man in the early religious affairs of the Dalles. He raised the first watermelons, cantelopes, pumpkins, and orchard trees on the unirrigated uplands around The Dalles. His neighbors, of later years, all thought he was making a mistake, But he persevered and pioneered with success and paved the way for dry land orchards of the Dry Hollow-Three Mile area. Before that the orchards and gardens were grown in the creek bottom land. Rev. E.P. Roberts was therefore an outstand man in pioneer horticulture of Wasco County.
     His children were: Albert S. Roberts, horticulturist on his father's place on Dry Hollow, stock, sheep and grain grower at the head of the Emerton-Roberts Market road on the breaks of the Deschutes, legislator for 2 terms in the 1890's and later from 1918 to 1924 and best known as father of the Grange sponsored Farm to  Market Road Law of Oregon, which has brought so much benefit to farmers of Oregon; and which makes Albert S. Roberts another one of the outstanding man in our 100 years of history! Albert Roberts  settled on his Deschutes river ranch in 1883 before there were any roads out in that country. It was a bad place for snow to drift in the winter and some winters were more than 6 weeks in length making at necessary to have to come to town for supplies. George Petroff, who worked for him as early as 1907, tells how they put 8 horses on a bob-sled to break through the drifts! The lead horses broke the trail, the sled horses merely pulled the sled and tramped the snow  down more, the third team was tied on behind to "rest" and exchanged for the "lead team" as the leaders would wear out from breaking out the load. It wasn't so bad coming down the ridges to town but going back, often their sled-trail was completely obliterated by more drifts in stinging east winds!
     Albert Boberts married Rose Freeman and their children were Albert, Allyn, and Roscoe of The Dalles and Elliott, Warren and Wilton of Portland and Evan of San Francisco. Allyn's son Allyn occupies the Robers home ranch on Dry Hollow. Brothers of Albert S. Roberts were William, whose story as Washington State Highway Commissioner appears elsewhere in this history and is another outstanding Wasco County man who has benefited all the people of Washington State; Tom Roberts of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an outstanding U.S. Navy man; and Dent Roberts, attorney of Spokane. This makes at least 3 outstanding men, in the history of Wasco county, all from one family! We do not recall reading anywhere in our history whore any other single family has produced that many out­standing people, with the exception of the Musical DeMoss family. This is a record to be proud of. More research for story on this family is merited.

Peter Morgan

     Peter Morgan seems to be the third oldest settler on the Richard Renken place, 3 miles out in 1880. In 1882 he sold to David Creighton and moved to the "upper Morgan place" on the Dry Hollow extension road, about 3½ miles out from town. He was the father of X.M. Morgan who the directory of 1910 shows as a farmer of The Dalles. Peter Morgan was not listed so we presumed he was deceased by that time.

David and Sam Creighton

     David and Sam Creighton seem to be the next oldest settlers. Dave Creighton who settled on the Richard Rankin place in 1882 was born at Pittsburg, Penn. (1835) son James and Maria (Hart) Creighton. He was educated in Ohio and came to Oregon by boat in 1859 and went to the Idaho mines with his brother Sam returning to The Dalles to farm. He married Ida Krauss, sister of George Krauss and their children were Elva (Mrs. Richard Rankin) of 3 Mile; James, druggist of San Francisco; Emma Sunbalm of Portland; Lola Trapp of New York; Leland of Portland and Vera of Seattle.
     Sam Creighton, brother of David, was also born in Pittsburg, Penn. (1829) coming to Oregon and mining with Dave and he settled on what we now call the Tomes Wasson place, 4½ miles out. He married Sarah Jane Smith and their children were: Franklin Creighton, electrician and father of Linn, electrician; Charlie Creighton, prominent Dalles lodge member, farmer and early Dalles Rural Mail carrier on R.1; Mary (Mrs. Will W. Rawson), mother of Virgil Rawson, 3 Mile farmer and well driller; Lulu (Mrs. Frank Doak) 3-Mile fruit raiser on the Glenn Cooper place 2 miles out; Arthur Creighton of Portland; and Nellie (Mrs. Frank L. Johns) who was born on the Sam Creighton 3 Mile place in 1885, is now 89 years old, in good health and mind and supplied much of this biography and 3 Mile history, all of which was checked with her for accuracy.

Rev. Frank L. Johns

     Rev. Frank L. Johns was the son of John Westley and Emily Elizabeth (Holmes) Johns of Colusa Co. Cal. whore he was born in 1882 and received his early education, came to The Dalles in 1878 and filed on his Hog Back homestead, between 3 and 5 Mile, at the old Mt. Zion school house location in 1885. He married Nellie Creighton, daughter of Sam and their children were Charlie Johns, butcher of The Dalles and Ruth (Mrs. Lester Hill) of Lewiston, Idaho. Rev. and Mrs. Johns recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary! In this day  and age of quick divorces this living example of lifetime cooperation of man and wife should shame every Dalles citizen out of the divorce courts and serious family quarrels. Rev. Johns has been very active in religious work, preaching on Sundays, attending weddings, handling funerals, visiting the sick. His whole life has been one of sacrifice to the welfare of others. The people of Three Mile owe them much for the history they have gave to our children.

Robert Cooper

     Robert Cooper was born in Scotland (1834), married Mary Craig there in 1854 and came to The Dalles, in 1882 settling on the Cooper place in Dry Hollow in 1889. He died in 1925. He raised cherries, peas, poaches, prunes, watermelons on the arid hillsides, following the pattern laid out by Rev. Roberts. He also raised some hay and stock. His children were George, Catherine and Laura who occupy the old home place; Etta Rowe of The Dalles; John and Anna of California. This place has been in the Cooper family for 83 years. Like the Roberts family they take prosperous and depression times as just so much good and bad in our history, but no matter what happens The Dalles will always be their home. They will never move away nor never sell out. They are as steadfast and dependable as the Rock of Gibraltar!

Caleb Brooks

     Caleb Brooks came to Albany, Oregon in the emigration of 1848 where he took a Donation Land Claim and lived until 1870 when he moved to The Dalles, after visiting and looking around here in 1884. His first place consisted of 150 acres in the southeast portion of The Dalles from G to Lewis on 12th and south to the Rev. E.P. Roberts home on the east side of Dry Hollow road and to the Robert Cooper place on the west side of the Dry Hollow road. The Caleb Brooks home was at 1422 East 15 street, according to H.E. Deardorff who has lived in that part of town 30 years. The Caleb Brooks spring at 1422 provided the house and stock with water. Later this same place was used by R.H. Weber for a nursery location. The directory of 1898 says, "Richard Weber, proprietor of The Dalles Nurseries ½ miles east of the Fair Grounds, residence the same.” Caleb Brooks died in 1899 at age 75.

     Caleb Brooks married Saral L. Helm and their children were Roland, Sylvester, Sylvani, Lydia (Mrs. John Surface) all of The Dalles and Mary (Mrs. Rolando Parrish) of the Willamette Valley.
     The children of Roland Brooks who married Florence Cleft were: Truman of The Dalles who furnished this biography; Amy (Mrs. A.W. Wasson); Maude (Mrs. A.W. Wasson); Justin and Thelma all of The Dalles. Caleb Brooks moved to his upper 3 Mile place about 1880 where he farmed. He also acquired Brooks Meadows, following the death of David Newell at the Robert Cooper home in 1875, built an improved road into the Meadows and operated a dairy there in good weather, cut hay at the Meadows. He hauled lumber from the Crandall mill down the McIntosh Grads into Dry Hollow and The Dalles.
     The abstract records show that Caleb Brooks sold to David Newell, July 1, 1872 some of his Dry Hollow holdings and that may have marked the date of the trade for the Brook's Meadows property. The Newell estate was probated Sept. 24, 1875, according to R.M. Weber, retired U.S. Army Captain of The Dalles Co. H. in World War 2.
     R.H. Weber bought his Dry Hollow ranch from Wm. Taylor in 1905. He came from Germany to the U.S. at 18. Dr. George F. Newhouse, optometrist, knew Mr. Weber in Nebraska in 1892 when he was selling trees for the Stark Nursery or Louisiana, Mo. His tree selling brought him to The Dalles the next year and he went to work for the Sam Johns Lumber Mill on Upper Mill Creek an a hunter to provide meat for the crew the first year; then he worked in the mill there and later in the planing mill here in town. By 1898 he had his own nursery where he could be at home. He had married Georgia McNeely and their children were: Captain R.M. Weber of The Dalles; Vivian Weber of Hanford, Wash.; Veda (Mrs. Harold Sexton) of The Dalles and Edna (Mrs. Jack Yoist) of Portland.

Marshall Will

     Marshall Hill was born at Knoxville, Tenn. (1836) son of Clairborne  and Polly (Cates) Hill; was edu­cated in Iowa and came to Brownsville, Ore., with the "big emigration" of 1852. He served in the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-58, was later in the Indian scouting service in Idaha. He was a miner in California, Arizona and Idaho. In the early 1880's he was a stockraiser in the 30 Mile creek area near Condon. He settled on his Dry Hollow fruit ranch, now occupied by Roy Hill and sons in 1883. He married Belinda Thomas and their children were Edwin Hill, blacksmith of Dufur who was killed in a car accident on highway 30 near the golf club in one of our first highway accidents, when the car went off the road. His children were Louise (Mrs. Ray Price) Portland; Howard and Marshall of Portland; Helen (Mrs. Wm. Brackett) Woodburn; Wendell of Scapposse and James of Medford.

     Roy Hill, born at The Dalles 1885 had sons, Fred and Gilbert who occupy the home place; and Lloyd of Terrebonne. Other children of Marshall Hill were Melissa of Salem; Julia (Mrs. Robert Atwell) of the University of Texas; Bertha (Mrs. J.B. Spright) Hood River.

Osmer Cook

     On upper Three Mile Osmer Cook was the first settler in 1874. He was born in Iowa (1847) son Seeley and Nancy (Rice) Cook of N.Y. He came to the Willamette Valley in the "big emigration" of 1832 where his family lived for 22 years; moving back to The Dalles place on upper 3 Mile in 1874. He married Mary Gilliam daughter of Porter Gilliam, Cayuss Indian War veteran of 1847-8. The Cook place is now the Milton Martin place about 7 miles out from The Dalles. The Cook children were: Jennie (Mrs. Frank Moore) of The Dalles; Nellie (Mrs.  George Mann) of The Dalles; Grace (Mrs. Frank Friedley) of The  Dalles; Charlie of Seattle; Ehrman of Stevenson, Wash.; William of Albany; Annie (Mrs. Owen Allen) West Linn; Florence (Mrs. H.C.  Friedley) Bend.

Other Three Mile Settlers

     The Eli Whitney place on Lower 5 Mile, later sold to A.H. Moore and better known as the G.C. or Johnny Moore place on the old Steel road at 3 Mile creek. Dr. G.E. Sanders settled 4 miles out on his fruit orchards (biography page 84). In 1883, F.J. Chase occupied the Morast place 5 miles out; J.W. Matlock, lived on the Matlock grade on the old Steel Road about 2 miles east of 3 Mile creek; W.J. Sayre occupied the Thomas Wasson place, 5 miles up 3 Mile; Wm. H. Taylor moved 1½ mile out in 1878; Dan Zachary occupied the Dr.  G.E. Sander's place in 1897; John Elton lived on upper 3 Mile, about 8 miles out in 1884, later known as the Gene Elton place and now occupied by Mel Runyan; Alexander Fraser had a small place on upper 3 Mile in 1889 now occupied by Earl Lash; Chester Bell built a road from the 3 Mile school house over to 5 Mile in the 1880's, which was called the Ball grade; Floyd Tibbetts moved out to his place in 1902 from Nebraska and at that time Frank Friedley was living on upper 3 Mile, he was a Spanish-American War veteran; Frank Watts, Dalles marble and granite monument ­man lived on Upper 3 Mile. Silas Evans by 1902 was another upper 3 Mile resident. By 1910 Adam Kaufman, August Rankin, Richard Renkin, John Renkin, F.R. Sechler, Jim Taylor and R.H. Weber were residents.

Phillip T. Sharp

     In 1873 Phillip T. Sharp moved to his sheep and cattle ranch on lower 3 Mile. He was born in N.Y. son of Jacob and Sarah (Ranney) Sharp. In 1848 he went to Ohio with brother William to engage in the harness business. In 1848 Phillip, Wm. and Peter went by ox team to the California gold fields. They suffered with high water on the rivers, mosquitoes, cholera, desert thirst. In 1849 they were at Plaserville (Hangtown) mining laborers at $20 a day. On the Feather river P.T. Sharp was captured and wounded by an arrow and held by unfriendly Indians until rescued by miners. In 1881 P.T. Sharp married Jane Howland daughter of John and  Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland of Ft. Jones, Cal. They went to North Bonneville where Mr. Sharp operated the wagon portage from the upper to the lower Cascades, living in a log house. In 1882 he followed the gold rush to Canyon City as a pack train operator out of The Dalles, the first packer into Canyon City. He was robbed by Indians of 45 mules and $50,000 worth of merchandise which practically broke him. In 1883 Canyon City had 5000 population and was larger then Portland (3957) and The Dalles had a "floating population" of about the same. Mrs. Sharp was the Doctor and Nurse of Canyon City, in those days, without pay! Their Canyon City home was next to the Joaquin Miller, poet, log house. Judge Orlando Humason and Judge Joseph Wilson, both of The Dalles, held court in Canyon City, in those days.
     Every other place of business in Canyon City was a saloon and gold dust was the medium of exchange, a "pinch" for small bills or purchases, the scales being used only for larger purchases. Mr. Sharp mined at Prairie City and farmed in Strawberry Valley. Apples sold for $12 a box, other items equally high. Some of his neighbors were Ned Wicks, after whom the Wicks Reservoir up Mill Creek is named, C.M. and Joe Lockwood, operators of The Dalles to Canyon City stage line were neighbors. Mr. Sharp imported St. Lawrence Morgan, the first thoroubred Morgan stallion to The Da11es for service at Canyon City, but it was poisoned at Pratt's 12 Mile Stage Station near Boyd. It could trot the mile in 3:17.
     Mrs. Sharp was a member of the Congregational church and the family was well acquainted with Dr. Thomas Condon, pastor, who lived at 509 East Third, when they moved back to The Dalles in 1871. By that time Mr. Sharp was freighting by wagons with 10-horse teams between The Dalles, Antelope, John Day, Canyon City and Camp Harney. The high water of 1871 covered The Dalles to Celilo Portage railroad. The big fire of 1871 started in Wentz's Wood Working Shop, where he made furniture and coffins in The Dalles. In 1871 we (Edward, Frank and Grace, P.T. and Mrs. Sharp) lived in the Joseph G. Wilson home, now occupied by Judge Fred W. Wilson, at 9th and Lewis streets, and we went to the Laughlin log school at 4th and Laughlin streets; Molly Snider teaching the beginners and Mr. Miller was professor. School was broke up one afternoon, when a parade of soldiers escorting Modoc Indians to the Yakima reservation, passed down 2nd street. It was a very thrilling and unusual event which the school boys could never forget. The Modocs were mounted on horses, as were the soldiers. The whole town turned out as they started down the Brewery Grade. The Modocs were scantly clad and looked like statues glued to their horses. The Warm Springs Indians, who had acted as scouts for the soldiers, triumphantly fired their rifles in the air and displayed poles with Modoc Indian scalps dangling from their ends! The military supply wagons brought up the rear. They crossed The Dalles ferry and went on to Yakima.
     By 1874 P.T. Sharp sold his freighting outfit to Joe Lockwood, sold his other Grant county property and started for The Dalles on horseback about Christmas. A blizzard came up just east of the Deschutes, drifting the snow and compelling Mr. Sharp to spend the night out in the open with his horse walking and stamping his feet to keep from freezing to death! His feet were frozen so bad he wrapped them in his horse blanket to the knees, but was unable to walk on them! so had to ride on down to Sherar's Bridge, through the snow drifts, until he came to a cattle trail leading to the river, but it took him all day to reach the Sherar hotel! Mrs. Sharer seen him coming and recognized his frozen feet condi­tion. She immediately filled a tub with ICE WATER, placing Sharp's feet in the tub of ice which drew the frost out of the feet! A scum of ice formed on the water of the tub! A day later he made his way on to The Dalles! Both horse and rider were in bad shape! The forelegs of the horse were wrapped in gunny­sacks to prevent ice and snow cuts. We took the horse to Jim Bird's livery stable, where the auditorium now stands, but the hoofs of the horse came off and the valiant animal died! Mrs Sherar's treatment saved Mr. Sharp's feet and his life, but he was always troubled with his feet afterwards!

The Sharp Ranch

     Phillip Sharp purchased his 3 Mile ranch from Peter Rudio in 1873. The farm was made into a lovely home and ranch by purchase of the adjoining Absolem Bolton acreage. Only the "bottom land" was cultivated in those days. The hillsides were covered with tall bunch grass which provided forage for cattle, horses and sheep. Three Mile Creek, on the Canyon City road (Thompson or Old Dufur) was the camping place for many teaming outfits going and c6ming into The Dalles. On making camp the first chore was to un­harness the 6 or 10 horses or mules, feed them grain in their nose bags, and turn them out to graze on bunch grass up to their knees, after hobbling them to prevent them from wandering away. The mules had a "chaperon!" in the form of an "old gray mare", with a bell on, and she was led during the day behind the trail-wagon. Just why mules will hang around an old gray mare is a psychological thing not under­stood by anything but a mule! When the Modoc Indians were on the warpath the Sharp barn would often be converted into a "hotel" for sleeping quarters by fleeing families, on what we now call the Fuller place.

Phil Sharp's Mother

     In 1888 Mr. Sharp went book to Ogdenburg, N.Y. to visit his mother, then 108 years old! She never used glasses and could card and spin her own wool, made bedspreads on her loom with designs that were  masterpieces in workmanship for a woman her age! On that trip Mr. Sharp took 100 head of horses east to sell and brought back the first Galloway and Black Angus cattle to Wasco county and they created a "furor" among cattlemen, and enough good prices. After that the ranch was called the Galloway Farm and those cattle were the first exhibited at the Oregon State Fair at Salem!

The Bluff (12) Street Fair Grounds

     Phillip Sharp was very such interested in establishing the first Wasco County Fair Association on the Bluff (12) Street Grounds, which consisted of some 40 acres given by Orlando Humason, father of Wasco county, for that purpose, and extending from G street, then used as the Dry Hollow-Three Mile road, to D street on the west; and from 18 street south to 14th, with the pavilion at 13 and Kelley Avenue. It had a ½ mile race track, laid out by Edward Sharp, Wasco County surveyor for years. A.S. McAllister was first President, Phillip Sharp was Vice-President and J.O. Mack was Secretary-Treasurer and later President. Wm. H. Sharp, son of Phil, hand lettered the premium ribbons. Anne and Elizabeth Lang handled the pavilion exhibits. Phillip Sharp died at his 3 Mile ranch home in 1901 and Mrs. Sharp died there in 1891. Their children were: Grace (Mrs. W.W. Gordon) Portland; Frank of Illinois; William who farmed on 5 Mile and Edward Sharp who continued to operate the home place.

Edward Sharp

     Edward P. Sharp was born at Canyon City in 1865 coming to The Dalles with his parents in 1871 where he went to school in the Laughlin street log school later working on his father's 3 Mile ranch until 1883 when he became Wasco County Surveyor. Wasco county at that time included Sherman and Hood River.
     He continued a county surveyor until 1898 when he went to work for the Eastern Oregon Land Co. and did private surveying.

The Dalles to Boise Military Road

     Edward Sharp recalls the celebration in Canyon City upon completion of The Dalles to Boise Military Road (see page 160) into that place. While here was considerable criticism of that road company and the legal action taken by the U.S. Supreme Court; at the time they built the road into Canyon City it was the largest city in eastern Oregon and had no road! Land was not considered then as being worth very much, so the grants were not out of proportions for just payments to The Dalles business men for building a passable road to Canyon City. The Military road from Fairbanks to Horton's Bridge on the Deschutes, about 4 miles above the mouth, was never used by freight wagons. The road to Canyon City was by way of Boyd, Nansene, Sherars, Shanlko, where it joined The Dalles to Boise Military road through Antelope, Mitchell, Dayville to Canyon City, Prairie City and Fort Boise.

The Freebridge

     The Free Bridge over the Deschutes between Kloan, on the Wasco County side and Freebridge on the Sherman County side, was built by Wasco County about 1882 for a stage and freight wagon road into the new settlements in Sherman County and provide a road from there to The Dalles, as Sherman county was a part of Wasco at that time. The bridge had a clearance of 20 feet over the river and was 150 feet long, 200 feet including approaches. It was of steel construction with reinforced concrete piers and cost $18,000. It was dynamited into destruction about 1912 following the building of the railroads up the Deschutes. After that the Moody toll bridge, at the mouth of the Deschutes river, was used by the people between The Dalles and Sherman county points. The stages operated out of Grant (Popular Grove) also and made rail and boat connections for passengers and freight, from 1882 to about 1900.
     The most prominent livery stable in The Dalles in the 1870's and 1880's was the Fairbanks Stable at across from the Umatilla House at First and Union. It did a big transportation business, kept the stages and freight horses as well as renting buggy teams, storing and boarding privately owned buggy horses, hack-teams, surrey teams and the vehicles, much the same as automobile garages do today. The Grimes' livery stable on the south east corner of 2nd & Federal; the Larsen stables in the east end of town and Jim Bird's stable later known as Ward & Oaks, located where the auditorium now stands, were the other best known stables in The Dalles in the 1870’s.

Gold

     Phillip T. Sharp carried many hundreds of bags of gold from Canyon City to The Dalles, in his freight wagons for deposit with French & Co., bankers in The Dalles, for the miner's of Canyon City. Ed. Sharp didn’t believe his father ever gave a miner a receipt for his gold bag of dust, nor did he demand one from French & Co! Each man’s names was on his own gold dust bag and French & Co. merely weighed the con­tents, and credited it to the miner’s account! This was the highest kind of proof as to the dependability and trustworthiness and high regard of Phillip Sharp's standing in the estimation of both the miners at Canyon City and the bankers and merchants and. people of The Dalles! Gold was safer on the old freight wagons, than it was on the express and gold stages! Wells Fargo was charging 10% to haul gold dust from Canyon City to The Dalles and Mr. Sharp did it for half that sum and often for nothing at all for the merchants of Canyon City with whom he dealt!

Edward Sharp

     Edward Sharp, Wasco County Surveyor and lower 3 Mile farmer, and who furnished the biography for this early lower 5 Mile family; married Kathleen Farrelly (1891) and just recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! Their son operates the old home ranch on lower 3 Mile which has been in the family for nearly 80 years! It is stocked with Hereford cattle. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Sharp were: Arthur who married Eunice Cobb and their children were Edward; Joanne (Mrs. Henry Fritchmuck); Katherine (Mrs. Wm. Mitchell) and Patrick. Other children of Edward were Ivan of Portland; Lorine (Mrs. John Nesbitt) and Mary who died at 25.

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FIVE MILE

     The oldest resident on 5 Mile was Talbot Lowe, who, according to the Wasco County Assessor Harry Green, filed on his Donation Land Claim at the upper or Grey 5 Mile school house in 1854. This place later became known as the Gottlieb Wagonblast place, in 1872; now occupied by Earl Meeker.

Gottlieb Wagonblast  

     Gottlieb Wagonblast and his wife Christina (Rief) Wagonblast came from Stuggart, Germany to the U.S. in 1840 first settling in Missouri and in 1855 came to Oregon City by ox team and covered wagon being accompanied west by their following children, named in order of age: Mary (Mrs. Brugstorf); Jacob who lived in Hood River; Margaret (Mrs. W.S. Douthit) walked nearly all the way across the plains and lived in Portland; Caroline (Mrs. John Simons) Portland; John who homesteaded on Agency Plains near Madras; William who went to California. The following children were born out west: Henry who ranched in Montana; Louis who died at the 5 Mile  ranch; Alice Mrs. Henry Johnson) San Diego, Calif.; twins Charlie and Frank of The Dalles. Charlie Wagonblast married May Frantz, and their sons were Dewey of The Dalles and Edward of Tacoma, Orville, deceased. By 2nd marriage to _____ Doyle, Roy of 9 Mile creek. Dewey’s sons are Dewey and Alvin. Frank Wagonblast, born at Vancouver came with the family to The Dalles in 1872 to the 5 Mile ranch where he married Daisy Pugh, daughter of Wm. Pugh of Pleasant Ridge, The Dalles; and their children were: Will of Portland and George, owner of old Freebridge -- Daneville station on the Great Southern railroad on lower 15 Mile. George was born in 1893 and married Mae Garrett and their sons are Earl who married Mildred Remington; daughter of Wm. Remington of the Fairbanks district; Elden who married Joan Arrvee and lives near his brother at old Brookhouse station on the Great Southern on lower 15 Mile; Robert who married Shirley Martin and lives in The Dalles. -- Biography by George Wagonblast.

James M. and James C. Benson

     James M. and his son James C. Benson moved to the Benson place, on the Benson road (which they built about 1870) in the year 1867. James M. Benson was from New York had came to Portland by boat in 1854. Portland at that time was largely a mass of standing timber with only 4 log houses, mud trails for streets, planks laid in the mud for sidewalks, and a half dozen stores and saloons near the boat landing platform which was cleared out of the brush so as to have a place to leave supplies! James M. Benson moved to Hood  River where his son James C. Benson was born in 1881. In the fall of 1888 they came to The Dalles to look for a place and next spring bought the 5 Mile ranch which has been in the Benson family now for 85 years! -- James Claude Benson, the grandson, being the present owner. The Benson school vas established, according to Mrs. Frank L. Johns in 1885 at the same time the upper 5 Mile or Grey school was established. James C. Benson married Frances Wilkerson and their children were: James Claude who married Onlee Turnbull and owns the old Benson home place; Karl married Lucielle Gasser and lives in The Dalles; Earl works for the railroad in The Dalles; Louis works for the P.U.D. at Bingen, Wash.; Margaret (Mrs. Joseph Seal) 1ives at Downey, Calif.; Beryl (Mrs. Marvin Klausen) lives at Tigard. Biography by Karl Benson.

Robert S. Thompson

     Robert S. Thompson, after whom the Thompson Road, now known as the Old Dufur Road, was named; came up from California about 1875, according to Judge Fred W. Wilson, bought the place on 5 Mile creek, shipped in the first Jersey cattle herd in Wasco county. His brother D.E. Thompson operated a sheep ranch at the mouth of 5 Mile, now known as the Ketchum ranch. Both brothers returned to California, after about 10 years. The short duration of their residence is hardly worth note except for the facts that they gave their name to the road and imported the first Jersey herds. The place was better known as the C.N. Sargent place from 1885 to about 1900. It is now occupied by Sam Walker, grandson of the pioneer flour mill owner Washington Walker, 1858 settler of Dufur, and under which the biography appears.

Henry Steel

     Henry Steel, after whom the Steel road from 3 Mile to 8 Mile was named, came from Kansas to their 5 Mile ranch home located at the 4-Corners about a mile west of 5 Mile creek, and now known as the Levi Chrsitman place, between 1875 and 1880, according to the best memory of Mrs. F.L. Johns. In the early 1870's and 1880's there was a Methodist church located on the Steel place at which Rev. F.L. Johns conducted services for the people out in that area. It was torn down around 1900. There were 3 girls and 3 boys in the Steel family, the girls all died young; Andy Steel died young; Harold Steel died about 1928, he was a World War I veteran; and Frank Steel went to Idaho. -- Data by Mrs. F.L. Johns.

Thomas Gray

     Thomas Gray was born in Missouri son of Yancy Alexander Gray and came west to Salem by covered wagon in the late 1880's where he received his education. The family later became the first settlers near Hardman, in Morrow county and in 1878 moved to the 5 Mile ranch home near the upper 5 Mile or Gray school house which was established in 1885. He married Margaret Jeffers daughter of Wilson John Jeffers, Mexican and Civil War veteran carpenter of The Dalles who worked for the Oregon Steam Naviga­tion Co. 1879 building boats in The Dalles and later for the O.R. & N. Co. railroad shops as a carpenter. He went farming on 5 Mile at the age of 72, when most men think of retirement! -- with his wife Louise (Hays) Jeffers and family. The children were: Thomas and Cecil of Astoria; Lloyd of Portland; George of Maupin; Martha (Mrs. Julius Klint) The Dalles; Pearl (Mrs. Emerson Burtner) Dufur and Clarence who occupies the old 5 Mile home place which has been in the family 78 years! -- Biography by Clarence Gray.

C.G.E. Hill

     C.G.E. Hill was born of Prussian royalty (1839) his father being State Minister for the German Lutheran Church, according to Rev. Frank L. Johns. John Entner, who settled on the Hogs Back Ridge about 1918, and who was also from Germany and visited with and knew Mr. Hill very well, said that C.G.E. Hill started school at 6, took the usual 18 years to graduate from college. spent his 4 required years in the German army, then spent 8 years studying for the Catholic Priesthood. After 16 years of study and education and being 34 years of age, he decided against following the priesthood and for that decision was excommunicated from all rights and benefits of the Catholic church! He had already been treated likewise by his own family so he left Prussia, joining the German Merchant marine and sailed all over the world for the next 2 years and in 1875 farmed in Australia raising wheat and some stock. But he didn't like it in the land of Kangoroos so one again joined the German merchant service and sailed the seas again.
     In 1890 he landed in San Francisco and married a Barbary Coast dance hall girl and came north with the building of the railroads to Portland. He continued to work with railroad construction crews until the line reached The Dalles. There was an irresistible appeal to him to settle hen and he looked around for a place. He didn't have very much money but was able to acquire his 5 mile home about 1882 where his wife died in 1885. He then advertised in the Portland Oregonian for a housekeeper and had about 70 replies, according to Mrs. F.L. Johns. He very carefully read each reply and selected the lady whom he thought would be the best and employed her on trial. She liked the little place and liked Mr. Hill and they were married by Rev. F.L. Johns.
     They had no children of their own so they went up to the Indian farm, just above the 5 Mile school, and got a baby girl which they adopted and which was christened by Rev. F.L. Johns 63 years ago in the little Methodist church on the Steel place. Mrs. Hill told Mrs. Johns the baby had to be christened to be eligible to inherit any German estates. Its name was Stella Hill and they sent a picture of the baby to the Hills in Germany and they "could see the Prussian blue blood in its veins" from the photo!
     One day all the neighbors, according to Mrs. Johns, gathered at the Hill home for a celebration. The Hills, like their neighbors, had a small organ sitting in the corner. No one ever heard it played so they asked Mr. Hill why he bought the organ? He then rolled up his sleeves, sat down before the key­board and the most beautiful organ music ever heard on 5 Mile came forth out of that instrument to the pleasure of the amazed neighbors? It was then that they learned one of his college requirements was the mastering of a musical instrument and he choose the organ! They learned too that he could speak 5 lang­uages and was one of the beat educated men that ever lived in The Dalles vicinity! He could cuss in all those 5 languages. He 2nd wife died on the 5 Mile place. When he became too old to work any more he entered the Wasco County poor farm where he died at 88 in 1925, Rev. F.L. Johns preached the funeral service and ministered the last rites and he acknowledged that C.G.E. Hill was probably the best informed Christian Bible man that over lived in The Dalles or vicinity!

Other Settlers

     The Tom Gray place was formerly known as the Capt. Darrel place. Ira F. Hill had a place on the Steel road east of 5 Mile creek about 1 mile. The Spinx-Henry Rantoul place is now occupied by Fred Thomas. The Frizzel place in occupied now by James Oados. W.A. Miller occupied the Christman place across the road from the Henry Steel place. Wm. Sharp's place was about 2 miles north of the Steel place. Howard Tibbetts later occupied part of the Indian place. John Howland and Peter Godfrey lived on the Thompson road, now called the Old Dufur road. -- Data checked with Rev. and Mrs. F.L. Johns.

Pleasant Ridge

     Peter Omeg was the first settler on Pleasant Ridge in 1883. He was a Civil War veteran and father of Louis Omeg of Endersby. He was closely followed by Wm. Pugh; L. Martin; Joe and William Means all of whom were 1893 settlers according to Lambert Anderson, who, with his father Louis Anderson were 1887 settlers on Pleasant Ridge. Oscar Pile settled up there in 1885. The Craigs were 1900 settlers while Abner St. Ores filed on his homestead up there in 1907 as did Sam Meeker. The Milt Groce and Oliver Groce families were 1915 settlers followed by the Oades family.
     The school was established when the first families went up then and at one time they had 2 schools when the sawmill was operating on upper 5 Mile creek and the children walked up and back each day from their upper 5 Mile homes. It was called Pleasant Ridge because of the very beautiful and pleasant days they have up there in good weather, according to Mable Burg, daughter of Peter Omeg.

The THOMPSON ADDITION

     The deeds and abstracts to the property known as Thompson's Addition to Dalles City date back to 1854 when Capt. Robert H. Thompson and his wife Harriett filed on a Donation Land Claim of 640 acres and this property was held in the Thompson family until 1889 when they sold a block of land to The Dalles Land Co., which  was organized by Caleb N. Thornbury, Malcolm A. Moody, L.L.  McCartney; J.G. Mack and F.A. Abernathy organized for the purpose of selling land and developing the area and encouraging settlement thereon and they laid out the streets and blocks in Thompson's Addition. By 1896 L.L. McCartney was president and Thomas A. Hudson was secretary of The Dalles Land and Improvement Co.
     As stated in the biography of Capt. Thompson on page 80 of this history, he was so poor when he filed on his Donation Land Claim in 1854 that he had to truck for a living in Bradford's warehouse, his  wife had to take in washing and his children herded sheep for a living! But within the next 50 years everything he touched turned to GOLD and when the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. sold out to the railroad Capt. Robert R. Thompson retired to San Francisco a multi-millionaire! -- and upon his death in San Francisco his wealth had greatly increased and the family in Portland still owns the Multnomah hotel block and much other valuable property.
     While a resident of Thompson Addition the family home was on the Old Dufur road (east 9th street) at what we now call the Bert Campbell spring, about ¼ mile east of the Grandview store and adjoining the property and home of the writer of this history. The Dalles Lumber Co. very recently acquired some of the homesite property from Clifford D. "Cotton" Light whose house occupies the Thompson homesite. The Lumber Company will build a reservoir next to the Thompson Spring for fire protection purposes.
     Not all the property of Thompson’s Addition came from the Thompson Donation Land Claim. Some of it is a part of the old William C. Laughlin Donation Land Claim which was likewise filed on in 1854. The Laughlin home was at the foot of Laughlin street where the Stadelman Ice plant is now located, but his claim was ½ mile wide and 2 miles in length which included part of Thompson's

Addition as platted by the Laughlin Land Co.
     So until 1889 the land in Thompson Addition was all "cow pasture" or wheat farms rented to various individuals, but, as Judge Fred W. Wilson says, "there were no houses up there in the 1880's as you can see by looking at the pictures of the country." It is natural to think that there should have been some settlement in that area, close to The Dalles as it was, but there was none, except the Thompson home, east of the top of the Brewery Grade until the Phillips Sharp place was reached at 3 Mile creek!

Silas N. and Daniel O. Davis

     Daniel O. Davis and his brother Silas N. Davis, the carpenter, were among the first families to settle in Thompson Addition after it was acquired and platted by The Dalles Land Co. D.O. Davis settled on his parcel at the intersection (southwest corner) of 16 and Thompson streets in 1890 and Silas N. Davis settled on 14th across from the upper side of the Thompson Addition school property, and for years (60) occupied by his family and just recently sold by his daughter Mrs. C.T. Dennis.
     Daniel O. Davis was born in New York (1848) son of Daniel O. and Hannah (Rogers) Davis; was educated in N.Y, and at 14 enlisted in Co. F. 105 N.Y, Infantry under Col. Thomas and was in the battles of Thorofare Gap, 2nd Bull Run and Cedar Mt. took sick and was discharged. In 1883 he enlisted in the 21 N.Y. Cavalry under Col. Wm. Tibbetts and was in the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia areas at the close of the war, and was sent to Ft. Collins and mustered out at Denver, Colorado. For the next 11 years he farmed and teamed around Denver then came to Baker Co. in 1877 and 1878 to Union county. In 1885 he filed on his homestead at Wrentham, on lower 15 Mile and bought enough more to make 880 acres of which 600 was wheat. He built his Thompson Addition home in 1891, it was closer to a good school.
     In 1872 at Ft. Collins he married Helen Remington daughter of John Remington of Troy, N.Y. and post­master at Ft. Collins and wife Electa (Morse) Remington. The children of Daniel O. Davis were: Edward of The Dalles; Cora (Mrs. Chas. Fagan) The Dalles; Leon, The Dalles; Lulu (Mrs. Fred Chapman) of Montana; Grace (Mrs. Edgar Johnson) Portland; Wilfred and Nellie. He was in possession of his Wrentham ranch in 1905.
     Silas N. Davis, the carpenter brother of Daniel O. Davis was likewise born in New York and came west to Michigan where he married Isabel Carter and settled on his Thompson Addition place, on the south side of 14th across from the Thompson Addition school, Their children were; Hattie (Mrs. Clifford T. Dennis) of The Dalles who has lived at the old Davis home for more than 60 years and who assisted with this bio­graphy and who helped check the list of names of families living in Thompson Addition in 1898 and 1910 and what places they lived on. Other children were: Nellie (Mrs. Dave Morris) The Dalles; Harry of Calif.; Edith (Mrs. Edward Bothwell) Victor; Charles of Calif.; Walter of Portland.

Charles. R. Fagan

     Charlie Fagan was the son of John and Martha (Morgan) Fagan of Albany, Oregon where he was born in 1869. He came to The Dalles between 1885 and 1890 where The Dalles directory of 1898 shows he was an employee of The Dalles Lumber Co. (Johns Mill Creek lumber mill). He married (1894) Cora I. Davis, daughter of Daniel O. Davis and they lived on the north side of Oak (18th street) in Thompson Addition, adjoining the D.O. Davis property. Mr. Fagan was later employed in the freight house of the Union Pacific railroad from 1909 until his retirement in 1939. His brother Nicholas Fagan was a Flume Walker for The Dalles Lumber Company's flume down Mill creek. Children of Chas. Fagan were. Dan; The Dalles; John of Los Angeles; Charles of Portland and Earnest of The Dalles who is with the U.S. National Bank and who married Jayn Laube and has sons Thomas and James. The Fagan place has been in the family 58 years!
     L.L. McCartney, Indian war veteran father of Dalles McCartney, Union Pacific railroader, was one of the first settlers under The Dalles Land Co. and in 1896 he was President of The Dalles Land Co. His place was on the south side of 10 street just east of Thompson street, and the family lived there for about 20 years.
     Wm. and James Parish, early 1990 settlers lived on the south east corner of 16 & Thompson streets, Kate (Mrs. Wm. Parish) was a sister to John Ryan, 1901 farmer on the Bettengin place.

First School

     Hattie Davis (Mrs. C.T. Dennis) daughter of Silas N. Davis and the oldest living pioneer of Thompson Addition (2115 E. 12) was a little girl 2 years old, in 1891, when her parents moved into the original Davis house on 12th just back of the Thompson Addition school house, - but there was no school house there in 1091, in fact Mrs. Dennis says, "I walked to the Bast Hill (Joseph Wilson) school for my first 8 (grammar) grades and later on over to the Whittier High school, and back every night. Now they have to transport the children in big busses. The Thompson Addition school district was not organized until 1900 and the first one room school was built in 1901 and about 10 years later enlarged to the present 2 room structure. Very soon after that the Thompson Addition school was taken into District 12 and for several years during the depression it was closed for economy reasons and the children transported to the larger city schools and when the city schools became overcrowded Thompson Addition school was re­opened, classified as one of the best in District 12, and now children from The Dalles are transported to the Thompson Addition school!"

First Families

     "In 1891", Mrs. Dennis continued, "the only houses in Thompson Addition, and this side of the Walter C. Rowe house and barn at the top of Brewery Grade, were the Daniel O. Davis home at 10th & Thompson streets; the Charlotte Scott and Susan Scott-Wilson home, about a block west of the Daniel O. Davis home, on 18th, later known as the O.W. Smith home and now occupied by his daughter Mrs. D.B. Hewett; and the Herman Horn home on the northeast corner of 10th and Thompson now occupied by John Osloske. Those homes were built a year or so before we moved there in 1891 when my father Silas N. Davis, (a brother of Daniel O. Davis) who was a carpenter, built our home and several others in Thompson Addition and The Dalles. I lived in our old home for 80 years, but after the loss of my husband and other mem­bers of the family, and because it contained 3 acres which I could not care for, I sold it and bought this smaller home I am now living in now. I have lived in Thompson Addition longer than anyone else and have seen it grow from those 4 original homes to a small city in the 80 years I have been here. The greatest growth has taken place since water was piped over here about 8 years ago, in fact there has been as many homes built here in the last 8 years than there was in the previous 50!"

The First Store

     "The first store in Thompson Addition was opened by Conker F. Coe about 1918, at 10th and Thompson streets and on the southeast corner. Mr. Coe came from Sherman county to The Dalles and his wife was Etta Martin, daughter of John and Jane (Brown) Martin of Kent and sister of Harvey Martin. Mr. Coe sold the store to W.A. Coryea and retired to a small cherry orchard across the road from Cherry Park Grange. W.A. Coryea sold to Charles Robinson; Mr. Robinson sold to Edw. Musgrave and he sold to Mr. Hooper who operated the place as a beer and dance hall in World War 2 days. It is now a residence."
     "George and Kate Huston opened the Grandview store about 1924 and had a fine stock of groceries. It was a very good neighborhood store until Mr. Huston died, after which the Huston children seemed to "crowd" their mother for payments on the investment faster than the income of the store would permit, the result being Mrs. Huston was unable to keep as nice a stock of merchandise on hand as she should. However she paid off all the obligations against the store, closed it up and it was sold by the child­ren to Helmer Christensen and his wife in 1947. The Huston children enlarged the store building and modernized it for the Christensens and its now up to the original standards it was on when George Huston opened it nearly 30 years ago. It is a very popular neighborhood store and the Christensens, who live in Thompson Addition, are very popular people," Mrs. Dennis added.

The Dennis Family

     Charles T. Dennis was born in Illinois (1848) lived in Wisconsin and South Dakota before moving to Thompson Addition in 1911. He married Hulda Hammond daughter of Jonathan Hemmond who came to The Dalles in 1902. Their children were Mary Dennis who has lived in Thompson Addition since 1911; Alice of The Dalles and Clifford T. Dennis who married Hattie Davis, daughter of Silas N. Davis, whom we have had the pleasure of referring and verifying all data about Thompson Addition, the oldest living resident of Thompson Addition (see above paragraphs); -- the queen-mother and first citizen of Thompson Additions.

John Ryan

     John Ryan Sr. was born at Dublin, Ireland (1832) son of John and Mary Ryan. He farmed in several of the eastern states until 1884 when he came to Sacramento, Calif. by ox-team and covered wagon, after his marriage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Jane McCabe, daughter of Joseph McCabe who came west with the Ryans. In 1878 thy moved to southern Oregon and in 1880 to their 5 Mile ranch, joining the Benson place on the Benson road and which has been in the Ryan family for more than 70 years! John Ryan Sr. freighted between The Dalles and Prineville with Grandpa McCabe from 1880 to the extension of the Columbia Southern railroad into Shanniko in 1901 at which time they retired from freighting and con­tinued their farming activities. The Ryan children were: George of Stockton, Cal.; Walter of Mill Creek; Robert of Long Beach, Cal.; Rufus of Long Beach; Henry of The Dalles; Kate (Mrs. Wm. Parish) who lived at the J.B. Small place, 18 & Thompson, southeast corner in 1898 before they moved to Long Beach, Calif.; Emma (Mrs. Frank Marsh) The Dalles; Anne (Mrs. Henry Darnielle) The Dalles; Nellie (Mrs. Elijah P. Koontz) The Dalles and John Ryan Jr. of The Dalles, who married Flora Brown, daughter of Jim Brown of Tygh and farmed for 34 years on the Bettingen place (1902-1938) across 3-Mile creek from Cherry Park Grange, the farm house being on the Old Oregon Trail at its 3 Mile crossing. They farmed considerable Dalles to Boise Military Road Co. land and was purchasing a block of that land and had it about 3/4ths paid for when the bottom fell out from under the price of wheat in the depression days of the 1930's and wiped most all their assets out with the crash. Except for a short time they have since lived on a small place at about 2500 east 10th in Thompson Addition, being 50 year residents and the second oldest living residents of the area. They are both past 65, entitled to an old age pension but have been ruled ineligible on account of owning their own home! Their sons Harold and LeRoy Ryan are employed at The Dalles post office.

Wm. E. McNeal

     Wm. E. McNeal was born at Chucky, Tenn., (1849) son of John and Lavina (Fullen) McNeal moved to Watson, Mo. (1853) where he received his early education and married Martha Barnes daughter of Jesiah Barnes of Louisville, Ky. and had Orvin, Claude and Edith McNeal. The family came west by mule team and covered wagon (1882) to Prairie City, Ore. where his father died, in 1887 and that same fall the family came on down to The Dalles where Wm. E. worked for the boat company. The next year he went to Seattle and the Tacoma area where his daughter Edith married Jacob Dirks. The family came back to The Dalles in 1890 and operated the old Hotel Dalles for a time and then went to Ashland, Oregon and worked for the S.P. railroad returning to Cascade Locks where he worked for the D.P.A.N. boat Co. and where his daughter died in 1892 and where he lost a son Frank in 1893,and moved back to The Dalles that fall continuing to work for the D.P.A.N. boat Co. Just before the flood of 1894, he bought his Thompson Addition home at the southeast corner of 18 & Thompson streets, dug a 108 foot well that never went dry, gardened and had a small orchard and built the house now occupied by the Frank Fryman family. In 1901 he sold to Joseph C. Wingfield, retired wheat rancher of 8 Mile, and vent to Santa Rosa, Calif. and worked with Luther Burbank, the plant wizard, in developing new and better garden vegetables and fruits. The move was made to better his wife’s ihealth but she died at Cloverdale n 1901 of T.B. After his second wife's death in California in 1916 he came up to Portland to live with his sisters until 1930 when he returned to The Dalles where he lived with the writer of this history until his death in 1932.
     Their children were Edith and Frank who died at Cascade Locks; Claude who disappeared in 1915 and Orvin who married Nettie Davis, daughter or Silas Wm. Davis and Emilone (Renoe) Davis of Ortley, who operated the Dalles to Wapinitia stage line (1885-1897) and were covered wagon pioneers of 1865 to The Dalles from Missouri; and Orvin McNeal lived in Thompson Addltion with his father (1894-1901) and went to California with them but returned to farm out near Gresham (1906-07 & 08) returning to The Dalles where the family lived up Mill creek where the Pines Dairy is now located in 1909 and the spring of 1910 but that fall he too died of T.B. leaving the widow and their children: Wm. H. McNeal, writer of this history who was born herein 1899; Emeline (Mrs. Burt M. Anderson) Seattle; John McNeal, The Dalles.
     Wm. H. McNeal, the writer of this history moved back to Thompson Addition in 1938 and has resided here since with wife Elva (Wilhoit) McNeal and daughter Gay. Son Ray is married and living in New York.

Joseph C. Wingfield

     Joseph C. Wingfield was born at Molalla (1848) son of Joseph and Hanna (Knapp) Wingfield who came to Molalla by ox-team in 1848. He worked out of The Dalles and Umatilla as a pack train operator to the mines at Bear Gulch, Mont.; did mining and sawmill work (1865-1882). In 1883 he moved on to his 8 Mile ranch now owned by J.A. Davidson retiring to the McNeal place in Thompson Addition, which he bought in 1901 and lived there 10 years selling to Jess Barnett who sold to Frank Fryman the present occupant. He married Alice G. Ramsby daughter of Maxwell and Elizabeth (Smith) Ramsby who crossed the plains in 1846 with a pony pack train, and Maxwell Ramsby was a Cayuse Indian War veteran of 1848! Their children were: Orvi11e Wingfield, Tenant, Cal.; Elton Wingfield who disappeared in Alaska in 1943; Cora (Mrs. L.C. Lauser) of Seaside  and Iva (Mrs. Arthur Smith) of The Dalles. Orville Wingfield owned 750 acres of land in Thompson Addition in 1905 of which 500 acres were in wheat! --History of Central Oregon; - Mrs. Arthur Smith.

1898 Residents

     The following named families were also listed in The Dalles directory of 1898 as living in Thompson Addition and their residence location was checked with Mrs. C.T. (Hattie) Dennis: Nathan Betts at west end of Oak or 18 street; Alex, Calvin, David and Wm. Bonner, location unknown; Christman Campbell; Edw. and Maston Parkins were on the Mary Dennis place, on 18th; James and Wm. Parish, southeast corner of 18 & Thompson; Gus Bartell, 1 block east Thompson on 12th now known as the J.C. Bramlotte place; Westley Brooks; Frank Brown & Lewis Oaks, draymen; George Coy, peddler; Charles Fraser, barber was on west 16th and later known as the Bert McClure place; James Hickenbotham at old Robert Thompson spring and home­sight later known as the Chas. and Bert Campbell place now occupied by C.D. Light; Joe Hidy, brickmaker; R.F. Reno, teamster; Frank, George, Sam and John Potts about 2114 E. 12 (Douglas place; S.H. Thompson at 12 & Thompson, 2nd place west; Wm. McKaley, 2 houses west of Grandview store; J.J. Woolery.
     After 1900 the following families moved to Thompson Addition: Wm. Gasser, E. 10, John Pyan place; Wm. and Jim Gilbert, after Gasser on the Ryan place; O.W. Smith and Chas. McEchran on 18th west of Thompson; J.H. Wise on 18th, west of Thompson; Lewis Pickell on the Woolery place; Ben Hurst moved in from Nebeck.

George Reed

     George Read lived in the Fred Gasser house at 10 & Richland Avenues and his house burned about 1900. Mrs. Hattie Dennis recalled that the people up here obtained enough donations, sold enough quilts, etc. to purchase the lumber for the house now occupied by George Barker on the Riverview Dairy location, and volunteer labor erected it for the Reeds; an act of public charity not forgotten.

1910 Residents

     Steve Kissender moved in from Smock to the Grant Cyphers place across 9 street from the Grange hall; Rufus Ryan on the adjoining place to the west; John L. Anderson, 2 houses west of school on 14th; Emery Beach on Small place; John Betts on the Bobised place on 14th; Tom Bronaugh on west end of 14th; Frank Carlson near the school; John Hartle, Small place E. 18; James Leonard, 18th; John Preston; Frank Sargent 2122 E. 10; Ed and Joe Welp, 10 & Morton; Joe Geiger 12 & Richland; Geo. Roberts NE corner 12 & Thompson;
     Joe Geiger was born in Switzerland (1884) came to Thompson Addition in 1907; married Nellie Sinn of Wisc. and their children were Vera (Mrs. Bert Thompson) Portland; Ruth (Mrs. Euguene Hammel) The Dalles; Anne (Mrs. Byron Adams) Moscow, Ida.; Margarite (Mrs. Earl Boyd of The Dalles and Ed Geiger who occupies the home place.
     John Preston first came to Thompson Addition in 1905; married Celia Hammand and they had: Hazel (Mrs. Lee Martin, The Dalles; Ruth (Mrs. Jim Wilds) The Dalles; and Jack of Thompson Addition.
     The Thompson Addition Sunday school Union was established at the school house in 1911 by W.A. Coryea and Dr. Case and is still active after 40 years, Cherry Park Grange was established in Thompson Addition in 1925, The Thompson Addition P.T.A. is active but the Columbia Heights Association was disbanded.

SEUFERTS

     Seufert station on the Union Pacific railroad and highway 30 3½ miles east of The Dalles was named for the Seufert brothers, Frank and Theodore. It is one of the oldest industries at The Dalles and soon to be absorbed and obliterated by the building of The Dalles Dam which will flood out nearly all their holdings above the dam, while the cannery, and orchard property below the dam is expected to become "Engineer's Town" for The Dalles Dam, where their offices, homes, community hall and other government buildings will rise much after the fashion at Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams. It was established in 1884 and now operated by Arthur, Edward and William Seufert, sons of Frank Seufert.
     Seufert cannery records are a complete history of all the Indians who have fished in this vicinity of the Columbia river, they years they fished and amount of fish they sold to the cannery in addition to what they kept for their own use. We read in the papers where the Indian claim they have "certain tribal fishing rights here on the Columbia river under the treaty of 1855” signed under Treaty Oak, on the Nielsen place up Mill creek, by their chiefs and Joel Palmer, Indian Agent for the government at that time. Some of the Indian f1shermen might be surprised to find their ancestor's names missing from the Seufert record, down through the years, if and when the government gets around to call the "Seufert Indian fishing roll" to see who actually fished here, in the Columbia since 1884.
     Railroads, highways, canals, locks, dams, bridges, power lines, telephone lines, fishermen, photographers, hunters, tourists have all trespassed and crossed Seufert Brothers property, with and without permission down through the years! Some public body is continually condemning or dickering for Seufert property! There has been more trespassers on Seufert property, which is PRIVATELY OWNED the same as yours and mine, than on that of any other individual, company or corporation in the history of Wasco county!  The generosity, big heartedness and public understanding of the Seufert Brothers, knows no bounds, nor has any comparison in the 100 years of Wasco county history!

Fish Bills

     Astoria fishing interests and labor leaders of Oregon for years have tried to legislate Seufert Brothers out of existence! There has never been a session of the Oregon legislature and few of Washington, that have not had a "fish bill” under consideration, to say nothing of the general elections at which the people have been called upon to legislate them out of business! More light-hearted men would have taken their capital and moved out of the community and state that treated them in such a manner! But they too loved The Dalles as their home town and they merit our profound admiration for being able to take these blows and come back smiling for more! The bui1ding of The Dalles Dam will accomplish what state and labor politicians have failed to do, it will destroy Seufert Brothers and all fishing at The Dalles on the Columbia river! The U.S. government will compensate Seufert Brothers and the Indians for this loss, but our memories can never forget the pleasant associations we have had with the Indians and our fishing citizens as well as the grounds on which they fished and the world-famous Celilo Falls which will be replaced by The Dalles Dam Falls of greater height and beauty.

The Seufert Brothers

     The History of Central Oregon says Theodore J. and Frank Seufert were born in New York, 1859 and 1858 respectfully; sons of John Seufert, native of Germany, and educated in New York. In 1878 they came to San Francisco and 1882 to The Dalles where they formed a partnership in the meat, fruit and fish ship­ping business to Montana, Idaho and points east as served by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. and the Northern Pacific railroads which made the only connection with Chicago and the east at that time. They purchased the Whitcomb fishing interests and small cannery in 1884. By 1898 they had expanded to a capacity of 1500 cases per day and employed 125 people during canning season. Some of this help was Chinese labor used in handling and cutting up the fish, a job that few white people would like, and for that reason they have been a target for labor leaders to heckle by legislation and they finally teamed up with the Grange and outlawed fish wheels, used on this section of the Columbia, "as a fish conservation measure." Astoria fishing interests never explain that 75% of the fish caught in the Columbia is taken from the waters of the lower river, so if fish conservation is actually wanted it should be stopped or out down half in that region, FIRST, or make the same percentage applicable to the entire stream!
     Theodore Seufert married (1886) Mary McGrail and their children were Roger of Redwood City, California; Theodore of Redwood City, Calif.; Leland of Portland and Mildred, deceased. After the death of Theodore and Frank Seufert, the interest these children had in the cannery was purchased by the heirs of Frank Seufert.
     Frank Seufert married Annie Schiek and their children were Lillie (Mrs. Geo. N. Rice) of Portland who has a daughter Francis Rice Adamson; Frank Seufert Jr. who died of flu in 1918; Arthur Seufert who married Pearl Baker and their children are Frances, Elizabeth and Edna May Cramer; Edward Seufert married Ellen Coffee and their children were Richard and Edward J.; William Seufert married Esther Book and their daughter Edra Anne is Mrs. Wm. Deilsnider.

Frank Seufert by John W. Kelley (Oregonian Story)

     The story of Frank Seufert is the story of a poor boy who worked hard for success as an apprentice butcher of New York who slept on a trunk in the back of the shop and went to work at 4 A.M! He saved enough to buy a ticket to San Francisco and had $4 when he arrived. He worked hard in a San Francisco shop, accumulated $600 and came to The Dalles to open a meat shop of his own. He studied Columbia river fishing, introduced the fish wheel, bought a small cannery, expanded and made money at Seuferts, which was a land of barren sand dunes in 1884, considered worthless. He leveled off the sand, bought all the manure from Dalles livery stables, planted an orchard and irrigated from 15 Mile creek with success. He drilled for oil on Chenowith creek and in the railroad yards, at 438 feet struck a tree, but went on down to the end of the basalt at 1003 feet in both wells to blue clay. He invested in land on both sides of the Columbia for 12 miles. While mayor of The Dalles he cleaned out the gambling element and balanced the city budget. He advocated the development of power sites on the Columbia. The Grange and Labor Unions united to outlaw his fish wheels. He planted the first cherry orchard at The Dalles.

BIG EDDY

     Big Eddy post office, located 5 miles east of The Dalles on highway 30 at the entrance to The Dalles­Celilo Canal, the Engineers' Town for maintenance of the canal, was established May 2, 1911 with Herdon Maurey, postmaster. It took its name from the big eddy of the Columbia river at that point, which is a mile in diameter and levels off the water of the Columbia after its rapid decent through The Dalles narrows or channel of the Columbia which ends at that point and which will be drowned out in 1956 by The Dalles Dam. The post office was established for government workers who lived in Engineers' Town and the construction men on the canal including the contractors. Mail trains dropped off the pouches and picked up outgoing pouches, by crane, without stopping.

     Mrs. Frank Saunders became postmaster in 1918 as Mr. Saunders, an engineer on the canal, was prohibited by the government from drawing more than one federal pay check for employment. Mr. Saunders re­tired in 1935 and Mr. Beatty was appointed to the vacancy serving until the office was closed July 14, 1936.

Saunders Biography

     Frank B. Saunders was born at Empire, Oregon (1874) son of Wm. Saunders and wife Emily (Noble) Saunders and he married Teresa Knowles of Santa Barbara, Calif. after his graduation from the University of Oregon. In 1905 he was engineer on the Yaquina Bay harbor improvement project and came to Celilo in 1906 after 10 years government service elsewhere including Coos Bay. He remained a resident engineer of The Dalles-Celilo canal and was retired under the "Economy Act" of 1934, after 30 years of service in 1935, at which time he had to give up his residence at Big Eddy and move to The Dalles which caused the resig­nation of Mrs. Saunders as postmaster. Their 2 children were Carrol W. Saunders, owner of the Hospital Pharmacy and Tom Saunders of The Dalles.

Dalles-Celilo Canal

     The progress edition of the Chronicle (1952) said; The canal will be flooded out at the completion of The Dalles Dam in 1956 when the dam will rise 40 feet above above the canal at Big Eddy. It was completed in 1915 to permit boats to get above Celilo Falls but has been considered a "bottleneck" to river traffic for the last 10 years, as both the locks and canal are too narrow for modern barge traffic and there is 3 locks which delay traffic the year around and a 4th used in high water. A 145 foot reading on the Celilo gauge, 17.4 above "low water" at that point, closes the canal. The flood of 1948 put the canal out of operation 80 days and open for only limited traffic for the next 30 days on account of having to dredge out 127,000 yards of mud washed in by the high water. The canal was designed for steamboats which were replaced in 1935 by larger tugs and barges with 25 towboats and 100 barges in operation by the Inland Navigation Co. and Tidewater-Shaver Co. which haul gasoline and oil to Umatilla and up river points. They moved 1,000,000 tons through the canal in 1951 about double the figure for 1946. The canal was built by the Army Engineers in 1915 under the direction of Col. J.H. Polhemus of Portland. Most of the work was done by the government, rather than contractors, under the superintendency of James B. Small, civil construction engineer of tire Interior Department "borrowed" by the Army Engineers to supervise construction. Building 8 miles of canal through solid basalt rock at a cost of $5,000,000 was never done before. The kind of "shooting" and drilling required on the canal had to do its "work downward" and not up in the air like the first "4th of July celebration-types of shots" first used on The Dalles Dam, and first used on the canal, until Small took charge. The most difficult task on the canal was the water conveyance tubes, also drilled and shot in basalt, sometimes within 24 inches of the top of the ground; and without shooting through to daylight! Small worked his physical body into waste on that job and retired a cripple and died in poverty, trying to "save the government money!" Now everybody's attitude is to "let Sam pay for it" and Sam (you and I) are squandering money like a drunken sailor! The day of bankruptcy and poverty is "just around the corner!" Did J.B. Small die in vain? Or is economy a thing remembered only in our past history?
     The largest number of men employed at any one time on the canal, under Mr. Small, was 1500! There were 8 men killed on the project. The drilling was done by steam, a nice warm job when it was 120 in the shade! It was 8½ miles long, 65 feet wide and 8 feet deep and first included 5 locks to overcome an 81 foot drop in the river. Its completion made navigation possible from Astoria to Lewiston, Idaho. It required 20 for a boat to pass through each lock and 3 hours for the entire canal. The excavation was 1,402,000 yards of basalt and 1,606,000 of sand. Col. Jay J. Morrow supervised for the Army Engineers with Capt. T.H. Dillon, resident engineer. The work was under contract from 1905 to 1910 when the Army Engineers took charge under Col. J.H. Polhemus. Other engineers were Maj. W.C. Langfitt, Lt. Col. S.W. Rossler, Maj. J.F. McIndoe, Maj. J.B. Cavanaugh, Lt. Col. Jay J. Morrow, Capt, A.A. Fries, Capt. Henry H. Roberts, Capt. Theodore H. Dillon and Civil Engineers: Fred C. Schubert, G.E. Goodwin, F.E. Leefe, W.G. Carrol, James Brownlee, J.H. Polhemus, Frank B. Saunders, A. Seymour Fleet designed the gates of the locks here and at the Cascades. Fred Shubert. The first survey was made in 1900.

Opening Celebration

     At the opening celebration May 6, 1915 the Chronicle reported 10,000 people in attendance. Miss Wilma Donnell was Queen of the celebration. Several special trains and all the available passenger boats were on hand, the boats went on up river to Maryhill and turned around. The writer of this history was on one of those boats. While the canal received very little boat use until the recent barge activity, its completion kept freight rates down thereby saving millions of dollars for the people of the Inland Empire. It meant a "free river for the people" Capt. J.N. Teal said.
     There was a celebration held at Maryhill, Wash. participated in by Samuel Hill, Gov. Lister of Wash., Gov. Alexander of Idaho, Senators Poindexter and Jones of Washington, Frank Branch Riley, Congressman N.J. Sinnott of Oregon and a host of other noted people.
     Walla Walla, Umatilla, Vancouver, Pasco, Kennewick all held celebrations. At Lewiston a monster parade portraying the entire history of Lewiston was staged!

CELILO-FERRY-DILLON

     The post office at Celilo on the Union Pacific railroad and highway 30, 12 miles east of The Dalles and named after the "Si-le-loh" tribe of Indians was first established as a' post  office according to official records May 27, 1889. The only postmaster's name we have in that early period is Irwin Taffle who served from 1898 to 1910. C1osed the first time March 15, 1914.

Ferry

     In the meantime work had progressed enough on The Dalles-Celilo canal for Wm. Tom Ferry, who oper­ated a store in the sand dunes at Dillon, to apply for a post office and mail service which was granted Oct. 26, 1912, on the Union Pacific railroad 8 miles east of The Dalles as FERRY post office, with Tom Ferry, postmaster and Charles E. Frye, his store clerk and assistant-postmaster. The office served largely the transient workers on the construction of the canal and the contractor and engineers.

Dillon

     Then in April 1914 an application was made to the post office department to change the name of the post office from Ferry to Dillon, in honor of Capt. Theodore Dillon, Army Engineer on the canal project. The application was granted and the name was changed to DILLON April 8, 1914. Wm. Tom Ferry continued to operate the office in his store at Dillon with Chas. E. Frye, his store clerk as assistant.

Celilo

     On May 20, 1915 the office was closed at Dillon and re-opened at Celilo with Charles E. Frye as the postmaster with the office in his little store at Celilo, 12 miles east of The Dalles on the Union Pacific railroad which brought the mail out and picked it up by crane hook without stopping. Mr. Frye continued as postmaster until his retirement in 1946 at age 70, with 31 years of service. In 1947 and 1948 the office was handled by Mr. and Mrs. Nels Helmick whose place of business was wiped out by fire in 1949 destroying the post office. It was re-opened in 1950 with John Quints, Indian, in charge who gives part time service.

Chas. E. Frye

     Chas E. Frye was born (1875) son of George Frye and married Laura Bridge, his assistant postmaster at Celilo who died in 1951. Their son Warron is in police radio work at Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Frye was a carpenter and salesman before he joined Mr. Ferry in the store at Dillon in 1912. He held two commissions as postmaster at Dillon Jan. 4, 1915 and at Celilo June 28, 1915. When he retired Robert Hannegan, postmaster general wrote him as follows, "It has come to my attention that you have retired from the position of postmaster at Celilo, Oregon. You may be proud of your record and the loyal and efficient service you have rendered. I extend my personal congratulations and hope you will enjoy many years of happiness."

More Than 100 years Old

     Celilo is a far older town than its postal history indicates. When Lewis & Clark came through there in 1805 they found an Indian fishing villiage with Indians living in "houses" and about as “modern" in 1805 as they are in 1952! They noted them spearing salmon in the same primitive manner that they had always fished. The tribe was known as the Si-le-lahs which controlled the fishing site and the barter­ing for food (fish) which they traded for other foods or articles. Celilo Falls site had a great value and many battles were fought for its possession. They dry-packed their fish, after pounding it up fine, in baskets of grass, 1 X 2 feet, which they lined with salmon skins dried for that purpose. The dried fish would keep several years in those containers! -- and could be transported for great distances and would sustain life without any other food! They were friendly Indians, to the whites, and readily  made trades for food, with all comers, indicating they made large catches and dried lots of fish for their trade with visitors.
     When Orlando Humason and Capt. R.H. Thompson first operated their wagon portage over the Old Oregon Trail between The Dalles and Deschutes Bridge post office at the mouth of the Deschutes River in 1858, they had to detour back for a better landing toward Celilo, after the larger steamers replaced the first boats they launched and served at Deschutes Bridge. Arthur Cook, Wasco County road engineer referred to Commissioner's Journal A, page 4, which "declared the Humason road from the Humason ranch to Celilo, a public road Sept. 8, 1884. (It mentions a previous road)." It was 2½ miles from the Old Oregon Trail down through a gap in the bluff to old Celilo, about one mile east of the present Celilo town, and it existed as a settlement of white people in 1880. Some of them were fisherman, some bought fish, others were in the river transportation business, and still others ran an inn, livery stable service or were freight handlers, boat builders, freighters or stage coach operators. The Jones hotel and tavern was one of the earliest in existence in the 1860's.
     In 1885 Ed Sharp said he "surveyed a better road down the bluff for Capt. I.H. Taft so he could get to his fish wheel. He located there in 1885. There had been another road down the bluff.." The platted town of Celilo was filed April 28, 1910 by the Celilo Investment Co., A.L. Holt, President and J.W. Gussie, Secretary.     

Oregon Steam Navigation Co.

     In 1882 the O.S.N. Co., as we have previously stated, built The Dalles to Celilo Portage railroad, acquired Bradford & Co., Ruekles & Olmstead, Humason & Thompson on then upper river and had a complete monopoly of the river transportation business. The east terminal of their railroad was at Celilo where they built a large wart on piling about 35 feet wide and 1100 feet long, a photo of which exists in the Lulu Crandall files at The Dalles library. The railroad tracks were on the south side of the dock while the steamers landed on the north side. The dock being long as The Dalles Port docks, gave plenty of storage room for discharging and transferring cargoes, most all of which was going up river to the miners of eastern Oregon, Idaho and Montana. They also had ways for building and launching boats at Celilo. They had machine shops, carpenter shops, blacksmith shops, hotels, restaurants or boarding houses for the men, bunk houses, gambling hall and saloon. Celilo was a very important little city then. G. Erskine operated the hotel in the late 1860's and 1870's. The maternal grandfather of the writer of this history, Silas Wm. Davis was a carpenter and boatbuilder at Celilo in 1865 and 1886 while his wife cooked for more than 20 of the men. There were other cooks for other similar construction crews. Later Mr. Davis was a member of the train crews on the old Dalles to Celilo portage railroad, before he (Davis) bought The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in 1885.
     Some of the boats built at Celilo by the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. were the Annie Faxon, John Gates, Harvest Queen, Spokane, Okanagan. The freight rate between The Dalles and Celilo was $15 per ton! From The Dalles to Lewiston it was $80 per ton! But even at those fantastic charges the O.S.N. Co. had more freight offered to them for transportation than they had room on their boats to carry! Boats designed to carry 130 tons were charging at those rates for 300 tons!  Passenger fare were equally as high, $60 from Portland to Lewiston!
     By 1880 the men in charge of the O.S.N. Co. were getting well along in years and readily sold out to Henry Vallard for $5,000,000 ($25,000,000 1952) and The Dalles to Celilo railroad became one of the oldest links in the Union Pacific railroad system. The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. commenced immed­iately to extend the line from Celilo east to Wallula where a connection was planned with the Northern Pacific railroad for service to Chicago. By Nov. 20, 1882 trains could reach Celilo from Portland and could proceed eastward as far as Boardman. By August of 1883 the Northern Pacific completed their lines into Wallula, having already made a connection from there to Messner, near Boardman with the O.R.& N. Co. The line was completed from Umatilla to Hunnington in 1884 and the Union Pacific assumed control in 1587.

Celilo by Capt. W.P. Gray

     Capt. W.P. Gray, 1854 native son of Hood River and The Dalles, in the Heppner Gazette-Times May 13, 1915 said, "In the early days it was necessary to load river craft along the Columbia between Celilo and the Deschutes river by letting freight wagons down the steep perpendicular cliffs by means of ropes, near the present site of Celilo where there is a narrow cleft in the rimrocks, and this chute formed a natural track for the loaded vans (between 1858 and the building of The Dalles-Celilo railroad in 1862). Captain Lawrence Coe  is credited with naming Celilo, who, when he heard of the plan (to bring wagons down through the bluff) said, 'I see, lie low;' and that expression became contracted to Celilo, which is famous for its primitive Indian fisheries." --Louis Fritz scrapbook.
     This important article from Louis Fritz's scrapbook clears up the mystery of how Orlando Humason and Capt, R.R. Thompson got their wagons from the Old Oregon Trail to Celilo-boats or landing docks in that region before the building of The Dalles to Celilo Portage railroad in l862. At the time Edward Sharp surveyed the road from the Old Oregon Trail 2½ miles down to Celilo in 1885 he had noted another road had previously been used down through the bluff and that the lower sides of that road were riprapped with rocks to hold the soil, and was quite steep. It has since been washed out and covered with blow­sand, but it was about a mile east of the present site of Celilo. The empty wagons could return over the same road, but loaded wagons had to go up to Deschutes river and follow the old Oregon Trail until Sharp made the improved road for Taft in 1885. The Indian cemetery is on the bluff on the old Taft road.

Celilo by Frank Gill

     The Dalles to Celilo railroad was 5 foot gauge and had to be changed to the standard 4--8½ in 1880. The Walla Walla railroad was 3 foot gauge and the first tracks from Wallula to Irvigon was 3 foot which had to be changed to 4--8½. The Dalles to Celilo portage railroad was extended to Blalock in 1880 with 58 pound (to the yard) rails. The locomotives burned wood and had to be "wooded up" about every 20 miles. Freight cars held 10 ton of freight. There were no sleepers or diners on the passenger trains. There were no automatic couplers, no air brakes, no electric lights, steam heat or air signals. When the engineer whistled for "down brakes" brakemen ran the full length of the train, on both passenger and freights, setting the brakes on each car! There was no signal system and split switches were not in general use. (Such was The Dalles to Celilo railroad (1862-1880). -- 1952 Progress Edition, Dalles Chronicle.

Celilo by Lulu D. Crandall

     My brother M.Z. Donnell (Dalles druggist) and I would ride our ponies over to Celilo, about 4 miles, from our 10 Mile (Lower 15-Mile-Brookhouse station) ranch. Old Celilo was about a mile east of the pres­ent Celilo station, where the boats loaded for the upper river country with freight and passengers to the gold mines at Lewiston, Baker or Boise. We would watch entranced as the big palatial steamers came in sight and come in and land at the wharf to discharge passengers, freight and baggage. There was no down river freight comparable to that on the trips up river to Umatilla, Wallula and Lewiston. There was always a full passenger list leaving.
     The warehouse (wharf or dock) was over 900 feet in length and built on an incline in order to suit the rise and fail of the river. Steamboats easily ran up alongside and discharged or loaded without trouble. There was always tons of freight piled up and ready for the upper river trip and passengers, who came by train or private conveyance, to catch the boat.
     I remember seeing big boats under construction on the ways, soon to be launched. The boats at Celilo in those days were the Col. Wright, Tenino, Okanagan, with Capt. Stump and Capt. Coe in charge. Old Celilo was quite a berg of cheap little houses, set in the sand bank, in which families lived that belonged to river men, or to the gang of ship carpenters, building or making repairs on boats. There was a hotel for the entertainment of the workers and passengers.

     The portage was completed in 1863 and the "little pony" puffed up and down the 15 miles of track from The Dalles to Celilo, and was owned by the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. and was the second railroad in Oregon (the first being at Cascade Locks to Bonneville).

     Not a vestige of old Celilo is left today to tell of the busy life that once was hers, except some piling that indicates where the warehouse (dock) was. No one knows who gave the steamboat landing its name, nor from which Indian dialect it came. It is thought to mean "shifting sands" a well-taken conclusion when you once experience the sand-blows that are common there. -- Optimist 1931.

Celilo in 1872 by L.J.G. Runkle

     Here are the famous salmon (Celilo) falls, up which the salmon go to the quiet reaches of the river to spawn, shooting the rapids with incredible agility, as you watch fascinated. Up they come through the fierce sucking waters, gleaming white against the black stones that here and there tear the water. First a few come together, then a multitude swirls along, then the whole river, from side to side, is light with their innumerable host. They mind that precipice and torrent no more than if it were a summer pool. They swim swift and stately to the very foot, where you lose them in the seething whirlpool. Some­thing flashes in the air, elastic, strong, light. Something glides up the stream above the falls. The daring, determined, wonderful thing has made that leap, defied rock and torrent, and found its safe shelter in the quiet pool beyond. Or there is the flash and then a struggle and the poor bruised creature, wounded to death against the shap-edged stones, drops back upon the current and floats down, a bloody track, dying after a little while. So they come and come and come, myriads of them, and leap, and win or lose, for all the hours of the day and half the days of the year (indicating greater runs than now).
     All over the rocks at the foot of the falls flutter the scantly-clad Indians, who live chiefly on salmon. When they have dried twice-over all, they can consume they continue to go to the falls, day after day, to spear the beautiful fish and throw them out n the stones to die. (The extra fish were dried, pounded up fine and bundled for winter use, trade or sale in exactly the same manner and reason the white man takes more fish from the river than he can eat.)
     The forests above The Dalles, disappear and for miles on miles the banks (hills) are covered with thick brown grass. Most tourists seldom venture above Wright's Harbor, 250 miles from the sea (John Day damsite). River steamers ply 400 miles up the Columbia and Snake into Idaho. When the railroad connects the headwaters of the Missouri with the Columbia, the 600 miles of track will open up a wealth of trade and the most magnificent wilderness of the world to travel. But at present it is well to pause at Celilo where there is the largest warehouse in the United States! -- being over 1100 feet in length and  built to recieve the Idaho freights. There is nothing else in or near Celilo, so back we go, leaving the falls, salmon, Indians, desert, whirlpool and whirlwind at your back for the convenience and comforts of The Dalles.         

The Dalles Rapids

     The endless wonder of the Pacific-coast journeys is the suddenness of their changes as if some super­natural scene-shifters were kept constantly busy in whipping off old scenes and settling up new and unexpected ones. The 15 miles of portage show superb river scenery. The river is a succession of rapids, falls and sucking currents, where The Dalles troughs are through flag-stones, which give their name to the town and make crooked-narrow channels for the stream. Every form which water may put on, every tint with which it can be made beautiful, every caprice, or motion which it can move, finds illustration in the Columbia river. The whole stream pours through The Dalles rapids-gateway, not 50 yards in width, whose sides are perpendicular precipices, hewn as with implements! Smoothe, green and glassy it slides under the brown shadows only to be torn again, into a hundred ribbons, by the rocks below, as it has just been torn by the rock above at the (Celilo) falls above 20 feet high.

The Dalles

     The Dalles is the second town of Oregon. The Idaho miners make it their base for supplies. The gold comes to The Dalles for shipment and this babe in the woods even dreams of a mint! But the interest of the traveler is not in gold but in the wonderful scenery of the river and mountains. The trip back down the river, in the morning, with the light behind you, is even finer than the sail eastward! --- Picturesque America 1872; reprint Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Dec. 2, 1951.

The Dalles Dam and Celilo by Joe Kelley

     The Dalles Dam, on the Columbia, when completed (1958), will obliterate another of the river's most historic Celilo Falls; just as historic Kettle Falls became a thing of the past with the rising waters behind Grand Coulee Dam. The Cascades disappeared behind Bonneville Dam. Only in memory will these beautiful and inspiring river falls remain to man! (Man merely moves the falls to the site of the dams, he does NOT obliterate them). Celilo Falls holds an even more impressive place in history, as a fishing rendezvous for Indians than did Kettle Falls. Early travelers called it Salmon Falls and marveled at the sight of the Indians fishing there.
     As historic and beautiful landmarks of the Columbia river pass from sight, with the building of dams and other monuments of progress, it becomes more and more important that man's recollections of those landmarks be TREASURED ZEALOUSLY! -- Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., December 2, 1951. (Paper loaned for this history by H.G. Miller whose biography is listed on page 71).

Celilo 1898

     John Gavin's Dalles directory of 1898 lists Celilo as a fishing point and fish packing and shipping point with Frank and Thordore Seufert the main fish buyers and shippers. I.H. Taffe, was postmaster and a fish wheel operator at Celilo. Martin Spellman was section foremen for the railroad and Tom Welch listed himself as a farmer of Celilo.           

Celilo 1903

     The Oregon State legislature appropriated $165,000 for the cost of acquiring the right-of-way for The Dalles-Celilo canal and the second portage railroad to be used in connection with the construction of the canal. The second Dalles to Celilo Portage Railroad was completed in 1905 so work could commence on the building of the canal by the government.

Celilo in 1910

     The 1910 Polk directory of The Dalles listed I.H. Taffee as still the postmaster at Celilo and still operating his fish wheel there. The population of Celilo was listed as 20, exclusive of Indians who have always had an important fishing village at that point.
     In 1912 The S.P.& S. Railroad bridge was completed at Tumwater, just below Celilo at $3,000,000 cost.

DESCHUTES BRIDGE – MOODY -- MILLER

     The post offices of Deschutes Bridge, Moody and Miller, are three different names all applied to the same place at the mouth of the Deschutes river, 19 miles east of The Dalles on the Union Pacific railroad, Old Oregon Trail and Highway 30.

Deschutes Bridge

     The official post office department records show that the Deschutes Bridge postoffice was opened March 3, 1800 and closed December 6, 1880. It was served by The Dalles to Deschutes Bridge stage coaches serving Orlando Humason & Capt. R.R. Thompson's upper Columbus river steamers and left the Umatilla House promptly every morning at 5 A.M. so as to reach the steamers when they shoved off at 7 A.M. for Umatilla, Wallula and Lewiston. This old emigrant crossing and post office location has a history a mile long and one of the richest in all our annuals.

Emigrant Crossing

     Way back in 1843, 109 years ago, Dr. Marcus Whitman led the first wagon train of emigrants to Oregon, and a part of that train came on down and forded the Deschutes river, at the mouth, where it is shallow enough to wade across in low water each fall and camp on to The Dalles, blazing the Old Oregon Trail by wagon tracks, for the first time, and writing history at Deschutes Bridge crossing. A painting of the Emigrants Fording the Deschutes, by H.R. Altermatt of Shaniko, hangs on the wall of the first floor of Wasco County courthouse in The Dalles and Mr. Altermatt has said more in that painting than any words can duplicate. It shows that Deschutes Emigrant Crossing at Deschutes Bridge is one of the most important and historic spots in the Pacific Northwest!
     The Freemont Exploration party crossed the Deschutes at Deschutes Bridge in 1843. In 1844 1500 emigrants made the crossing. In 1845 3000 crossed there. In 1848 2050 made the ford. In 1847 war prevented emigration but more than 1000 soldiers went up and back the Columbia over Deschutes Bridge ford. In 1848 2000 emigrants made the ford and the same number in 1849. In 1850 2500 forded. In 1850 3000 knew of the ford which makes a total of 18,000 Oregon Emigrants who were very much impressed with the importance of Deschutes Bridge Emigrant ford up to 1850! The women and children could never forget the Indians camped at the mouth of the Deschutes who guided the emigrants to the most shallow ford spot and used their canoes and dugouts to ferry them across the river. There was always considerable bartering for food and clothing, for their efforts, as the Indians never had enough to eat or wear. They were friendly Indians although some of them would walk off with loose property and round up stray cattle for their own use.

Deschutes Bridge Ferry

     By 1852 Nathan Olney established his ferry on or near the mouth of the Deschutes river. Just how many of the 18,705 emigrants of that year patronized his crude ferry is not known, but his presence marks the first settlement at Deschutes Bridge. His tolls were $3 a wagon. Many couldn't pay the tolls or didn't want to and made the ford as did 74,000 head of cattle, 7700 horses and 23,000 head of sheep! In 1853 8000 emigrants passed through Deschutes bridge and most of them used Olney's Ferry. In 1854 2000 emigrants passed over Olney's Ferry and with this drop in business he sold his ferry.

Deschutes Bridge by Carson G. Masiker

     The Chronicle of Sept. 12, 1930 quoted Carson C. Masiker, one of our outstanding historians, as say­ing, "The mouth of the Deschutes river was the landing place for the upper Columbia river boats when the Col. Wright, Okanogan, Tenino, Spray, Webfoot, Cascadilla and a fleet of schooners ran on the upper  river. It is recalled to my mind the days when the old Portage Co. (Wagon Portage Co. of Orlando Humason & R.R. Thompson) had its teams on the road and its wagon station at Ranch Hollow (Company Hollow), with its stables, mess house, blacksmith, Inn and shops, 9 miles east of The Dalles (near Fairbanks). Orlando Humason, I think was President of the company. Many times I have seen the patient mules toiling slowly and laboriously up old 10 Mile hill (out of Fairbanks). A four-horse stage coach ran from The Dalles to the Deschutes carrying passengers to and from the boats. The landing was quite a busy place until Celilo sprang up (1862) and then it was all done.
     The GRAHAM BRIDGE crossed the Deschutes at the mouth. The Graham place was on the east side of the Deschutes. Chas. Poole lived on the Graham place. He married Jane Graham. In the hard winter of 1881-2 he started out with John Irvine of The Dalles and rescued stranded passengers, snowbound near Price's Station on Spanish Hollow (near Wasco) who had tried to make it to the Deschutes river from Leonard's Bridge, on the John Day (now called Cottonwood bridge). Jonathan Mulkey was so badly frozen that he died after being brought to Deschutes station by Irvine. Deschutesville was on the west bank of the Deschutes river, at the mouth, and was the old steamboat landing place.
     The Gordon, or middle river bridge, of the Deschutes, was owned by C.J. Cowne and Thomas Gordon and located above the Graham bridge (about 3 miles). The Gordon house was on the east end of the Gordon bridge and when the bridge washed away, Ella Silvertooth, 8, step-daughter of Cowne, cried because she lost her pet cat - which floated down the Deschutes with the bridge and house. Her mother barely escaped, crossing to the west side, just before the bridge went out. She walked with her 4 children to the stage road to The Dalles. (The Gordon bridge was on The Dalles to Boise Military Road--see page 160).

The Dalles

     The Dalles was a lively place in those days and had a bad name, worse than it deserved. It was said that The Dalles had a man for breakfast every morning; but I can truthfully deny the charge. I was first in The Dalles in 1860 and was acquainted with the town until 1870 when I went to the John Day country. I have seen the streets of The Dalles blocked with wagons and teams and pack trains. We settled in Spanish Hollow where we operated the Price Stage Station on The Dalles to Walla Walla and Salt Lake City runs. Earnest Miller ran the stage from The Dalles to Walla Walla in 1861-2, the winter it snowed him in at Wells Springs with 16 passengers! - most of them were miners bound for The Dalles. They collected at McDonald's Ferry on the John Day and some of them,  as stated above, tried to come on through the snowdrifts to the Deschutes river and lost their lives or were frozen. I was 10 years old at the time.

Deschutes Bridge by Capt. A. J. Price

     Capt. A.J. Price, historian of North Bonneville, formerly of Wasco and Sherman counties and for years operator of The Dalles to Granddalles (Dallesport) ferry writes as follows:
     As a boy I was told that before I was born (1866) the first freight and passengers for the upper river, was hauled from The Dalles, past “Company Ranch" (near Fairbanks) and over 10 Mile Hill to the mouth of the Deschutes where the boats were loaded. The boats used the Oregon channel so their landing had to be near or just below the mouth of the river. Consequently they did not "go over the bluff” as  some seem to think. After 1883 the railroad was used and this route was discontinued.
     The Graham family located an the east side of the Deschutes river in about 1858. His first name was William. It is my understanding that he built the first bridge. Thomas Jefferson Miller never had any­thing to do with the Deschutes Bridge; - at an early date he had a ferry between Chamberlain Flat, Wash. and where Rufus now is. In 1876 Mrs. C.S. Miller bought the Graham Bridge and place. She was the daughter of Hardin Corum, who lived at the west end of the bridge and was gate tender, the gate being at the east and of the bridge. She sold to Malcolm A. Moody. I don't know what year that transaction took place.

Gordon Bridge

     A man by the name of C.J. Coyne built a bridge about 4 miles above the Graham Bridge (1884) and sold it to Thomas Gordan. A stage line used this bridge for a while between This Dalles and Canyon City. Later its route was changed to Sherars Bridge. Gordon sold the bridge to The Dalles to Boise Military Road Company. It was reported at the time that the price was $5000. The company also gave the Governor a trip of inspection to Canyon City. They got every odd section of land 3 miles on each side of the road. I never heard that Silvertooth had any connection with the Gordon Bridge.

The Dalles Ferry

     I don't know much about the early history of the ferry at The Dalles (see page 133), but in 1879 The Dalles Ferry Co. was organized and the steam ferry boat was built. The name of the boat was "The New Western Queen." I don't know who owned it at that time, but when I first came there the owners were A.H. Curtiss, L.W. Curtiss, Bill Brune and J.T. Peters. That was in 1905. Later L.W. Curtiss owned it all. About 1914 he sold to W.P. Reed. Reed sold to Fred Smith in 1917  and Fred sold to C.T. Smith and C.T. Smith sold to Wasco county for $300,000. -- A.J. Price, North Bonneville, Wash. April 4, 1952.

Price--Masiker Biography

     Carson C. Masiker, historical writer of the article on the Deschutes Bridge on the previous page and the history of 15 Mile creek, quoted herein, was an 1880, resident of Dufur, son of George Masiker, brother of William, Esther and Elmira and half brother of Capt. A.J. Price.
     Capt. A. J. Price, historian of Sherman and Wasco counties, resident of North Bonneville, was son of Sam Price, operator of Price's Stage Station on The Dalles to Walla Walla and Salt Lake City runs, whose father was born in Ohio about 1835, came to Oregon by covered wagon in 1853 and to Dufur in 1860 where he worked for George Masiker. His brother John Price enlisted in Co. G at The Dalles during the Civil War. When the Masiker family went up to San Springs to open a stage station Mr. Price went along and when George Masiker died Mr. Price married Mrs. Masiker, continued to operate the Price stage station until 1872 when they went back to Dufur to live. Carson C. Masiker is buried at Price's Stage Station, about 4 miles north of Wasco, in Sherman county, now owned by Hugh White and Vic Anderson.

Deschutes Bridge Boat Terminal

     As previously mentioned, Orlando Humason, Father of Wasco County, and Capt. R. R. Thompson, Donation Land Claim founder of Thompson's Addition to The Dalles; in 1858 went out to Dufur and built the Mount­aineer, rolled it on rollers by oxen (see story under Dufur) to Deschutes Bridge and launched it as the first scow-type sail boat on the upper Columbia from Deschutes Bridge to Wallula and return once a week. It paid for itself the first trip! They then built Col. George Wright steamer and other boats men­tioned above, all of which paid for themselves in the first few trips! To supply these boats with the freight to haul, they organized a Wagon Portage Road Company, built some of the largest road or freight wagon vans that ever operated over the Old Oregon Trail; built a little town southwest of Fairbanks about 2 miles, which they called "Company Hollow or Company Ranch", which had its Inn, blacksmith shop, livery stable to change horses on freight wagons and stages BOTH WAYS, carpenter shops, houses for the workmen, corrals for the mules and horses and barns for food and hay. Company Hollow was the half-way point between The Dalles and Deschutes Bridge, on the Old Oregon Trail.
     At Deschutes Bridge, as both Mr. Masiker and Mr. Price have stated, they had another town, which we find post office records called Deschutes Bridge. It had its Inn or hotel for passengers, its shipyards for building boats and repairing boats, like they had at Celilo, carpenter shops, blacksmith shops, a store, saloon, houses for workmen and rivermen and their families, a large dock for receiving freight, horse and mule shoers, machine shops, and a voting precinct called Deschutes. The life of these two little busy towns was 5 years, but they were the biggest little towns in Oregon at that time! Thousands of miners and emigrants knew Deschutes Bridge and Company Hollow just as well or better than we know Celilo and Ortley today. Stages left the Umatilla House promptly at 5 A.M. in good weather, to make the 2 hour dash to Deschutes Bridge to connect with the 7 A.M. boat. Boats took all day to make it to Wallula, returning the next day. They therefore had to have 2 boats for daily service for passengers and an extra freight boat or two that did not run on schedule. Miners laid over at the Inn or bunk houses for the freight boats, when the regular boats were loaded to capacity, or in case they wanted to go on up to Lewiston. In 1882 the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. bought out Humason and Thompson and built The Dalles to Celilo Portage road which commenced operations in 1883 making Deschutes Bridge only a memory in our history as a river terminal. Deschutes Bridge post office was reopened Feb. 20, 1888 and operated until Oct. 14, 1893 with R. Burnell as the first postmaster in 1888.

Deschutes Bridge by Carson C. Masiker

     Nathan Olney, First permanent resident and merchant of The Dalles and first operator of the Desch­utes Bridge FERRY, in 1854 sold to Wm. Nix who continued to operated the FERRY until he built the Deschutes bridge in 1858 or 59, where the Miller bridge stood. The Nix bridge was but little more than half as long as the Miller bridge, C.J. Cowne was toll collector. He had a house at the east end of the bridge. The freshet of 1861 washed away the bridge, house and most of his field, the river since occupying the site of the house and the field. In the spring of 1862 Nix put in a ferry 2 miles above the bridge.
     Joe Simpson took Mr. Cowne's place; then Wallace Greenwood succeeded him until the summer of 1884. In 1862 Stephen Coffin put in a ferry at the mouth of Nix Canyon, 3 miles above the site of the bridge, then Nix built a bridge alongside Coffin's Ferry which closed his ferry and the lower road.
     The Col. James Fulton, Wm. Graham and Si. Smith put in a bridge at the site of Nix's old bridge, near the mouth of the river in 1864 and divided the travel with the Nix bridge. The high water of 1866 washed away the lower bridge and C.S. Miller built a bridge on the site of the old (lower) Nix bridge. This bridge, with various, repairings and rebuildings, stood until Moody came into possession of it and it lasted until the concrete highway bridge was built in 1922.
     I first saw the Nix bridge in 1860 and it appeared to be about 5 years old. I never knew what date exactly it was built in. Mrs. Silvertooth, a stepdaughter of Mr. Cown could give you that date.
     Wm. Nix, John A. Simms and Orlando Humanson constituted the bridge and ferry company although it was always spoken of as the Nix bridge  and ferry. Wm. Nix was later a saloon keeper and gambler in The Dalles. -- The Dalles Chronicle Sept. 22, 1934; Lulu D. Crandall clippings. (Wm. Nixon carried mail and passengers in the winter, in a sulky, when the stages couldn't run, from The Dalles to Walla Walla!

Deschutes Ford in 1844 by B.F. Nichols

     On arriving at the Deschutes river and being told we could ford it only below the rapids, near its entrance into the Columbia, and in order to keep in shallow water, we had to make a curve down stream, starting at a 42 degree angle, which, if continued would take us into the Columbia river; but near the middle of the Deschutes, we made a wide, sharp, curve to the left and up stream to the opposite bank! With the assistance of an Indian, acting as pilot, and riding below the teams, while crossing, we all got over without an accident.
     After crossing the Deschutes river we drove up and through (Emigrant) the gap in the hills, south of the present S.P. & S railroad bridge; and down to 15 Mile where we camped (Fairbanks). The next day we landed in The Dalles and found some of the emigrants we had travelled across the plains with the year before!
     The families, with their household effects, went on down the Columbia river in boats and canoes. The horses and cattle were driven down on the south side to the Cascades, then swam to the north side of the river; going on down to Vancouver where they were swam back to the south side of the river; then on down to Oregon City. We had to wait turns at The Dalles 2 weeks for the few boats to take us down.
     Mr. Brewster occupied the Mission at The Dalles. Mrs. Brewster was a pretty lady and talked Chinook with the Indians. The Indians told her how they used to cross the Columbia at the Cascades, on the ground, when they were boys, and that the water flowed under the bridge of earth and that it fell when Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams smoked and shook the earth and threw their hot rocks and ashes at one another! At the Cascades and above the Cascades we saw trees growing in the water. The ice had cut off their tops.
     NOTE:- A lot of historians have belittled the Indians story of the Bridge of the Gods at the Cascades. But I do not believe these Indians were lying to Mrs. Brewster when they said they crossed such a bridge at the Cascades, AS BOYS! The Methodist Mission existed at The Dalles from 1838 to 1846 and Mrs. Brewster was there from 1840 to 1845. Those Indians were boys about 1790-90! There is lots of evidence to support the Indians stories and little to prove they were NOT telling Mrs. Brewster the truth. For more Bridge of the Gods story see under INDIANS.

The Dalles to Celilo Portage Railroad

     The Dalles to Deschutes Fridge Portage Wagon Road was replaced in 1863 by The Dalles to Celilo Portage Railroad, on which construction was started in 1862 and over which the first trains operated April 20, 1833. The old portage wagon road could only operate in good weather and then it was at best a hot, dusty long hard trip, or when it rained was 19 miles of mud, and in the winter 19 miles of snow drifts which completely closed it to service! Capt. L.W. Coe and Capt. Gray who were associated with Orlando Hunason and Capt. B.R. Thompson are to be remembered as the 4-Horsemen of upper Columbia river transportation.
     The 14 miles of railroad from The Dalles to Calilo was shorter than the 19 miles of wagon road, it was level and its bed was steel track, there was little dust, less snow drifts which allowed it to run the year around, except during blizzards or when the river was frozen over. The locomotive was of the Oregan Pony design and made by the same builders, Danford & Cook, Paterson, N.J.; but it was larger than the Pony. The passenger and freight cars were larger and like those in common usage in the east.

First Telegraph Line

The first telegraph line from Portland to Celilo was constructed by the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. in 1863 in order to have complete dispatcher control for all their boats and the trains between The Dalles and Celilo. Boats did not run on perfect schedules. When a boat arrived at Celilo or The Dalles its arrival was reported to the dispatcher and he ordered the trains to hurry to Celilo to meet the boat and bring back the passengers and return later for the freight. It was a busy little railroad running a 24 hour service during those first years.

MOODY – MILLER

     The post office of MOODY, named for Congressman Malcolm Moody prominent Dalles merchant of the 1880 and 1890 periods, was a more modern name for Deschutes Bridge, which was closed as a post office in 1893 and practically forgotten during the Deschutes railroad building boom of 1910-12. The Moody post office was opened on the Wasco county side of the Deschutes river December 11, 1911 with Ida Carlisle, P.M. formerly the postmaster at Freebridge on the Great Southern railroad. It was moved over to the Sherman county side of the Deschutes river in 1917. Its name was changed to Miller Oct. 1, 1926 with Mrs. Carlisle still postmaster to her retirement November 30, 1950.
     When first established on the Wasco county side of the Deschutes in 1911 the S.P. & S railroad was operating a railroad train ferry from a terminal about a mile east of Wishram to piers which run out into the Columbia river, at the mouth of the Deschutes, for nearly a half a mile. Captain Hayward was the pilot on the steamboat Normal which operated from the fall of 1909, until the completion of the rail­road bridge at Tum Water Falls, just below Celilo, in 1912, according to Henry Wickman, fish buyer and employee of Seufert Brothers Cannery for 30 years. According to George Bunn, the first permanent resi­dent and merchant of Wishram, the S.P.& S railroad first planned to build their railroad bridge from the ferry boat terminal, a mile east of Wishram, across the Columbia to Moody, Oregon; but the contractors who bid on bridges at both locations, cut the Tum Water bid almost in half of what the Moody bid would have been, so they chose the Tum Water site and made Wishram a permanent terminal. The importance of Moody, as a railroad terminal dwindled, at the completion of the Tum Water railroad bridge although it continued to be used as a post office, on the Wasco county side of the Deschutes until 1917 when there was more demand for it on the Sherman county side, and better mail service from several trains.

The MOODY BICGRAPHY by Ralph Moody, Salem Attorney

     Zones Ferry Moody, Governor of Oregon from The Dalles, was born in Grandby, Mass. (1832) son of Maj. Thomas H. Moody and his wife Hanna M. (Ferry) Moody and grandson of Gideon Moody, veteran of the Ameri­can Revolution. Zenas Moody came to Oregon (1851) by boat via Panama to San Francisco and became surveyor in General Freemont's party in California. Later he was Surveyor General of Oregon. He established the Willamette Meridian and most of the township locations of eastern Oregon. Much to his credit and accur­acy, few errors have been proven in his work. Down in Harney county, Charlie Renoe credited his father George Renoe as saying, "When with the Moody surveying party, in the 1870's, the rattlesnakes in places, found it too hot to remain on the ground and would wind themselves among the sage and greesewood bushes, making it dangerous work, in many localities, to do our surveying work. George Renee lived at Ortley.

     In 1863 Zenas Moody was in the mercantile business at Brownsville and that year married Mary Stephenson. In 1858 was Inspector of surveyors in California. In 1882 he engaged in the mercantile business in The Dalles. In 1683 he founded the town of Umatilla and established a mercantile business there. In 1863 he built the Mary Moody on Pend Orille lake, in Northern Idaho. He had to freight much of the materials and supplies from Walla Walla and Wallula. He organized the Montana-Oregon-Idaho Transporta­tion Co. to get supplies to the mines in Montana! In 1887 he went in the mercantile business in Boise where the mines were going full blast. In 1869 he returned to The Dalles as agent for Wells Fargo, the leading express company of America which at that time dominated the transportation field.
     In 1874 he was awarded the mail contract between The Dalles and Portland and established steamers below and above the Cascades, to carry mail with. That winter the Columbia river froze over and Mr. Moody had to appeal to his friend and Purser Geroge Renoe, of Ortley, to carry the mail by pack train between the Cascades and The Dalles over the old Joel Palmer toll road and trail. The next spring he sold his boats to the Oregon Steam Navigation Co.

Was Governor of Oregon

     In 1872 he was State Senator from Wasco county and received BOTH the Democratic and Republican nomination. In 1862 he became Governor of the State of Oregon and his home in Salem was where the Oregon State Library is now located. This home was left to the Moody grandchildren and the state acquired it for $50,000. Governor Moody was a lover of fine horses and had a stable of Morgan horses. He had the first Jersey cows on his farm at Salem. He celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary in the capitol city in 1913. His wife died in 1914 and he died in 1918. He served as Governor 4½ years at a salary of $1500 per year, an impossible sacrifice without outside income.

At Moody

     Zenas Moody had a mortgage on the Thomas Jefferson Miller property and owned other property on both sides of the Deschutes river for 12 miles up-stream. The Miller property was only 160 acres. He gave this property to his son Malcolm Moody and upon the death of Zenas Moody, Malcolm had plans for an electric power dam across the river. He mortgaged the property to the Eastern Oregon Land Co. and lost nearly all of it except the Miller parcel at the mouth of the river where he operated his toll bridge until the construction of the concrete highway bridge in 1922.

In The Dalles

     In The Dalles the Moody-Grant Mercantile Co. was on the southwest corner of First and Washington in 1862 and in 1869 was located on the southwest corner of 2nd and Monroe where The Dalles Iron Works is now located. The Moody home in The Dalles was in the block just west of the Hotel Dalles. During this latter period Gov. Moody operated warehouses and the Moody National Bank. The bank examiners were continually bothering him for carrying "so many long time loan accounts." They insisted that he fore­close on the noteholders. He explained to them that these men were stockmen, wool and sheepmen, and that they had income only once a year, and that he had no intention of foreclosing on them; and if they didn't like it he would close up the bank on a voluntary liquidation basis and carry the farmers independently! Gov. Moody closed the bank. Not a creditor among the stockmen failed to pay him in full! - nor did a depositor lose a cent of their money! What higher tribute can be paid a banker?

Established Wool Market

     Zenas Moody had a wide acquaintance among the wool buyers of Boston, Mass. and other points in the east and he induced them to send representatives to The Dalles to buy wool thus ESTABLISHING A MARKET FOR WASCO COUNTY WOOL AND HIDES, for the sheepmen and stockmen of eastern Oregon and Washington! It is for this outstanding accomplishment that we list Gov. Zenith Moody as one of the most outstanding citizens in the 100 years of Wasco county history! Gov. Moody never required an account holder on his books to ever sign a note! He considered the account just as good as a note and it was very seldom that a debtor failed to pay and if he failed he generally had a very good reason for doing so! One instance was cited when a stockman wanted $300 to take some stock by boat to the Portland market. Gov. Moody told the stockman that it couldn't be done for less than $500 and insisted that he borrow the $500 so as not to be crowded for market selling time. His advise proved good, the man made money, return­ed and paid his loan and broadcast the  act of kindness to all his neighbors who thereafter brought Gov. Moody their business too. He financed many sheep and stockmen to get started and they too brought their business to Mr. Moody, in appreciation for his help. It was therefore no wonder that Gov. Moody was so well liked by friends and community too, hated and belittled by his enemies. In 1952 our financial institutions and money lenders require such high security that generally if the borrower can qualify he don't need the loan! Veterans and young people find it so hard to get credit now (1952) that they have demanded both the state and federal government, who has more "confidence in the people”, to engage in the banking business and this step toward socialism was forced upon the people by our bankers themselves who are the loudest to cry socialism! There are too few Governor Moodys in our history!

Children

     Malcolm Moody, congressman, warehouseman and ranchman so widely known at the turn of the century is best remembered for his efforts toward getting The Dalles-Celilo canal improvements to the Columbia river so boats could go from Astoria to Lewiston. While the canal was not used much after its construct­ion, by river boats, its existence saved shippers millions of dollars in freight rates in eastern Oregon Washington and Idaho; and for that accomplishment he too is classified as one of the most outstanding citizens in our 100 years of history. He was single and lived in The Dalles. Was Dalles mayor 1889-90. Was Congressmen 1898-1904. Graduate of University of California. Operator of Moody Toll Bridge.
     Zenith Moody was a mechanical engineer on the boats Alamota, Harvest Queen and on The Dalles to Celilo Portage Railroad. One  day a cow got out on the trestle at Seuferts. The engineer didn't have time to stop the train so he jumped, figuring it would wreck on the trestle and fall 75 foot down into the mouth of 15 Mile creek! (In those days they had only hand brakes on the cars) Zenith Moody sized up the situation, in a flash, jumped to the throttle, pulled it full back, hit the cow with all the force the train had and knocked her off the track and prevented a wreck! He was promoted to engineer for his heroism! Later, on the Alamota, when it was on the rocks at John Day, he had "advised" Captain against "shooting the John Day Rapids” at that time, but the captain did so anyway and wrecked the Alamota. Capt. Trump made the rescue.
     Will Moody was a warehouseman at The Dalles and Shaniko and in later life became an invalid.
     Edna Moody (Mrs. E.P. McCornack) was wife of a school teacher.
     Ralph Moody, attorney of The Dalles,  Portland and Salem, attended the Willamette University and Albany, N.Y. Law school. He practiced for years at Port Townsend, Wash. where he was district attorney for 5 counties! He came to Portland in 1894 and knew nearly all the early pioneers of north Washington,  Port­land and The Dalles. He was U.S. Attorney in Portland. In 1908 he was the Southern Pacific attorney. In 1919 he was in Chicago. In 1930 he was special council for Governor Julius Meier and later to Governor Martin and also special legislative  legal adviser at Salem. He cleaned up the "labor goon cases" at The Dalles and the "good government league" at Medford where a  number of county officials were involved in 1932. He married Jean Johnson, newspaper woman of Medford and graduate of the University of Ohio. At different times he has acted as Assistant District Attorney of Wasco County and is now attorney for Wasco County Court in matters pertaining to The Dalles Bridge. He has in his home at Salem the first piano brought to Wasco county in l860, a fine musical instrument over 90 years old! At one time Mr. Moody was Assistant U.S. attorney General at Washington, D.C., during the Warren G. Harding administration. He is an active practicing attorney of Salem despite his 80 years of age! He is one of the most outstanding man the legal profession has produced in our 100 years of history.

First Settler in Sherman County

     Nathan Olney was the first settler in Sherman county when he operated his ferry at the mouth of the Deschutes. When he sold to Wm. Nix in 1854 Nix became the second settler in Sherman county and he employed C.J. Cowne, the 3rd settler in Sherman county as his toll collector. Joe Simpson took Mr. Cowne’s place and was the 4^th settler; then Wa11ace Greenwood. Wm. Graham and Thomes Jefferson Miller were other early 1860 settlers, both had places on the Sherman county side of the Deschutes.

Wilbur Taylor

     Wilbur Taylor of Dufur lived at Miller from 1906 to 1910 and was toll collector on the Moody bridge and he said, "There was very little travel over the Moody bridge, most of it went over the free bridge at Kloan, on Wasco county side of Deschutes to Freebridge, on the Sherman county side. Some years we didn't take in $100! – and the best years not over $400 and not over $1000 in the 4 years I was there! The Moody Toll bridge washed away about 2 years after the completion of the highway bridge  there in 1922. The free bridge at Kloan was dynamited about the same time. In 1910 there were quite a few construction teams used the bridge and it was used more widely afterwards by the first automobile traffic.

The post office of Miller was established (changed from Moody) October 1, 1926.

KLOAN -- FREEBRIDGE

     Five miles above Moody, on the Deschutes river is Kloan, on the Oregon Trunk railroad and on the Wasco County side of the river and Freebridge, a station that used to exist on the Union Pacific railroad branch to Bend and on the Sherman county side of the river. Between these two places a bridge has existed since about 1880. The bridge was always known as FREEBRIDGE. It was built by Wasco county in the days when Sherman county was also a part of Wasco county, according to Edward Sharp, Wasco County surveyor in those early years and he added "that the old wooden bridge was replaced by a modern steel structure about 1905, which was dynamited out of existence about the time highway 30 was finished and the bridge at the mouth of the Deschutes, in 1922. Henry Wickman, 80, who attended the Petersburg school in the 1880's, near the mouth of 8 Mile creek and highway 23, said, "When I was a boy living at Petersburg, 2 stages passed the school house every day; one went to Walla Walla over the Moody bridge and the other went to Sherman county over the Freebridge road and most of the freight wagons used the Freebridge road because it was shorter to Moro and Grass Valley that way.”

Neither one of these places were ever a post office. However there was a post office of FREEBRIDGE on the Great Southern railroad which we will treat on in more detail under that name. There was and still is considerable confusion in the minds of pioneers as well as younger people, when the name FREEBRIDGE is used? To make sure of which location is spoken of one should always add, "on the Deschutes" or "on the Great Southern". Two roads led away from Freebridge, on the Deschutes, on the Sherman county side. One of them was a toll road and one was a free road and for that reason some pioneers contend the bridge was a "toll bridge"; but according to Mr. Sharp the bridge itself was always free, but the free road on the Sherman county side was steep and not well kept up; while the toll road followed an easier canyon grade and was better maintained by toll money paid the owner and lots better known.
     The grade from Kloan up to Neabeck and Freebridge, on the Great Southern, was known as "Rattlesnake Grade.” Besides being used for years as a stagecoach and freight wagon grade, and by the farmers of those early days in Sherman county to bring wheat and wool to The Dalles, it was widely used during the rail­road construction days, up the Deschutes in 1909 and 1910, to haul supplies over from Neabeck station on the Great Southern railroad to the two railroad crews on both sides of the Deschutes river.

LOKIT--DIKE

     About 7 miles above Kloan, on the Oregon Trunk railroad is Lokit, a siding, like Kloan and Dike, where fishermen like to cast for trout. Eight miles above Lokit is Dike, a siding and section crew location on the Oregon Trunk railroad and in Wasco county.

SINAMOX & Oakbrook

     Four miles above Dike is Sinamox. Sinamox is the Indian word for "7th station up" from Wishram. It is listed as a post office from January 2, 1914 to December 31, 1914 and we presume the section foreman was the postmaster for that year and when the section buildings were located at Dike the Sinamox post office went out of existence and was never re-established. Nine miles above Sinamox is the siding of Oakbrook on the Oregon Trunk railroad and in Wasco county.

Horseshoe Bend

     About 4 miles above Oakbrook and 4 miles below Sherar bridge is the famous Horse Shoe Bend in the Deschutes river and often referred to as "the Ox Bow Bend" on the Deschutes, where in the short dis­tance of about 2 miles the Deschutes river makes one of the most beautifu1 and natural horseshoes ever seen. That portion of the railroad construction, up the Deschutes, was so difficult that the Oregon Trunk engineers solved it by spanning the Deschutes with a bridge, boring a tunnel throught the "tongue of the bend" then spanning the Deschutes with another bridge! On account of these 2 bridges and the tunnel, train crews and passengers do NOT have an opportunity to see Horseshoe or Ox Bow Bend of the Deschutes. It can only be seen by walking the 4 miles down the river from Sherars or riding a saddle horse down and back. Be sure and take your camera and fishing line to be doubly rewarded for the trip. If the old Union Pacific railroad bed is followed, get permission from the landowner to trespass as they want to know what cigarette smoker set fire to their property, in case of fire.

Beauties of the Deschutes

     In 1838, 4 men, Velti Pruett, Prince Helfrish, M.R. Irish and George Godfrey of Eugene completed a 130 mile trip by boat down the Deschutes river, from Bend to the Columbia! In 1923 2 U.S. Geological men perished in the only other such an attempt! The 4 man reported "a lifetime of thrills" packed into the 5 day trip. It was most spectacular where the Deschutes joined the Columbia at the mouth, where the water really boiled more furiously than at any other place. In fact they reported the last 10 miles kept the party hard at work, all the time, as the river "picked up momentum."
     Only one portage was required and that was around Sherars Bridge Falls, a drop of 20 feet! All other rapids and minor falls were shot. Pictures of White Horse Rapids were taken, where the expedition of 1923, met with disaster; and of the rock to which the sole survivor clung all night before being rescued!
     The running of Wapinitia Falls had its thrills also. Low water below Grandview Bridge caused trouble. The party camped one night at Maupin. Ten miles above the junction with Crooked river is the location of Grandview Bridge. Canyons 150 feet deep in the Crooked river area were encountered and that portion was never explored before!
     The McKenzie-type of boats were used and tried out on the wild Metrolius river, where death lurked from Canyon creek the entire 80 miles to the Deschutes river at Mecca, below Warm Springs. That was the first recorded run of the Metrolius and the wild waters of the narrow gorge, just above the Des­chutes junction, had sheer walls 150 feet high, making escape impossible in case of a wreck. The Deschutes and Metrolius rivers are considered just as dangerous as the Colorado. However the Colorado has one box canyon, with 1000 foot walls and in which the river makes a SHARP HORSESHOES BEND, where the river turns on edge, and if the boat is not kept away from that wall its too bad; and the roar and rush ­of the turbulent waters will stand the hair on end and goose-pimple the flesh and makes sleeping bad for a month afterwards. -- Louis Fritz scrapbook. Sept. 23, 1938.

SHERARS BRIDGE

     Sherars Bridge is one of the oldest post offices in Wasco county, established July 8, 1868 with Ezra Hemingway the first postmaster and closed January 15, 1938. It received its mail service from The Canyon City stage until the building of the railroads up the Deschutes in 1911 and was thereafter served by trains on both sides of the river. It was named after Joseph Harry Sherar. It was located 30 miles south of The Dalles on The Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight wagon road.

John Y. Todd

     John Y. Todd was born in 1830 and enlisted with the army as a teamster during the Mexican War of 1846-47 and left Ft. Levensworth, Kan. for service on their supply line to Santa Fe, N.M. In 1828 and followed the army on down into Mexico. He returned to Missouri, when the Mexican war was over and came west to California during the gold rush of 1849. From there he came on up to Portland by boat in 1852, after the mines gave out. He joined the Yamh111 volunteers during the Yakima Indian War of 1838 and did his part in helping to round up the Indians and put them on reservations and otherwise make the country safer for settlement. He brought Captain Hambrie's body back to Fort Dalles on a tandem Horse Streacher, for burial.
     He married Mary Campbell (1856) a covered wagon pioneer of 1847 and he brought her and the children to The Dalles in 1857 and went on out into the Ochoco section and became a Hereford cattle raiser and one of the first, if not the first, settler in what is now Crook county. He had to make several trips from out in that country to The Dalles for supplies; and it was on these trips back and forth, with his pack train of horses, that he took careful note of the topography of the country and the best places to get down to and across the Deschutes river, where it might be ferried and bridged. The narrowest spot for a likely bridge location was at Sherars and the canyons leading down into the river at that point, were of an easy grade on both sides of the river and there was a regular Indian trail crossing, just above Sherars, where they swam their ponies and ferried their families on the fishing expeditions down to Sherars Falls.
     So when gold was found at Canyon City and the herd of California and Oregon miners commenced to invade eastern Oregon, Todd came back to Tygh and built a light horse and foot bridge across the Deschutes at Sherars to connect with the Indian trails on either side of the canyon. Only one horse and man could cross at one time and it weaved and shook until one day (1860) it fell into the river and he had to use his profits to rebuild it. It fell into the river a second time and that was too much for him (1862) and he sold the bridge to Robert Mays, pioneer of Tygh Valley whose biography appears there­under. Robert Mays sold the bridge and hotel location to Ezra Hemingway and he in 1868 established the post office.

First Wagon Bridge

     However it was Robert R. Mays, who in 1884, rebuilt the Todd bridge into a passable WAGON BRIDGE. This wagon bridge wrote big history for Tygh Valley and Sherars. It permitted the military officials to take their wagons along into Central Oregon, with supplies, tents, ammunition, along with the mounted men. The soldiers threw enough rocks out of the Indian trails to let the first wagons pass and thereby created the first roads. The next group of soldiers and miners threw or kicked more rocks out of the road and it was thereby "improved" and not so many wagons tipped over or received broken wheels or axels, torn out tongues, broken king bolts or neckyokes or brakes. Then Robert R. Mays hired the Indians to help keep the road clear of rocks, dig the wheel track on the high side down some and make rock walls at ravine crossings, the outlines of which still exist. Then Henry Wheeler (1864) started his Dalles to Canyon City stage service, at first only once a week and finally daily service as roads improved. The pack trains were replaced with wagons, which could haul bigger loads. Then the emigrants cut off from from the top of Cottonwood canyon, in Sherman county, came through Grass Valley to Mays Bridge and took the Harlow road to Oregon City CUTTING OFF 100 MILES between Cottonwood Canyon and Tygh! That Meant ONE WEEKS TRAVEL SAVED by not having to go on into The Dalles and come back out to Tygh! For that saving in time alone to the emigrants, to say nothing of the convenience to miners and freighters, we have classified Robert Mays as another one of the most outstanding men in our 100 years of history.

Todd Returns to Prineville

     After selling to Mays John Y. Todd returned to his Prineville Hereford farm, the first Herefords in eastern Oregon, with his family. Mrs. Todd used to tell how the Indians would come into their cabin, take the children out of the cribs and hold them up-side-down by their feet to examine them to see how their clothing was fastened on to their bodies, so that it wouldn't fall off! Mrs. Todd learned the Indian jargon and she explained the pinning of clothes on to the children, so as to keep her own kids from being handled by the Indians; and to teach the Indian squaws how to dress their own children so their clothing wouldn't fall off. Mr. Told died at Prineville in 1919 and Mrs. Todd died there in 1928 at 88. He was 89.
     The obituary of Todd's daughter Eva Bennett in Feb. 1951 read: Mrs. Eva Bennett, daughter of John Y. Todd, who bought the Farewell Bend ranch for $60 and 2 horses died at Bend at age 80. Mrs. Bennett spent her girlhood days on the banks of the Deschutes on her father's pioneer ranch, long before Bend was founded. It was in 1877 that Todd moved to his Bend ranch. Mrs. Bennett was the first queen of the Deschutes Pioneers' Association. She was Bend's oldest pioneer in point of residence. The Todd family lived in the isolated upper Deschutes 75 years ago when supplies were hauled from The Dalles. Each winter the family moved to Prineville where the children attended school. Only 2 members of the Todd family remain. They are John Todd of Lebanon and Mrs. Anna Springer of Portland.
     This indicates that Todd sold his Ochoco place when he moved to Sherar and returned to his ranch at what is now the town of Bend, when he sold to Mays and returned to Crook county the second time; or he sold his Hereford ranch, on the Ochoco, and moved to Bend in 1877.

JOSEPH HENRY SHERAR

     Ezra Hemmingway, first postmaster at Sherars Bridge sold the bridge to Robert R. Mays who kept it 4 or 5 years and sold to a man named O' Brien who was in possession of it about the same length of time as Mays and he in 1871 sold it to JOSEPH HENRY SHERAR.
     Joseph Henry Sherar was born in Virginia (1836) son of John Sherar of Ireland. He went to California by boat in 1855 and after much exploration in California and eastern Oregon, by pack trains, we find him in 1862 operating a pack train from The Dalles to the mines in the Canyon City area, via Todd’s bridge. Many, many times he crossed the bridge going up and back to the mines, stopping at the Inn for food and rest and to put up his weary animals. The importance of the strategic location greatly impres­sed him. As the trails to the mines merged into passable roads for wagons, Sherar continued to operate wagons to the mines.
     In 1863 he married Jane Herbert, daughter of George Herbert of Tygh, emigrant of 1880. He continued to freight to Canyon City points until 1871 when he sold out to Robert Heppner for $6000 and bought the Sharers Bridge "gold mine site's from O'Brien for $7040, which included the rights to the toll road, Inn or hotel, livery stable, blacksmith shop, bridge and other properties. The location continued to be a money maker. Sherar built the first flour mill in that area, at White River Falls and spent $75,000 imp­roving the roads and grades, on both sides of the Deschutes canyon, down to Sherars Bridge.
     He built a 33 room hotel, famous for its fine foods, noted for its hospitality and managed by Mrs. Sherar who kept the books and seen that the tolls on the bridge were collected and that her guests at the hotel were comfortable and well fed. Mr. Sharer improved the road on the Wasco county side, making an easier grade up to Chicken Springs, about 2 miles west of the summit, on the Long Hollow road, and an important freight wagon atop; going both ways, as a place to water and feed their horses after pull­ing either grade to the summit. It was named Chicken Springs on account of so many Prairie chickens in that vicinity which added to the evening menue of many a freighter. The road west, followed on down Long Hollow, which was and still is a natural easy grade, to the old post office and stage  and freight wagon station of WASCO, later known as Pratt's Station and the 12 Mile House, at the foot, of Long Hol­low on 15 Mile creek. From there the road went through Boyd, which didn't exist until 1882, up over the Ward Hill, down to 8 Mile and in to The Dalles over the Old Dufur road. Mr. Sherar worked and maintained the road from Sherars Bridge to 8 Mile, with his blading equipment and Indian road workers.
     To the east of Sherars Bridge his road followed up Fargher's Canyon, past Fleming and Criterion, Bakeoven, Shaniko, Antelope, Burnt Ranch, Mitchell, Camp Polk, Dayville and to Canyon City. He worked the road in that direction as far east as Bakeoven with his Indian road workers and blading equipment. At Bakeoven the road branched and the Prineville traffic went via Cow Canyon toll road, Hay Creek, Grizzley and Prineville and later on to Summer Lake, Silver Lake, Paisley and Lakeview. Freight hauling and stages to Canyon City were discontinued in 1884 with the extension of the railroad into Hunington, as it was shorter to freight from Baker. The route into Central Oregon was discontinued after 1902 when the Columbia Southern railroad was built into Shaniko which became the terminus for Central Oregon.
     The building of the railroads up the Deschutes in 1910-11 very definitely put an end to the import­ance of the Sherars Bridge location. In 1912 Wasco county bought the toll bridge for $3000 and made it a free bridge; but by that time Mrs. Sherar had died (1907) and Mr. Sherar followed her in 1908. The hotel was operated by the following people after Mr. Sherar's death: Harry Woolsey (1909-10); Mr. Benson 2 years, Guy Andrews, Mr. Nelson, Mrs. John Taylor, postmaster 1922, E.L. Kessler of The Dalles, George Foster and lastly Earnest Webb of Tygh. The old hotel was burned in 1940 according to John Conroy of Tygh. John Conroy, who lives on the old Sherar grade, this side of Sherars Bridge, said the old Sherar road was not used after 1916 and that Hugh Mulkin of Dufur operated a stage from Dufur to Shaniko around 1910 to 1912, serving the ranches and little post offices with mail, going over to Shaniko one day and back the next.

Obituary of Joseph Henry Sherar; Oregonian Feb. 11, 1908

     Mr. Sherar came from Vermont with other adventurous youths to California mines in 1855 to the vicinity of Salom river. In 1862 he started with a pack train to Oregon where he went to the Powder river mines, near Baker, and from there to The Dalles with the view of going back to California, when he met A. H. Breyman, pioneer merchant of Canyon City, who persuaded him that there was a profitable freighting busi­ness in packing supplies from The Dalles to the mines at Canyon City. In a very literal fashion Mr. Sherar "delivered the goods", for his ability to get along with mules, red and white men, and to pack supplies without loss, to the miners, and their gold back to The Dalles, made him famous in sparsely settled eastern Oregon. The task was far from easy, for the roads were bad and accommodations  nil, the attacks of Indians imminent. He continued the freighting business for 2 years and sold his outfit to Henry Hepp­ner, and bought a farm near Dufur and engaged first in the stock business. Later he moved to Tygh and took up a preemption claim and continued stock raising until 1871 when he bought the Deschutes Bridge from a settler named O'Brien. With the exception of the Graham and Gordon bridges near the mouth of the river this was the only canyon bridge.
     Mr. Sherar's keen observation and foresight told him that the travel into the interior was bound to increase with every year and that the man who owned the toll bridge would possess a practical gold mine; hence he bought the bridge and entered a homestead in the narrow strip of land which the mammoth hills grudged him. There he built a house and barn and placed a heavy chain at either end of the bridge. His wife was a canny Irish woman and a genuine helpmate.
     Tradition has it that Mrs. Sharer counted the toll money very carefully and that no traveler, however wiley, escaped without paying fees in full. One re­port says $3.75 was charged for each yoke of oxen or team and wagon, $1 for the driver and 25¢ a head for cattle and 1O¢ a head for sheep. Tradition says also that when travel was heavy, the Sherars often gathered the toll money in a large bucket with a strong bail.
     J.H. Sharer was not a toll gatherer only. He was a Sampson for work and although uneducated his native intelligence and extraordinary energy expressed itself in road building. For 30 miles on either side of the bridge he built roads, grading and embanking them, without knowledge of engineering methods (university textbooks); and yet, the Indian and Mexican laborers, under his direction, kept the roads in such good condition that all weary travelers must have blessed him.
     Sherars Bridge was the gateway into the strange and vast territory of Central Oregon. The dusty emigrant trains, which passed slowly into the cragged gorge, more than 1000 feet deep, to camp by the Deschutes Falls, gaining information and augmenting their hopes of fortunes to be gained out in the wide country, were no less romantic, but far more practical than the motley travelers who gathered at the old Tabard Inn at Southwark, England. Had there been a poet to listen he might have written the Deschutes Tales, spiced with accounts of Indian attacks. The many projecting rooks of the gorge offered numerous hiding places for the red men who saw the whites coming; they lurked upon the crags, above the road, and often fired upon the trains as they passed. Buck Hollow, just North of Sherars Bridge, was the scene of a free-for-all fight between the emigrants and the Indians.
     As stock raising become more extensive and settlements increased in Central Oregon, Mr. Sherar's business became so heavy that it was necessary for him to tear down his buildings and make greater ones. A large barn was built, with one wall on the very edge of the river gorge. There were 4 rows of stalls for the accommodation of emigrant and freight teams. In 1893 the Sherar House was built, a 3-story build­ing containing 33 rooms, a most comfortable tavern, erected on the west bank of the river where travel­ers might dream to the roar of the waters of the Deschutes. Excellent material was put into the hotel. There were balconies and many gables. There were inside shutters and finely grained wainscoting, a bath­room with running water, an office on one side of the central corridor and a parlor on the other. Over the veranda and upon the transom of the front door was the tavern sign SHERARS HOUSE. The vigor of the host, the admirable housekeeping of the host's wife and the cheerful atmosphere of the canyon Inn, was well known throughout eastern Oregon and central Oregon.

     Fortunate was the wayfarer who stopped at the Sherar House, while the Sherars were still alive and before the railroad magnets entered the canyon to usurp business. Theirs was a tavern worthy of a great story teller's pen; but the old days are gone forever and only the memories remain of the animation, the activity and romance which flourished by the boisterous river.
     Sherars Bridge, with many of the original timbers in use, still stands, a span of but 40 feet while the river at this point measures over 100 feet in depth. Mrs. Sherar died in 1907 and Mr. Sherar died in 1908. The hotel, in outward appearance, is much the same as it was during the lifetime of the owners; but the interior has greatly changed. Guests still come (1908) in motor cars now, but they are fishermen and casual tourists, not the pioneers and adventurers with many yoke of oxen, bags of wheat or wool. The bronze and purple hills tower above the Sherar House, with the high road to Shaniko cut in a narrow hedge of the hill and the lower road leading to Tygh. Trout and witless eels still flourish in the stream, while strolling Indians from Warm Springs reservation, kindle their fires nearby to catch the fattest eels or salmon before huckleberry season opens. The raging river and mighty hills are the same, but the first chapter of Oregon settlement has been closed. -- Oregonian 1908.

Indian Battle Ground

     The Indian battle ground, mentioned in the above article, was at the mouth of Fargher Creek and their graveyard is east, up the creek, according to R.A. Stows, 1905 pioneer of Grass Valley. The Indians also are credited with having a battle at the Devil's Half Acre plateau, near White River Falls, with the soldiers of Old Fort Dalles, but we have so far been unsuccessful in obtaining details.

Sherars Bridge by Harry Woolsey

     After Joseph Henry Sherar died in 1908 I assumed control and the management of the Sherar hotel and toll bridge for the Sherar estate. I and my wife managed the business. Construction laborers, on the Oregon Trunk railroad, furnished their own beds and slept on the 3rd floor attic and ate their meals there for a time. All the rooms of the hotel were furnished with good mattresses and bedding. Water was piped into the hotel from a spring about a mile up the Sherar road toward The Dalles at the old McAtee orchard. There was very little toll traffic over the bridge, less than people would imagine, during railroad construction days. Tolls were $1.25 for team and wagon and 25¢ per passenger. Single horses and riders ware 25¢.
     Mr. Sherar had incorporated his toll road under the title of the TILL KINNY TOLL ROAD, Inc. In the earlier days his outfits could be seen grading the road on both sides of the river for 15 miles and he kept the dirt roads in good condition. He hired Peter LaHome and his son Washington LaHome, Indians who lived near Sherar, as more or less regular employees and hired other Indians as needed for road work.
     While I was at Sherar VanDuyne sold his store at Tygh to Morrow & Butler. Dr. T. Coberth's father was plant manager for the Wasco Warehouse Milling Company's power plant at White River Falls which was sold in 1910 to the Pacific Power and Light Co. who still own and operate the plant. I fired about a year for the old Dalles Electric Light Co. plant at First and Laughlin. It was a steam plant and burnt wood for fuel. C.D. Cushion was manager and L.A. McArthur was electrician.
     Mr. Sherar had torn down his abandoned flour mill at White River Falls long before he sold the power site to the Wasco Warehouse Milling Co. There was no post office at Sherars Bridge while I was there. Hugh Mulkins operated a star mail route from Dufur to Shaniko via Nansene, Sherars and Bakeoven, while I was there. The stage line from The Dalles to Canyon City had been discontinued before I went out there. The star route brought the mail over from Dufur one day and back from Shaniko the next day. Shaniko was the terminal for the Columbia Southern Railroad and did a big business into central Oregon in those days. The executors for the Sharer estate were Sam Holmes, C.M. Grimes of Wasco.
     The Dalles directory for 1898 lists the following residents of Sherars Bridge; John Davis, sheepman; Jones and Jordan, sheepmen, Joseph Henry Sherar, sheep and hotel; John Suhr, laborer for Sherar. The Portland directory of 1897 showed Joseph Henry Sherar postmaster, John Suhr, laborer for Sharer and the toll income of $30,000 annually. He was one of our most outstanding citizens.

Sherars Bridge by J. R. Fleming

     Mr. Arthur Cook of the Wasco county road department tells me that Wasco County purchased the Sherar toll bridge in 1912 for $3000. This was about the time the Deschutes was bridged at Maupin and took much of the load off Sherars Bridje, but it remained an important hookup with Sherman county. The post­masters from 1910 to 1938 were Floyd Johnson, E.L. Kessler and George Foster. I have been unable to learn how long any of them served nor anything about what became of John Suhr who I remember well but lost track of after Sherars death. Another old character was Indian Pete LaHome, a straw road boss for Sherar, with the Indian crews he used in road building a repairing. Pete's wife was Mary and they had a son George Washington “Pete” and the Peter Indian family on the reservation are descendants.
     The stage drivers that I can remember, between The Dalles and Bakeoven were: "Pretty" Dick Braden (who married Josephene Hewett, daughter Frank Hewett keeper of the 8 Mile station), Frank Lawson, Claude Lawson and Hugh Mulkins, in that order. I am sure there were many others. The run from The Dalles to Bakeoven was under one contract and another contract from Bakeoven to Prineville. Stages used to leave The Dalles for Bakeoven each morning end leave Bakeoven for The Dalles each morning, 7 days a week. Bakeoven was an important night stopover on the road to Prineville. (J.R. Fleming lived at the post office of Fleming --- see under Fleming for biography.)

Burning of the Sherar Hotel

     The Sherar House at Sherars Bridge burned to the ground Aug. 25, 1940. The Earnest Webb family were living there and were able to save some of their household goods. The Sherar House, one of Oregon's historical buildings, was built more than 50 years ago by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sherar. It was a large quaint old building on the Pony Express route, located about 9 miles below Maupin on the Deschutes river at a point where the river is extremely narrow and deep and it was a toll bridge for many years. The house was a fine structure of 3½ stories; finished inside with fir and redwood; put together with wooden pegs instead of nails! It still contained many old time pictures and antique furniture when it burned. The Webb family were camped on the grounds awaiting word of release as caretakers, before mov­ing on to the M.L. Webb ranch. -- The Dalles Optimist; J.R. Fleming scrapbook.

Sherars Bridge by Pearl G. Freelove of Seattle

     My mother was Mrs. C. M. Grimes, the daughter Mr. and Mrs. Joseph. Henry Sherar raised but did not legally adopt for at the time of the adoption proceedings my mother was living with the Herbert family and as a result the Herbert and Sherar families became enemies and Mrs. Sherar never saw her mother again! My mother was born in 1857 and this disagreement was about 10 years later. A man by the name of James Dennis worked for Mr. Sherar after Mrs. Sherar died. The hotel and property was sold by my father, as one of the executors of the estate, to the Eastern Oregon Land Co. and they in turn sold some of it to the railroad and they closed the old Sherar road to The Dalles. Mr. Sherar had a 99 year lease on the roads leading out of the bridge and he used Indian labor to build and keep those roads in shape. The big house was built in 1890 by grandfather Sherar and he made two fortunes, while he owned the bridge. The first was when he shipped wool around the Horn to Danny Rice & Co. of Boston, the second was the tolls from the bridge.
 

Sharars Bridge by James B. Adams, Agent, Eastern Oregon Land Co.

     I am always interested in the history of eastern and central Oregon and will give you what I can about Sherars Bridge to help in assembling historical facts. My associations with the Eastern Oregon Land Co. from The Dalles to Antone was mostly with wheat, cattle and sheep ranches and I never knew too much about our Deschutes river properties.

     However in 1922 Mrs. John Taylor was operating the old hotel at Sherars when I became employed with the company that year, and she was postmaster all during the years she was there. After she left we employed Floyd Johnson and wife of Wamic as caretakers. The mail came by rail and the office was called Sherars. Earnest Webb and wife succeeded Floyd Johnson and they remained until the old hotel burned after which they built and lived in a cabin there.
     Mrs. Taylor used to enjoy quite a patronage of fishermen and tourists in the "horse and buggy" days, but when the improved highways came her business fell off; and after the improved market roads were developed so that fishermen could drive to Sherars, fish and sight-see and return home at night, she just didn't have any patronage. It was a sad ending for the old hotel. Mrs. Taylor was a highly respected and very capable hostess. Earnest Webb still lives in Tygh.

Well Built Bridge

     The old wooden bridge was a very well built structure. One of the heaviest loads in 1881 was the Prineville electric light plant hauled out by Jess Yancy and his brother Stephen, in 5 loads of 30,000 pounds (15 tons) each, on 2 wagons and 12-horse "jerk line" teams. They burnt up their brakes, more than once, going down into Sherars Bridge and had to replace brake blocks, extra sets which they had with them. Going down around the "hair pin turns" in cow canyon, required the "swing teams" to jump the chain and it required a real master of the wagons to land them right side up at the foot of the grade! Stephen Yancy was considered one of the best sheep shearers in eastern Oregon and considered 200 clips of wool a days work!
     One of John Conroy's neighbors rolled a 20 ton tractor across the old wooden bridge, just before Wasco county replaced it with the county bridge and he said, "not a timber creaked!" -- which proves that "book education" was not needed for pioneer bridge engineering and road building. The old Sherar road from the John Conroy ranch to the top of Tygh Ridge is still passable and has recently been used by the contractors of the Bonneville Power line. It is still the best location for a highway and plans for re-using the old route up Long Hollow, past Sherars and Bakeoven are in the "talking stage." Sam will be called upon to pay for any such new road.

MT. HOOD & TYGH VALLEY

     Mt. Hood and Tygh Valley post offices are TWINS. They were both born in Tygh Valley about the same time. The Mt. Hood post office only lasted 6 years while the Tygh Valley office is 78 years old!

MT. HOOD

     The official records of the post office department show the Mt. Hood post office was established May 17, 1872 with Wm. Hollingsworth the first postmaster. It was discontinued January 11, 1878 at the date of the establishment of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line. It was probably named Mt. Hood on account of the view of the mountain from that vicinity. Its brief 6 years of existence a way back in the 1870's makes it impossible, so far, to locate anyone who remembers its existence or who can tell us anything about it. The records show that Wm. Hollingsworth was succeeded in office by Benj. C. McAtee.

Alvira McAtee (Steers)

     The History of Central Oregon says that Alvira McAtee was born (1836) in Illinois and married (1854) James F. Steers of Kentucky, son of Hugh Steers and came west in 1865 settling at Tygh in 1886 where Mr. Steers died in 1867. She then married Benjamin C. McAtee (1867) who was murdered in the Grand Ronde valley in 1893 where he went to settle the estate of a brother. Mr. Steers had a brother Henry Steers from whom Joe and Wm. Steers of The Dalles descended. James Steers of Tygh and his wife Alvira's child­ren were: Vincent Steers of Tygh, Wm. and John Steers of Dufur (1905). Alvira McAtee lived 1 mile west of Tygh (1905). Her sons by Benj. McAtee were William and John who married Anna Heisler of Dufur and they had a son John McAtee of Dufur (1905). Her daughter Malinda (Mrs. Edward Fitzpatrick) of Bakeoven had a son John, beekeeper for Van Duyn & Adams at Tygh.
     Following Benj. McAtee as postmaster was Mr. Shannon; Allie Paquet; Mr. Hinkle and James Steers. The office was closed January 11, 1878. -- Oregon Historical Society Records.
     So many different postmasters serving the little office in the short period of 6 years, indicates it was what we call a "floating post office" or one that was maintained only a short time in the farm home of one family then moved to the farm home of another family; and this is exactly what happened in the case of the Mt. Hood post office in the beautiful Tygh Valley. Before The Dalles to Wapinitia state line was established (1878) it received its mail by a contract carrier who went down to Sherars Bridge, where The Dalles to Canyon City stage line left the mail for both Tygh and Mt. Hood, and brought the mail up the valley. As more speculation, not knowing the location ranches occupied by the above farmers, I would assume that Mr. Hollingsworth and Mr. McAtee lived above Tygh, and when Tygh was established June 17, 1873 the Mt. Hood office was changed to the Shannon, Paquet, Steers and Hinkle ranches, some of which were between Tygh and Sherars. More research would make more history.

TYGH VALLEY

     The Tygh Valley post office was established June 17, 1873 and takes its name from the Tygh tribe of Indians. It recieved its first mail from Sherars Bridge. Its first postmaster was H. Staley an 1870 settler of the region and storekeeper. In 1890 he sold to J.M. and C.J. Van Duyne. The plat of the town was filed June 15, 1892 by Chas. J. and Francis Van Duyne, witnessed by John Hollingshead and Wm. K. McAtee; deed Book S, page 595, Wasco county records and Chas. Van Duyne was postmaster. Joseph Davies is listed as postmaster in 1910 by The Dalles directory. John Fitzpatrick served between 1914 and 1922. Johnny Blackerby served from 1922 to 1925. Georgia Norval was postmaster 22 years from 1925 to 1947 and Dorothy B. Richie, who assisted in determining who was postmaster and when, has served since 1947.

First Families

     Just who the first permanent settlers in Tygh Valley was is probably a debatable subject without a conclusive answer. The History of Central Oregon claims that Daniel Webster Butler and the Shamrocks. Dan Butler operated the first store at Tygh, trading with the Indians and emigrants, after he returned from the Yakima Indian war and about 1856. The Shamrocks opened the first blacksmith shop there about the same time.

Dan Butler of Tygh

     The History of Central Oregon says that Polk and Isiah Butler, brothers of Daniel W. Butler were born in Indiana, in the early 1830’s; and that DANIEL WEBSTER BUTLER came west with the big emigration of 1852 and first settled at Rowena, and according to Lulu D. Crandall's writings he sold his Rowena place to George Snipes who settled at Rowena in 1853, and came back to The Dalles where he was the first Justice of the Peace and Deputy Sheriff in 1854, after Wasco county was created; and they tell the story that Dan followed one of his men to the summit of the Rocky mountains, before he overtook and captured him and returned him to The Dalles for trial. He trailed his man like a mountie, even tho it took all summer to get him!
     Phillip McCorkle says that Dan Butler's place joined the Fair Grounds at Tygh in 1870, but in 1858 it was closer, if not in the city of Tygh, that he had his trading post.

     DANIEL WEBSTER BUTLER was born in Wayne County, Ohio (1820) son of Isaac and Anna L. (Jones) Butler natives of Virginia and farmers of Wayne county, Ohio, of Indiana and Illinois. He recieved his early education in Ohio and according to the History of Central Oregon came to The Dalles by ox-team settling at Rowena (1852) selling  (1853) to George Snipes; 1854 was constable of Wasco county. On Oct. 11, 1855 he enlisted as a member of Captain Orlando Humason’s Dalles Co. B. First Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volun­teers, under command of Col. James W. Nesmith and General Joel Palmer for service in the Walla Walla area, during the Yakima Indian War of 1855-56 being discharged May 19, 1856 when, according to Lulu D. Crandall, he moved to Tygh Valley (1856) to establish his trading store.

Dan Butler -- Dufur Dispatch 1896

     Daniel Webster Butler, brother of Polk, Isiah and Jonathan Butler, after whom Butler Canyon down which highway 23 follows into Tygh is named was a veteran of the Yakima Indian War of 1855-56 and he was quoted as saying that the killing of Capt. Bolon, Yakima Indian Agent, by the Indians of North Dalles and whom burned the agents body within site of The Dalles, was the cause of the Yakima Indian War of 1855. The Indians were dissatisfied over General Joel Palmer's treaty provisions, made on 3 Mile creek shortly before Dan Butler had loaned Capt. Bolan his horse for that last fateful ride. Following that killing the Indians participated in the massacre at Cascade Locks in March of 1856.
     Major Haller of Fort Dalles started out with troops to punish the Yakima Indians but near Toppenish he met with overwhelming numbers and retreated clear back to The Dalles! Col. J. W. Nesmith then organized 2 Divisions of volunteers, one of which he led into the Yakima country and the other under Col. J. K. Kelley (afterwards first Mayor of The Dalles) went to the Walla Walla country and Dan Butler was with Kelley. They built Fort Henrietta at Echo. On the Walla Walla river they met Chief Pen Pen Mox Mox of the Cayuses and a number of his followers, whom they captured and made prisoners. This action was followed by a 4-day battle in which a number of the men were wounded. Capt. Chas. Bennett was killed. Amos Underwood of Underwood, Wash. was the hero of the battle killing more of the redskins than any other one man. Re-enforcements arrived from The Dalles on the 5th day and the Indians were routed. The troops went into winter quarters at the Whitman Mission, near Walla Walla where the able bodied lived in tents and suffered from the severe winter weather, while the mission buildings were made into hospital quarters for sick and wounded men.
     Next spring they engaged in scouting activities out of Ft. Henrietta. Then one day Dan Butler and Donald McKay of Astoria, were surprised near Pendleton, by a band of 6 Indians, on good mounts. Dan headed for McKay creek with the 6 savages in hot pursuit! McKay went in another direction. Dan out­distanced the Indians, who wanted his scalp, only to find that he had rode out on to a table ledge! It was too late to turn back so Dan jumped his horse "like a deer" right over the edge of the bluff down into a canyon 15 feet below, successfully landing and making it back to camp. He complained in Dufur that the government had never paid the veterans for their services.
     Upon his return from war he moved to Tygh to engage in farming and store activities. He married Elizabeth Jordan, daughter of Jim Jordan after whom Jordan creek was named and sister of Robert.  George Snipes confirmed that he bought his place at Rowena from Dan Butler. Mrs. Benton Mays was quoted as saying Dan Butler was a Tygh resident of 1858 on a little place between Tygh and Badger creek which was later sold to the Housers. In other articles Dan Butler was quoted as saying 2000 persons had been killed in Oregon by Indians sad that many Indian fighters regarded them as rattle­snakes but that in the bottle at Walla Walla "lots of red skins went to the happy hurting grounds;" and in 1896 only 1000 of the 7000 Yakima Indian War Veterans were still alive and hadn't been paid by the government for their services!

Boise Massacre

     Dan Butler joined another group of volunteers who rode up to Boise to punish the Indians, for the massacre Sept. 13, 1860 of 8 wagons of emigrants and 54 people, who surrounded the train in an all day battle all one night and all the next day. Some of the emigrants scattered over the prairie and became lost and starved to death. The mangled, mutilated bodies of the emigrants was one of the most revolting sights Dan butler had ever witnessed!
     The children of Dan and Elizabeth Butler were: Victor Butler of Redmond; Clay Butler of Culver; Laura Hindlind of Yakima; Mamie (Mrs. Tom Strickland) Dufur and Betty (Mrs. George Peters) 1570 30th Ave. San Francisco. Mrs. Herman Hinman was (1885) postmaster at Warm Springs where her husband taught Industrial arts to the Indians and he died there and she moved to Seattle. Mamie (Mrs. Tom Strickland) afterwards moved to Carson City, Nev. where Dan Butler died in 1900.
     In 1885, when Dan Butler and his wife were living at Tygh Mr. and Mrs. Silas Wm. Davis, the maternal grandparents of the writer of this history and later the operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line (1885-1887), arrived at Tygh by ox team. Mrs. Davis was too sick to go on to the Willamette Valley and Mrs. Butler cared for her at Tygh, while Mr. Davis came on into The Dalles and looked for a home to live in and a job of work, both of which he found. When Mrs. Davis improved he brought her into The Dalles. The Butlers refused to accept any pay for nursing her back to health. When Mrs. Butler died in 1875 she asked Dan Butler to allow her to be the mother for his youngest daughter Betty and she became a member of the Davis household until 189(sic) when she married George Peters.
     In 1868 Dan Butler was state legislative representative from Wasco county. In 1875 he and his brothers Polk and Isiah bought the Cates & Frizzell sawmill at Brooks Meadows and moved it to Dufur but it proved to he an unprofitable venture so they all three returned to farming. His wife is buried on the Hauser place at Tygh. He was Warm Springs Indian Agent from 1885 to 1890. He was one of the most outstanding men in the 100 years of Wasco county history.
     Betty Butler married George Peters of San Bernardino, Calif. son of Thomas and Mary Etta Jane (Parrish) Peters of San Bernardino where he was born (1871) and received his education. They lived in Oakland (1899-1903); The Dalles 1904-05; Madras 1905-10; trucked in The Dalles 1910-1936. Their children were Glenn, U.S. Dredge Biddle, Astoria; Mervin of Shaniko; Geraldine (Mrs. Fred Gibeau) 1570 30 Ave. San Francisco; Gladys (Mrs. Arthur Schmidt) Shaniko, deceased; Thomas of Maupin; Melvin of Vancouver; Janet (Mrs. Gordon Henderson) San Francisco; Bessie (Mrs. Albert Linden) San Bruno, Cal.; Mollie (Mrs. Oscar Cowan) Modesto and Willard of San Francisco. (Biography by Betty Butler Peters of San Francisco).
     The Victor Butler children were Claude, Edra, Gertrude and Maude all of Redmond.
     Clay Butler died single in Seattle and Mammie Strickland lived at Carson City, Nev.
     Dan Butler's father Isaac died in Warren Co. Illinois (1875) at 75 and his mother was still living there at the age of 95 in 1905 after Dan died in Carson City.

Jonathan Butler

     Jonathan Butler, after whom Butler Canyon was named  (down which highway 23 follows) was born (1833) in Illinois, younger brother of Dan Butler but came west to Jacksonville, Oregon a number of years after Dan came west. He married Mary Anne Foster and they had: Hanson of Mt. Vernon; Robert of Mt. Vernon; Nora (Mrs. Eli Haynes) Dufur; Eban of The Dalles; Myron of Mitchell; Nellie (Mrs. Walter Jones) Medford; Lottie (Mrs. Tom Wilson) Dufur and Daisy of The Dalles. Jonathan Butler lived at Tygh for a time and later farmed in the Kingsley area of Dufur.

Polk Butler

     Was born in Indiana (1845) brother of Dan Butler; came to Oregon (1879) settling in the Nansene area and his children were Maude (Mrs. Edw. Griffin) The Dalles; Omer, preacher of Idaho; Roy Butler, postmaster and store operator for years at Boyd and Earl of Nansene.

Isiah Butler

     Another brother of Dan was born in Ohio (1835); came to Kingsley (1877) after marriage to Emeline Riggs in Illinois and their children were D. Clyde and Stella. Isiah served 3 months in the Illinois volunteers during the Civil War.
     Oregon Historical Society records mention Robert Mays as a Tygh settler of 1862; the Herberts of Tygh (see under Sherar) 1862; a Frenchman by the name of Jondreaux planted an orchard at Tygh in 1858 from trees obtained from the Denton Mill creek nursery; and he sold to Jeffries; a Mr. McDaffy planted an apple orchard at Tygh about the same time the Frenchman planted his orchard; and the Shamrocks and Dan Butler were credited as being 1859 residents.

The MAYS FAMILY OF TYGH by Margaret Walker

     The Mays family has owned many acres of land in Wasco county and their farm at Tygh (now known as the Joe Dodd place) is one of the most attractive farms in Wasco county. Anyone coming around the curves of the Tygh grade and looking down on the green meadows of the valley is charmed with the stretch of level land so in contrast with the dry hills. The Mays ranch has been in the family since 1862.

     Robert Mays and his wife crossed the plains to Oregon in the big emigration of 1852. Benton, their oldest eon, was then 2 years old. They settled in Kings Valley in Benton county. The next spring they went to Lane county and located on Long Tom River, In 1858 they came to Dufur settling 3 miles south on what is now (1921) known as the Newton Patterson place. They traded this place for the one at Tygh where they moved in 1862. In 1865 they bought their Dufur place back again, living part of the time on each place. Dufur and Tygh can both claim the Mays family as pioneer settlers.
     In those days, according to Benton Mays, Tygh Grade, which was for years a terror to those who had to travel over it, first followed down the first 2 points into Jonathan Butler Canyon. Until 1866 the repeated washouts of the grade, every winter, caused the people to grade around these points to Burch spring and then down the canyon. In 1867 a grade was made around the next point. In 1891 a new grade was made and travelers can plainly see this one from the base of the hill. A great number of accidents on the grade and the trouble and anxiety incident to travelling over it led the County Court to have a more gradual grade built in 1916. (The above article was written in 1921 before the building of highway 23 which made the 6th grade down into Jonathan Butler Canyon and Tygh).
     Tygh and Wamic, in the early days, according to Benton Mays, were on the main line of travel to the Barlow road used by emigrants at Wamic, for crossing the Cascade mountains into the Willamette Valley. Barlow built the road from Gate creek, where a toll gate was placed, to the summit (1845). He kept the road in fairly passable condition and it was called the Barlow road.
     Some of the neighbors of the Mays family during the first years of their residence there were the family of Daniel W. Butler; John Y. and Sam Todd (owners of Sherars Bridge); a Frenchman named Chambrau; Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt (biography listed under Wamic); Mrs. Hays and the Jim Jordan family after whom the well known Jordan creek was named, John Y. and Sam Todd and Jonathan H. Jackson built the first bridge across the Deschutes at Sherars (1860). Robert R. Mays purchased it in 1862. (Note: Mays widened the bridge from a foot and pack train bridge to a wagon bridge cutting off 100 miles in the distance emigrants had to travel between the top of Cottonwood Canyon, in Sherman county and Tygh). In 1867 Mays sold the bridge to Wm. Hemmingway who in turn sold it to O'Brien and he to Joseph Henry Sherar in 1871. Joe Sherar collected lots of tolls from the people who went over the bridge and out into central and eastern Oregon; but he spent a lot improving roads and building the big hotel near the bridge in 1893.
     The first school I ever went to at Tygh was a 6 weeks term in our sitting room. The school house was finished soon after that and the next term was held in it. One of the first school teachers was Troy Shelly. He was known all over Wasco county and moved to Odell. We received most of our early education at Dufur where the school was located 1¼ miles below the Balch hotel (near post office of Wasco at 12 Mile ranch). Three of us rode one horse to school and there were about 40 pupils who came from a radius of 6 miles. During bad weather the attendance fell to 10 or 15. An old Hudson Bay Co. man taught us at Tygh several terms and during the classes he smoked the strongest pipe I have ever smelled in my life! In 1902 Robert Mays came to The Dalles to live in the imposing stone house at 10th & Laughlin (see Castle of The Dalles) which they bought in 1873 but never lived in.
     The Mays children besides Benton, farmer of Tygh were: Polk Mays, stockman of Antelope and Wallowa county; Pierce Mays, U.S. Attorney of Portland; Grant Mays (Mays & Crowe Mercantile Co.) and stockman; Edwin Mays, lawyer of Oakland, Cal.; Judge Robert Mays, Jr. (Edw. C. Pease & Mays Mercantile Co.); Iola, single; Elnora (Mrs. A.R. Thompson) Pasadena, Cal.; Eunice (Mrs. Luther E. Crowe) (partner Grant Mays in Mays & Luther E. Crowe Mercantile Co.) The Dalles). -- Data checked with Fred W. Wilson, and directories.

Wm. McCorkle Family

     Wm. McCorkle was born (1829) in Indiana the son of Richard B. and Isabella (Campbell) McCorkle. They went to Illinois (1832) to the California gold fields in 1850 and made a small fortune; came to Oregon with the “big emigration” of 1852 by horse team to Linn county. In 1872 they came to Dufur and shortly thereafter acquired the flour Mill at Tygh. Wm. McCorkle married Mary Smith (1851) and she died in 1877. His second marriage was to Abbie Zumwalt. The McCorkle children were: Phillip; Earnest; Frank; Chester; John; Rufus, Amanda (Mrs. M.A. Flinn) Portland; Annie (Mrs. R.L. Willoghby) Eugene. (Hist. Central Ore.)

Dr. John L. Elwood

     Physician of Tygh was born (1868) Leesburgh, Ohio son of Clark and Charlotte (Hisky) Elwwood; received his education in Ohio and the Missouri Medical College of St. Louis and Ainsworth of St. Joseph and commenced practice at Oakdale, Neb. with his uncle Robert; was Oregon state health officer before he came to Tygh in 1898 purchasing the practice of Dr. N.G. Pown and a 600 acre ranch 7 mile from Tygh. He married Ora Hatfield, daughter of John Hatfield of Ellensburg and their children were Darrel, real estate dealer of The Dalles who married Agnes Marginson and Ogden Elwood of Portland who married Elsie Emerson, daughter of Burt Emerson (see Emerson Station) and have son Jack and daughter Constance.

Charles Wing

     Charles Wing, proprietor of the Tygh Valley_, hotel (1905) was born (1856) in Portland son of Martin and Margaret (Cleggett) Wing 1852 ox-team emigrants to The Dalles and Portland; and who received his education in a log cabin school 12 miles east of Portland and in 1874 the family came to Wamic where he owned 500 acre stock ranch. In 1902 he bought the Tygh hotel from Sam Broyles and operated a feed barn in connection with it. Mr. Wing’s brothers and sisters were: Milton; Alonza; Stephen; Frank; Henry; Joe and Edward of Wamic; Ella (Mrs. Fred Chandler) Yakima; Emma (Mrs. Chas. Hayward) Hood River; Mollie (Mrs. Orrin Britton) Wamic; Hattie (Mrs. John Johnson) Wamic; Dollie (Mrs. Andrew Knisser) Yakima and Martha. Chas. Wing married Perly Hayward sister of Horace of Wamic and Mrs. Wm. Magili of Wamic; and their children were, Grace (Mrs. James Whitman); Ivy; Louis and Martin. -- History Central Oregon.

Archibald Moad

     Blacksmith of Tygh (1905) was born at Boyd (1874) son of John and Mary (Flett) Moad an 1848 gold miner of Calif. and pack train operator from The Dalles to Canyon City for 10 years and later farmer of the Boyd section and 1886 of Tygh. Mary Flett's father was an 1841 employee of the Hudson Bay Co. at Oregon City and was raised the daughter of Archie McKinley; Hudson Bay Co. store operator of Champoeg! As a boy Mr. Moad rode the range with cattle for his father. In 1890 he was apprenticed as a blacksmith at Dufur and in 1900 bought the James Gillmore shop at Tygh. He has brothers Adolph and Edward of the Tygh vicinity; sister Frankie (Mrs. Mark Painter) Dufur; Nettie (Mrs. James Easton) Nansene; Tillie (Mrs. Edward Henderson) Wapinitia. Archibald Moad married Levie Vanderpool daughter of Wm. and Susan (Heisler) Vanderpool of Prineville and Dufur. - History of Central Oregon.

Augustus Bonney

     Cattleman of Tygh was born (1849) in Marion County son of Bradford and Alzina (Dimick) Bonney 1849 and 1847 pioneers to Oregon; he graduated from the Willamette University (1871) and first taught school until he filed on his sheep ranch at Tygh in 1875, purchasing railroad and other land until he acquired 1500 acres, 160 of which he irrigates and raises 5 to 6 ton of alfalfa per acre per year! He later changed to the dairy business (1900) with 100 prize jersey cows. He married Elizabeth Jones who died 1888 and his second marriage was to Emma Reavis. Children by the first wife were: Clyde, dairyman and later Wasco County school superintendent; Emma of Hood River; Georgia of Woodburn and Arthur of Tygh; and by his 2nd wife Bessie; Dale; Loris and Verl. Clyde Bonney’s son Rex, whom the writer of this history went to school with, came back from World War I a physical and mental wreck, a very fine young man sacrificed to the gods of war!

Old Water Right Holders; Records of Rodger Wilhelm, Watermaster

     F.P. Mays, 1865; Jim Jordan, 1870; A.A. Bonney, 1887; J.H. Miller, 1873; J.L. Kennedy, 1873; K.L. Hauser, 1872; Miles Kinney, 1878; W.J. Knox, 1879; Chas. Harth, 1877; Pacific Power & Light, 1901.

1883 Directory      

     C.F. and A.A. Bonney; L.H. Baldwin; Sam Broyles; R. Brandon; Jim Brown, farmer father of Mrs. John Ryan of Thompson Addition; L.J. Edgar; J.C. Hull;_. Mrs. L.S. Stricklin; D.A. Wilson; Wm. Wilcox; Chas. Wing and Low Wing; Wm. McCorkle; Robert A. Mays (also of Dufur).

Other Old Timers

     Dan Butler 1857, Robert Mays 1860; Geo. Herbert 1862; David Imbler 1862; Ed. Chambran 1862; Jim, Tom and John Jordan l862; John and Sam Todd 1860; Arthur and Washington Walker of Tygh and Dufur 1860; W.E. Zumwalt 1873; W.J. Knox 1876; Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt 1882. First Tygh grade was improved in 1867.

1897 & 1899 Directory

     Chas. Adams physician; N.G. Powne, physician; Acy Stogsdill, teacher, Chas. Van Duyne, postmaster and merchant; Wm. Allen, Robert Beattie, John Bennett, S.T. Bennett, Clyde Boanay, O.D. Brace, O.C. Brittain, James Brown, W.L. & Sarah Brown, Sam Broyles, Robert Butts, Harry Chapman, shoemaker; Joel, Marion and W.F. Chastain, Mark Collins, W.H. Cook, broommaker; John Cotter, Andrew, D.P., J.H., I.N. Crabtree, C.C. Dickens, C.V. Durham, James Fegler, E.C. Fitzpatrick, L,R. Grisham, C.E. Hayward, John Hall, Robert Jones, Geo. Kayler, S.A. Kinyon, Joe Kistner, F.L. Larson, Geo. Littrell, Mrs. B.C. McAtee, W.H. McAtee, F.E., J.M., and Wm. A. McCorkle; A.C. Clark, and Wm. McCown, James McDowell, E.B. Martin, C.E. Maynard, Geo. Meloy, L. Mertz, H.V. Meyer, J.N. Moad, C.L. & Milt Morris, Robert Muir, Wm. D. Munger, blacksmith; J.F., J.W. & Chas. Pierce, J.H. Ross, Paul Schmidt, T.A. Smith, J.P. Snodgrass, V.P. Steers, John Van Metre, Emil Wendland, F. Waterman, W.S. Williams, J.E. Wing, Stephen Wing, George Woodruff, Van Woodruff and M.B. Zumwalt. Chas. Van Duyne and Dr. Chas. Adams operated the general merchandise store at Tygh. The McCorkles operated the flour mill, Chas. Wing operated the hotel. Daily mail service was received from The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line about 2 P.M. and dispatched to The Dalles at 9 to 9:30 A.M. in good weather, in 1898.

Directory of 1910

     The 1910 Polk Directory said Tygh had a population of 90; had a United Brethren church, 2 flour mills and a daily stage to Dufur and Wapinitia. The directory only listed the following 12 families a big reduction from the 80 listed in 1898:

     Joseph Davies, postmaster and druggist; Dr. J.L. Elwood, physician; O.M. Fraley, blacksmith, J.T. Harper, general merchandise, Mrs. J.T. Harper, milliner, Wm. McCorkle, flour mill, A.F. Martin, blacksmith, Morrow & Butler, general merchandise, C.W. Wing, hotel, Mrs. Lou Wing, confectionery, Young & Son, meats; Woodcock & Young, flour mill.

Tygh Valley Bee

     In 1905 the Tygh Valley Bee, a weekly 4-column newspaper was edited by E.O. Shepherd.

Mail Service

     Reviewing the Tygh Mail service, from 1873 to 1878 Tygh and Mt. Hood post offices received mail from The Dalles to Canyon City stage at Sherars Bridge. With the establishment of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in 1878 Tygh received mail from that service until it was abolished in 1914 after which time Tygh again went to Sherars Bridge for mail service from the newly constructed railroads. With the completion of highway 23 through Tygh in 1924 a movement was soon started for better service by truck which was established in 1928 from The Dulles to Maupin, out in the morning and back in the evening. In 1949 this service was extended to Bend, mornings and back to The Dalles via Tygh, evenings.

Tygh in 1952

     Tygh in 1952 has 2 stores and service stations, a hotel, a new school, 2 churches, I.O.O.F. lodge, a community hall, a large sawmill owned by H.H. Peen and employing 200 men and holds the annual Wasco County Fair there in August.

The Tygh Valley Fair

     Mrs. Walt Hanna of Dufur supplies the following fair information, as secretary of the Fair Board:

     The first fair was held at Tygh Valley around 1906 in the Van Dyke Park. A rodeo was held in addition to the exhibits. In 1916 the present Fair Grounds was developed and used by the Southern Wasco County Fair, which became the Wasco county fair after W.E. Hunt's death in 1937, and for whom the grounds was named as a Memorial Park. W.H. McAtee was first President and French Butler, Secretary. It was 1945 or 46 that the new buildings were built and the bleachers put up. The fair is guaranteed $7500 from the racing fund annually and may be greater. Features open glass exhibits in land products, livestock, home making, 4-H, F.F.A. In 1951 a concrete wash rack and judging ring was built. Treated posts were placed in the arena and an effort toward landscaping the grounds was made.

     The Warm Springs Indians support the fair and participate in the parades with full regalia valued at thousands of dollars, some customs are 100 years old! The Pagent of Hiawatha has been a drawing card since 1949. In 1950-51 the American beauty Queen was chosen from the Indian maiden contests for the fair.
     The grounds are used as a picnic area with tables and stoves, where many family reunions and other gatherings are held, such as the 4-H, Wasco County Livestock Association, Elks, Tygh Lumber Mill Employees, Riding clubs and schools.
     Some of the Presidents were J.W. Dodd of Tygh; Clarence Gardner, Dufur and The Dalles; W. C. Hanna, Dufur; Art Muller, Tygh and The Dalles; Mrs. Vern (Audrey) Hanna, Dufur; and Kenneth Grossmiller, The Dalles.

The W.E. Hunt Memorial Park

     Mrs. Bertha (Pete) Kirsch, Maupin Historian supplied this history on the Hunt Memorial Park at which place the annual Wasco County Fair is held:
     In 1938 Mrs. W. E. Hunt and her two children, Genevive and Clarence, donated the 40 acres now known as the Wasco County Fair Grounds. Mr. Hunt had loaned money to improve the buildings, before his death, and that was donated too! The sum was around $7000. The grounds is called the Hunt Memorial Park. The beautiful entrance gate was built to the memory of Mr. Hunt. The park is used for picnics and many other gatherings, as wall as the fair. Wasco county has erected buildings and improved the grounds until it is considered one of the nicest Fair Grounds in Oregon. It is sub-irrigated by Tygh creek and the grass is green there all summer.
     W.E. Hunt was born (1866) at Sacramento, Calif. and married Rojina Campbell of Wamic and their  children Billy, Genevive and Clarence were born on their Criterion homestead. Mr. Hunt worked for many years for Mr. Young, sheepman of Ridgeway as a herder and by 1908 acquired his own herd for his own homestead between milepost 56 and 57 on highway 23 and was married in 1904. Mr. Hunt solicited on horse back for the Red Cross during World War I and put Criterion $200 over their goal. Mr. Hunt died in 1937 and his son Wm. was killed at Tygh by a tractor in 1938; the son being the first child born in the Criterion country. The Criterion people all appreciated Mt. Hunt's kindness and community interests.

Important Events

     From 1903 to 1912 Tygh grew hops on the K.L. Hauser place, the finest grown in the northwest. The original drying kiln still stands. Tygh hops took prizes at the Lewis & Clark Fair and the Alaska Yukon Exposition at Seattle as well as the Oregon State Fair. The town has a good water system and good power system.
     There has been one gap we have been unable to fill in the Tygh-Wamic history, -- who cared for the needs of the emigrants between 1845, when Barlow established his road through Wamic and l857 when Dan Butler established his first small trading store and blacksmith shop? A period of 12 years at least. There must have been some habitation there during that period, besides Indians?

WAMIC and PRATTVILLE

     The post offices of Wamic and Prattville; 41 miles southeast of The Dalles and 4 miles southeast of Tygh, are again two names applied to the same post office or location. Prattville post office was established November 24, 1879 with Mary McCorkle the only postmaster and closed Sept. 11, 1880 after less than one year of operation under the name Prattville; so named in honor of Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt, founder and first permanent settler at Wamic.

WAMIC

     The Wamic post office was established November 24, 1884 with Mary Anna Chamberlain as the first postmaster and who served until 1889 when Fred Gordon became postmaster (1889-1895); Frank Woodcock (1895-1898); Maggie Gordon (1898-1904); Mamie Kennedy (1904-05); A.L. Gillis (1905-08); Belle Prout (1908­-1914); Carl Pratt (1914-1920); W.E. Zumwalt (1920-1941) and Elfia M. Gerity from 1941 to the present. (Names and dates by Elfie Gerity).
     The observer will note that between 1880, when the Prattville office was closed and 1884 when the Wamic office was opened, was 4 years, during which time the people of Wamic had to go to Tygh for their mail and were credited as being residents of Tygh for that reason in the Dalles directory and Wasco County assessor records of 1883 and 1884.

Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt

     Mrs. Ray H. (Gladys) McAllister, R. 3, Box 271, Bend sends our best historical record of Wamic. She was a daughter of Alfred C. Sanford of Wamic and Shaniko.

Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt, the first permanent settler of Wasco Flat, was an 1859 ox-team emigrant from Michigan who, with his wife Amanda (Sage) Pratt first worked for Robert Mays on both his Dufur and Tygh ranches. In 1882 he established his first cabin home and claim on the present site of Wamic.
     No claim is made that he was the "first settler" because Phillip Foster and Samuel K. Barlow, who built the emigrant Barlow Trail road over the Cascades in 1845, maintained a toll gate, cabin and toll collector, for a number of years, on Gate Creek, near Smock; and while these early toll collectors were rightfully the "first settlers" Mr. Pratt was the "first permanent settler."
     Lulu D. Crandall, early Dalles historian, credits Mr. Pratt as an early Wamic and Tygh resident of 1880-62 period when he aided the emigrant's to get from Tygh to the next camping spot where there was water at Wamic. This was only a short 34 mile trip up over the bluff, from the Fair Grounds vicinity, but up in that case meant almost "straight up" and he used 20 oxen to a wagon, according to Carl Pratt, to get them up over the side of the bluff to Wamic Flat; and it generally took about all day for one wagon! Naturally there had to be a camping spot at both Tygh and Wamic to service emigrant wagons, oxen and general wants and repairs. Pratt maintained the "waiting stop at Wamic" while Dan Butler maintained the one at Tygh as well as Pratt.
     Mrs. McAllister recalled that Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt was a very well educated man and among other accomplishments he had a beautiful and well trained tenor voice. He maintained a singing school at Wamic. In the winter they used to start out with his and Tom Beatty's bob sleds and teams and would stop at each farm house and sing a song or two, while waiting for the young folks to get ready to join them and drive to the next place, then the next and next. Singing was their favorite recreation. I have a tin-type photo of Mr. Pratt and James Sanford (killed at the Deschutes in 1886) taken on a 4th of July at their lemonade stand. I also have an early-day picture of my father's (Alfred C. Sanford) stage coach in front of Van Dynes store at Tygh, taken between 1682 and 1865, one snowy day.
     My grandmother, Nancy Barbarette Corum, daughter of Malcolm Corum of Ft. Levensworth, Kan, and the sister of Hiram Theodore Corum, postmaster and storekeeper at Wapinitia, was the wife of Richard Burrel Sanford; and they came to Oregon and Wamic right after the "grasshopper invasion of Kansas (about 1876). They came by rail from Kansas and Missouri to San Francisco and took a boat to Portland, first settling at Grass Valley, in Sherman county. They didn't like the plains of Sherman county so they traded their property for Wamic property. When grandpa's neighbors called upon them, he was re-united with his mother! He hadn't seen her for over 20 years! and had no idea where she was! That is one of life's "believe it or nots." She was married again and her name was Mrs. (Malcolm) Corum. One of grandma's brothers, Lewis Corum, owned extensive land holdings at Terrytown, N.Y. My aunt Minerva Anne Sanford taught school at Miller's (Moody) Bridge (Mrs. James Sanford) where her aunt Betsy Miller, wife of Thomas Jefferson Miller, lived.

Richard B. Sanford

     Richard B. Sanford was born in Kentucky of native parents of Scotland and lived at Ft. Levensworth, Kan. where he tried to enlist during the Civil War but was rejected and were much  harassed by the guerrillas. His wife Nancy (Corum) Sanford, daughter of Malcolm Corum, had 2 brothers in the Confederate army, and her father was a large slave holder during the Civil War period at Fort Levensworth. In 1876 the family came by rail to San Francisco and then by boat to Portland. They spent their first winter near Olex, on Rock Creek (Gilliam county) and the next spring they moved to Grass Valley canyon near Moro. The only neighbors they had in all of Sherman county were the Sam Price, Eaton, Harrington, Miller, Pearson, Gordon and Col. Fulton. Richard Sanford filed on a homestead, stocked it with cattle and stayed there 18 months when he moved with his family to Wamic to give the children school advant­ages. He bought a quarter section at Wamic on which the family lived until 1903, retiring to Wamic.
     Alfred C. Sanford, merchant of Wamic and Shaniko, was born in Levensworth, Kansas (1884) son of Richard B. and Nancy (Corum) Sanford and came west with the family at age 12 and continued his education in the Wamic schools and helped his father operate the Wamic ranch until 16  when he started out on his own herding sheep 2 seasons, working in a sawmill and riding the range He bought and sold horses and owned and operated The Dalles to Wapinitia Stage line from 1882 to 1885 when he sold out to Hiram T. Corum and Silas Wm. Davis, owners of the Wapinitia store and hotel. He then associated with the Fillon Bros. of The Dalles and with French & Co. banker, of The Dalles and then went on the road as a hardware salesman for Oregon, Washington and Idaho! During the building of the Columbia Southern Railroad from Biggs to Moro he opened a store at Moro and in 1900 when the railroad was extended to Shaniko he opened the first store in Shaniko. (For additional biography see under Shaniko)
     In 1888 he married Effie Batty, daughter of Thomas and Alice Baatty of Wamic and their children be­sides Mrs. McAllister were Mrs. Stephan Price of Centralia; Mrs. Louis Falkenhagen of Grants Pass; Velva of Portland and Fendal of Long Beach, Cal. Mr. Sanford's brother James was killed on railroad at Deschutes station in 1880. His sister Minerva (Mrs. J.H. Gilmore) lived in Wamic as did Mary (Mrs. Eugene) Pratt. While Deputy Sheriff of Wasco County he rode 420 miles by horse in 4 days and 3 nights to capture the murderer Hawkins south of Prineville. -- History of Central Oregon.

Pratt Children

     The children of Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt were: James Albert Pratt, single; Edgar Sylvester Pratt; and Charles Euguene Prett who married Mary Sanford, sister of Alfred Corum Sanford and daughter of Richard Burrel and Nancy (Corum) Sanford of Wamic. Their children were: James Carl Pratt, postmaster of Wamic, Rural Carrier at Maupin, City Carrier of The Dalles, retired. Carl married Julia Savage, daughter of David Savage of Wamic and their children were Loyal, Vern and Sheri of The Dalles and Verl of Colorado. Charles Euguene Pratt's daughter Christle (Mrs. Bernard Welch) lives at Redmond, Oregon  and their children are Lester and Marie.

Their First School

     Charles Euguene Pratt attended his first school at Tygh. It required 5 pupils to have a teacher. His brother James Albert was allowed to be counted the 6th pupil, although only 4 years of age! The other 4 pupils in that first school at Tygh were Lillian and Levi, Womack and Edgar and Euguene Pratt; according to Mrs. McAllister. (This was the school that the French teacher smoked the strong pipe.)

Naming of Wamic

     Pierce Mays, attorney and son of Robert Mays of Tygh, in Oregon Historical Society records says: "Wamic was named for the WOMACK family who were composed of Asa, Levi and Crawford; and each in turn directed the days efforts. On Mondays, Asa, the blacksmith required the boys to all work in the black­smith shop. On Tuesdays, Levi, who didn’t believe in work, required the boys to sit around all day and whittle and tell stories. On Wednesdays, Crawford, who liked to fish and hunt, required the boys to either fish or hunt; and they started all over again Thursdays and "rested!" on Sundays!"
     Mrs. McAllister of Bend adds, “Uncle Euguene Pratt's story of the Womack family parallels that of Pierce Mays. At one time Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt gave a party for all the neighborhood. They had stewed chicken and dumplings for dinner. The kettle was too full to put in Levi Womack’s chicken, which was all cut up and dressed for the pot, so they put it in a separate kettle. They boiled and boiled and boiled it, but it wouldn’t get tender; so Mr. Pratt ferreted it out, examined it, and discovered it to be a hoot owl! Later, during a cracker-barrel discussion of the matter at the Wamic store, Mr. Pratt remarked in his dry way, ‘that there was severe punishment for any person trying to poison his neighbors on hoot owl meat.' Levi Womack was observed leaving the circle and soon they could hear his horse hoofs beating a galloping retreat toward The Dalles where he rode and threw himself upon the mercy of the Sheriff, patiently explaining why he came in. The sheriff just as patiently explained to him that hoot owl meat was NOT poison, laughed at him and poor Levi had to ride home and face his practical jokers."
     "In later years, when we were living in Spokane, neighbors named Womack said they had folks that lived in Wamic. Mr. Womack denied being Levi, said his name was Lee. About 2 years ago Mr. Womack died in Spokane and the obituary read Levi Womack! They were and are very lovely people. One couldn't have asked "for better neighbors!”

The Barlow Road

     While we have covered the subject of the Barlow road under the general heading of roads and trails, we cannot help but add that its building by Joel Palmer, Samuel K. Barlow and Phillip Foster and some 50 other pioneer roadbuilders of Oregon City, in 1845, made history for all of Oregon. The dangers of rafting their families down the Columbia were greater than those crossing the Cascades. The ability to take their wagons, families and stock all together, on to the valley, was the greatest inducement for the building of the road. His act in establishing this road over the mountains makes Samuel K. Barlow one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county. His partner, Phillip Foster was just as outstanding. Jason Cushion Duncan Pratt's great efforts in helping emigrants up to Wamic for their start over the mountains, makes him another one of our most outstanding men In Wasco County history. Robert R. Mays enlargement of the bridge at Sherars, from a foot and pack horse bridge to a wagon bridge, saving emigrants the 100 miles of extra driving into The Dalles and back to Tygh, makes him and outstanding man in Wasco county's 100 years of history. Joseph Henry Sherar of Tygh and Sherars Bridge, made a better bridge, improved the toll roads at his expense, benefitting the people of of southern, and eastern Wasco county, making him an outstanding man in our 100 years of history. John Y. Todd and his brother Samuel, who established the bridge at Sherars, makes two more man who are outstanding in our history.
     This is very unusual for 7 of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county to be associated with the small communities of the Tygh Valley area and all engaged in transportation improvement services for the people. Mays also can be credited with the improvements on Tygh grade. Alfred Corum -- Sanford, a Wamic and Shaniko man, was another one of the outstanding men in our history, making 8 known to this writer. There are probably others, unknown to us at this time? Who are they?

The Driver Family

     Samuel Driver of Wamic was born in England (1814) son of Thomas and Thankful (Travis) Driver and came to America with his parents settling near Ft. Defiance, Ohio where his brother the Rev. Isaac Driver was born (1824) and where the father was a lawyer and silversmith. In 1827 the family went to Ft. Wayne, Ind. and to Goshen where the children received their education. Sam and Issac carried mail between Ft. Wayne and South Bend through Indian infested country. The family moved to Noble county where Isaac married Rebecca Crumley and Samuel married Martha Welch. Issac lost his wife within the year leaving him with a son.
     In 1849 the two brothers headed with a company of gold miners for California, encountering the usual hardships by wagons, cholera, but arrived at Steep Hollow, Cal. in October and went to Auburn where they remained successfully mining until 1851 when they took a boat back to the states to rejoin their family in Iowa where they were preparing to come to Oregon with the big emigration of 1852, with 2 heavy wagons drawn by 4 oxen and 2 light wagons drawn by horses in which the women and children rode. Their mother died at Burnt River of Mountain fever (typhoid). In Sept. 1853 they reached the Willamette Valley and went on to the Umpqua Valley, near Roseburg where they became stockmen.

Issac Driver

     Issac Driver became desperately ill with fever and when about to die resolved that if he were spared he would devote the rest of his life to the ministry. He studied with private teachers taking Latin, Greek and Hebrew at nights and farmed by day. Bundles of bark in the fireplace, before which he layed in true Abraham Lincoln manner, gave him light to study the bible while his family slept. In 1857 Issac Driver preached his first sermon in his own home to neighbors as was the custom before churches. During the Rogue River Indian war his home was a sanctuary. In 1858 the Methodist Conference appointed him to the ministry at Jacksonville and became one of the best known Circuit Riders of the Southern District; with circuit 150 miles in extent, which he travelled by horse, wagon and canoe or on foot through all kinds of weather. Services were in homes or school houses until churches were built. Pioneers who attended services often came from a distance of 20 miles or more and stayed overnight with nearby families. In summer open air services were popular and such "camp meetings" lasted for days, where people camped out, renewed friendships, made social contacts, exchanged recipes while the children played wonderful games and sons noticed the charms of neighbor's daughters; the men discussed farm problems, roads or laws.
     Rev. Isaac Driver's Circuit from Jacksonville included Corvallis, Eugene and The Dalles and he covered this territory for 10 years. He was always welcome for he carried the latest news from one place to another. In 1887 he was appointed agent for the American Bible Society for the Northwest which included Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. He met and debated the merits of the bible with all classes of men and became widely known as a defender of Christianity. His second wife Mary Hardenbrook died leaving him with 5 children for whom he had to arrange care. In 1871 he married Leanna Illes of Eugene but she lived less than a year. He was appointed presiding elder of the Oregon Conference of the Methodist church, after resigning from the American Bible Society, and took a vacation to Michigan where he married Anne Northup, returned to Salem where he was associated with the Willamette University, founded by the Methodist church in 1845; and during this period his wife Anne died leaving him with a baby daughter Anne. In 1878 he went to Monroe and married Mary Williams and from there to Brownsville, during which time he became presiding elder of the Eugene district which gave him time to study and write. He bought a farm at Eugene on which he expected to retire after 30 years of work. He was con­sidered one of the best biblical authorities in the U.S. He had memorized the Christian Bibles! - and could recall and quote passages at will on any given subject. In 1838 he was with the Centenary church in Portland and preached at other Portland churches.
     The climax of his christian debates was reached in 1889 at Chicago where he debated with Chas. Watts of Toronto, Canada, a champion of Free Thought, for 4 nights at the Princess Theatre. He remained 3 months in Chicago attending Dr. Moody's school of churches, teaching as well as studying. He is reported to have bested Robert Ingersoll, agnostic, in debates. Back in Portland he helped raise $100,000 to build the Portland hospital. In 1898 he served in the Oregon legislature and in 1899, in the Senate where he served with distinction. It is said, "he had the endurance of iron, a penetrating eye, a mind like a volcano, a heart of gentleness and courage." In 1908 he retired to his Tangent farm after serving the Methodist church 50 years. He died in 1907. - -Margaret Mumau, Corvallis, Oregon.

Samuel Driver

     Samuel Driver came to Wamic in 1875 from Oakland, Ore. where he was a stock rancher. His children were: Ike Driver who married Annie Welsh and had Lela, Ed., Ren, Willis and Tom all of Wamic.
     Tom Driver, sheriff of Wasco county went to Hilo, Hawaii. Children: Mamie and Edna.
     Brent Driver, just as great an atheist as his uncle was a minister, married Rachel Welsh and their children were Tom Payne Driver, Percy Driver and Lena (Mrs. Wm. Woodcook) Wamic.

Ed Driver was single.

Henry Driver lived at Modesto, Calif.

     Frank Driver married Dailey Lucas and their children were: Judge Samuel Marion Driver of Spokane; Leslie Herbert Driver and Jesse (Mrs. Ed. Woodcock) of Wamic.
     Robert Driver married Ella Crewe and their children were Walter of The Dalles who supplied the biography of the Wamic Drivers; Nellie (Mrs. L.A. Harvey) Wamic; Faye (Mrs. Louis Woodside) Maupin; Walter Driver married Lela Woodside of Wapinitia, daughter of Lewis Woodside, Wapinitia blacksmith and they have a son Leonard Driver of The Dalles. The grandfather Tom Driver died at Oakland, Oregon. He was born In England around 1778.
     The 4th Annual Driver Family reunion at Sandy had 300 in attendance, including 6 of the above 7 brothers. Samuel Driver was blinded, in California, and never saw but a handful of his Wamic family descendents.

James Albert Pratt

     The Obituary of James Albert Pratt in The Dalles Optimist Dec. 4, 1942 said:

     James Albert Pratt, 80, died at the home of Carl Pratt, and was the last son of Jason Pratt's family, who lived in a log cabin at Wamic, called Prattvtile in 1858. He was buried to the Pratt cemetery at Wamic. He drove the mail and stage from Wamic to Tygh and Sherar for over 50 years!

Mrs. W.H. Aldridge

     The Optimist of June 14, 1948 quoted Mrs. W.H. Aldrich as saying she was born at Eugene in 1858,  and came to Wamic in 1864 when 9 years old; and rode George Herbart's tame elk, with her brother George, to school!

James Gilmore

     James Gilmore, blacksmith of Wamic, was born in Iowa (1858) son of James and Emily (Pardee) Gilmore and came to Oregon in 1876 where he went to school in Clackamas county. He came to Wamic in 1881 and herded sheep, accumulating 1300 of his own but lost them en a bankruptcy sale. He then bought the Tygh blacksmith shop and sold it and purchased a ranch near Wamic where his blacksmith shop is located. He married Minerva Chamberlain, daughter of Richard and Nancy (Corum) Sanford and Mrs. Gilmore had a son Burrel by her first marriage. -- History Central Oregon.

John B. Magill

     John B. Magill, farmer of Wamic, was born (1837) in St. Clarsville, Ohio son of Archibald and Sarah (Bailey) Magill of Virginia, a wagonmaker who died in Nebraska (1899). He received his early education in Ohio. In 1857 went to Iowa and learned the brick making trade. He served in the Missouri militia during the Civil War. In 1874 he went to San Francisco and thence to Portland and on to Wamic where he remained on his 160 acre place raising sheep. He married Emily Gardner of Missouri and their child­ren were: William; Fred; George; Annie (Mrs. Elmer Remington) Grass Valley; Edith (Mrs. John Eubanks) Wamic; Jessie (Mrs. Rufus McCorkle) Wapinitia; May (Mrs. Chas. Crofoot) Wamic. -- History Central Oregon.

Early Residents by Water Rights

     Tom Driver 1875; E.G. Harvey 1875; F.M. Fowler 1875; Ralph Chandler 1875; W.H. Johnson 1875; J.M. McCoy 1875; J.B. Magill 1875; A.M. Patison 1875; J.W. Farlow 1875.

1883 Directory

     J.C. Pratt, Euguene Pratt, A.D. Savage, R.B. Sanford, James Woodcock, Frank Woodcock, J. B. Magill.

1898 Directory

     A. E. Lake, sawmill operator; Alfred C. Sanford, agricultural implements; Andrew Swift, justice of the peace; United Artisans Lodge; H. F. Woodcock, general merchandise; population 130; Frank Ayres; John Ayres; Badger Ditch Co.; Frank Baldwin; T.W. Baty; George Bonney; H.P. Britain, I.D. Brown, Sam Brown, Edgar, George, James Burlingame; Elsie Campbell, J.D. Roberts, Frank Campbell, George Cartar, E.A. Castner, Fred Chandler, Frank Cotty, G.R. Crofoot, Hardin Corum, Mrs. P. Daley, Amos Darnielle, C.A., H.S, and J.W. Davidson; Ira Decker, teacher; Eugeune Demours, Ed, Frank, Henry, Ike, L.B. and Robert Driver; Robert and T.E. Edmondson, J.H. Elliott, Geo. End, John End, John and W.H. Farlow, W.H. Foreman, A.H. Gillis, J.H. Gilmore, A.W. & J.L. Griffin, P.P. Hull, John & Levi Zumwalt, H.H. Hayward, J.W. Howell, W.T. Hunt, H.H., J.E.& R. Johnson; Nathan Jones, Jim & Mike Kennedy, J. & Tom Kenworthy, W.H. Kinney, Ira & Stephen Kister, P.M. & P.T. Knowles, J.M. & S.G. Ledford, T.J. Lewis, G.W. & W.E. Lucas, J.B. & W.F. Magill, Ed & Si Mason, Henry & W.G. Mayfield, Dave & Geo. Miller, Geo. Moore, Geo. Noble, Tom, Wm. & T.F. Norval, N.H. Nuckalls, J.H. Palmebere, A,M., H.W., James M., W.H. & W.W. Pattison brickmakers and farners; Euguene, Edgar  and J.A. Pratt; Joe Prout, Frank Reynolds, Frank Roberts, J. Robertson, W.B. Rodman, R.B. & Effie Sanford, Albert, Brazil and Richard Savage, Jacob Spath, C.W. & Henry Steel, W.E. Stocy, C.W., Lon, Martin & Milton Wing; W.H. Walker, teacher; H.F. & James Woodcock.

1910 Directory

     Population 100; has Union Church and Daily Mail and Grange-Community Hall.
     J.E. Kennedy, general merchandise; W.F. Magill & Son, blacksmiths; Mulvaney & Tillitson, sawmill; C.E. Pratt, wagonmaker; J.A. Pratt, confectionery; Bill Trout, postmaster; Stephens & Stephens, confectionary; Mrs. J.M. Swift, hotel; W.E. Woodcock, sawmill.

1889 Directory

     Credited Wamic as having a store and post office, blacksmith shop, brickyard, 2 sawmills, a church, a grange and 100_.people.

Mail Service

     As stated above under the Pratt obituary mail was first brought by Mr. Pratt from Tygh, then from Sherar and again in 1928 and since from Tygh.
     In 1913, Rural Mail delivery was established with Frank Magill as rural carrier until his retirement in 1948. He resides in The Dalles and has assisted with this history. George Wood took Mr. Magill's place and is now the Rural Carrier at Wamic, which is the shortest route in the county serving 100 families in 16 miles. It follows out the old Barlow Road on the south side of Wamic Flat, through Smock returning on the west side of Wamic Flat to Wamic.

SMOCK

     The post office of Smock was established Oct. 28, 1899 with Elizabeth Ledford, postmaster and named  for the Smock family. Nancy Jones was the second postmaster. The office was closed May 31, 1903. It is located on Gate creek about 5 miles south of Wamic, on the old Barlow road on Smock Prairie. It has a school and cemetery, was settled in 1885 and boasted of a Baptist church at that time. The cemetery contains 32 pioneer graves indicating its use by emigrants who stopped at Gate Creek Toll station at Smock. Smock is a much older place than Wamic, its first residents being the Phillip Foster toll collectors of 1846 to about 1860 when the toll gate was moved to Foster's place on Sandy river, after it was by-passed on Wapinitia Flat and by other roads. We have been unable to learn who these early toll gate collectors who resided at Smock were. The fees were $5 per wagon. It became a free road in 1909.

VICTOR

     The post office of Victor, located on Wapinitia or Juniper Flat, 40 miles south of The Dalles, on the old stage road between Tygh and Wapinitia; was established November 14, 1893 with Viola Jones, postmaster and her husband A.L. Jones general store operator. They sold to Fred S. Gorton who became the second store owner and postmaster. At one time Mr. Gorton was Wasco County surveyor and was also surveyor for the building of the Great Southern railroad from The Dalles to Dufur. He sold to Alfonse Evick who became the third owner and postmaster and very popular citizen who enjoyed a thriving business. Mr. Evick sold to Wm. H. Talcott who was listed by the 1910 directory as store owner and postmaster. The post office was closed November 12, 1912, and shortly thereafter Mr. Talcott moved his store to the new town of Maupin, which was springing up with the building of the railroads up the Deschutes river. The Maupin Times in 1914 said Victor had a store, blacksmith shop,  United Brethren church, two or three dwellings, barns and other buildings. A.J. Jones established the store in 1893 and sold to Fred S. Gordon who built a larger store building which burned almost upon completion. He rebuilt and re­stocked with merchandise and continued to do a good business. Frank  Dean had a harness shop and also enjoyed a good business. The Lyon brothers operated the blacksmith shop and it passed into the hands of Jeff Paget, Henry Holland, Alex Martin, Chas. Crotoot. O.M.  Fraley and Henry Holland. Alfonse Evick bought the store from Mr. Gordon and did a flourishing business. He sold to W.H. Talcott who moved the store to Maupin in 1914. Mr. Gordon established The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line.

The Name Victor

     Bertha Kirsh, Maupin Historian checked with Mrs. Floyd Kelley, keeper of the records of the Kelley Cemetery and they noted that Victor Jones, infant son of A.J. Jones was born April 14, 1895 and died Feb. 25, 1896; and without doubt the post office was named prior to his birth and in his honor by the Jones family. This is very unusual and indicates much discussion of the name which predominated in the minds of the Jones family.  

1898 Residents

     The Dalles directory of 1898 lists the following farm families receiving mail at the Victor post office and who, after 1912, were listed as Maupin residents:
     Nathan Alexander, I.D. & L.E. Bentley, S.G. Blackerby, H.R. Blue, J.P.H. Bothwell, A. J. Breeding, J.S. Brown, Chris, F.M., John F., & John L. Confer; A.A., H.M., J.W. & O.B. Derthick; J.H. ­Eubanks, Alfonse, F.L., John, & P.R. Evick;_. F.S. Gordon; general merchandise; James Gray, C.E. Howard, L.C. Henwegan, Marion Huston, A.J. Jones, L. J. Kelley; Albert, J.K., J.M. & W.F. McClure; J.B. Manly, A.F. Martin, R.W. Morris, Wm. G. Morris, R.A. Paquett, Mary Price, R.D. Pitcher, H.W. Powell, Tom Settle, C.N. Shinn, Omaha Smith, teacher; Asa Stogsdill, teacher; T.J. Snow; J. Stein.

The Deserted Village of Victor by Mable Cyr          

     A person travelling on the road from Wapinitia to Tygh Valley, on Juniper Flat, will pass a group of old buildings, dilapidated and weather beaten; a store building; blacksmith shop, church, dwelling and several other buildings and barns can be seen, which proved that this was once a little town. On inquiring it can be found that this was once the thriving little business center called Victor. To this place farmers and homesteaders of lower Juniper Flat came to get their mail and buy their groceries or get their horses shod or other blacksmith work done.
     A.J. Jones first owned a homestead of 160 acres which included the land where this place was built. In 1903 he started a small store and post office. The mail was brought out by Silas Wm. Davis, operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line. At first Mrs. Viola Jones operated the post office in their home and later the small store was opened in connection with the post office, where they sold groceries, canned goods, candies, tobacco and so on. After a few years he sold 80 acres, including the store and post office to Fred. S. Gordon, who built quite a large store with the post office in connection. It ­burned and was replaced by Mr. Gordon where it now stands in Victor.
     Frank Dean started a harness shop and repair shop which proved to be quite a thriving business. The Lyon Brothers started a blacksmith shop. They sold to Jeff Padget and Henry Holland who in turn sold to Aleck Martin who now (1921), operates the blacksmith shop in Maupin. The next owner was Charlie Crowfoot of Wamic. Then O.M. Fraley acquired it and sold to Henry Holland who had returned to Victor.
     Alfonse F. Evick bought the store from Fred S. Gordon and did a flourishing business for several years. In 1911 he turned the store and post office over to W.H. Talcott and moved to Wapinitia where he built a store.
     When Mr. Staats built his second store in Maupin, W.H. Talcott moved into it and ran the MAUPIN post office in the back of the Staat's store. Victor's life was ended with the discontinuance of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in 1914. As one passes this place, where the buildings are weather­beaten and their windows and doors are barred, one can hardly believe that at one time this place was the metropolis of lower Juniper Flat. Victor is the Deserted Village. -- Maupin Times, October 1921.

Fred S. Gordon

     Fred S. Gordon seems to be the outstanding man in the history of Wasco County from Victor. He established The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in 1878. We, in 1952, with our multi-million dollar concrete ribbons to operate our soft rubber-tired gasoline carriages over, can hardly conceive in our minds, of the problems faced by Fred Gordon when he established that stage line to give service to Dufur, Kingsley, Tygh and Wapinitia. The rock-strewn and rutted Tygh-Grade was enough to scare a man going down on a saddle horse, in bad weather, to say nothing of carrying passengers in a wagon over! The other roads were little better. In those pioneer days nothing seemed impossible when they had the welfare and thoughts of their neighbors in heart. He gave daily service, one way, over those roads to help make a better life for the people of southern Wasco County. Besides being a farmer and store operator at Victor he also (1897) owned the 50 barrel flour mill at Tygh.

WAPINITIA

     The Wapinitia post office was established March 21, 1878 as the southern terminal for The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line, 47 miles southeast of The Dalles on Wapinitia or Juniper Flat. Jerry Young was the first postmaster and the office was located at his store and home at Oak Grove, about 1 mile west of the present location of the Wapinitia store and school, where he operated a sheep ranch. It was moved to its present location at the junction with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation road so as to better serve the people from both localities. Wapinitia is the Indian name for "running water".

Stage Line

     As we have stated, under Victor, Fred S. Gordon, one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county, established The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in the spring of 1878. The roads in those days were little more than cattle trails or Indian trails, from which the military expeditions, threw enough rocks out of to be able to take a wagon over. By 1878 (see Mays Family under Tygh) the Tygh Grade had received its "third improvement", from Kingsley down over the point into Jonathan Butler Canyon; but that third improvement in the grade would still scare a man and horse to have to pass down over in 1952! When we think of operating a stage with passengers and mail over such a road, even in good weather and under the most favorable conditions, we can't help but look upon such pioneers with admiration; and in bad weather, blinding snow storms, rain, hail and snow drifts of the winter, we wonder how it was done at all? During the grand thaws, in the spring, when the roads turned into first class hog wollering pits or a sea of mud, operations were simply suspended until the mud “thickened into a road” and the grades, which were washed down into the canyons in many places, could be rebuilt; streams could be re-forded with safety or bridges over them repaired for traffic! Such was the first service Fred Gordon established from The Dalles to Wapinitia in 1876. It was only weekly service at first. Then as settlement increased it became twice a week. Still later he was authorized to go out from The Dalles on Mondays, back Tuesdays, out Wednesdays, back Thursdays, out Fridays and back Saturdays. It was a long days run and that was very good service.

Alfred C. Sanford

     The History of Central Oregon says that in 1882 Alfred C. Sanford of Wamic became the operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line and he was most probably the second postmaster of Wapinitia and the first store operator at the present location. He was the son of Richard Sanford of Wamic (biography is listed under Wamic and Shaniko) and Nancy (Corum) Sanford; the sister of Hiram T. Corum, with whom he was associated with in the store business at Wapinitia when he first went there from Wamic. He retained the ownership of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line until 1885 when  he sold his interests to Silas Wm. Davis. The conditions under which he operated The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line were little, if any, improvement over those which confronted Fred S. Gordon. The fact that he could and did continue to give passenger and mail communication to the people of Southern Wasco county, loads us to likewise include the name of Alfred C. Sanford as another one of the most outstanding men in our history!

Hiram Theodore Corum and Silas Wm. Davis

     Hiram Theodore Corum, postmaster at Wapinitia from 1865 to 1900 and store operator from 1885 to 1910, was born (1844) in Missouri, son of Malcolm Corum large ranch and slave owner of Fort Levensworth, Kansas during Civil War days and on which ranch Hiram was raised and received some of his early education and attended business college in Missouri where he also clerked in a store. He had two brothers who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and a sister Nancy who married Richard B. Sanford of Wamic.
     H.T. Corum came west the first time with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad (1865-89) operating a "tent store" which went along with the construction gangs, being moved by the contractors from one camp to another. There were no stores, towns, or people (except for Indians) between Salt Lake City and Omaha, with the exception of a few military forts. It was a pretty. lonesome and wild existence, in that railroad construction camp, out there in the wilderness for all those years! His brothers, who settled at Muroc, Calif. were in partnership in the venture and they also contracted to supply buffalo, deer, antelope and other wild meat for the construction crews. The old 45-70 rifle he had at Wapinitia was the old "buffalo gun" which helped supply the crews with meat and if it could talk many a thrilling chase story it could tell. Upon the completion of the railroad at Promontory Point, Utah 1889 the Corum brothers went on to California. Hiram made a trip up to Oregon by boat and stage back to Kelton, Utah and on back to Fort Levensworth to where his family was and induced them to come west by rail to San Francisco, by boat to Portland and The Dalles (1876) settled for a time on Rock Creek in Gilliam county, then near Moro in Sherman county; 1878 to Wamic. In 1882 Hiram Corum went to Wapinitia with Alfred C. Sanford to jointly establish a store and hotel business.
     In 1884 he married Cora Davis, daughter of Silas Wm. Davis and his wife Emaline (Renoe) Davis 1865 ox-team covered wagon emigrants to The Dalles (biography under Ortley). Mr. Davis bought out Alfred C. Sanford's interests and became associated with Hiram T. Corum and owner and operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line from 1885 to his death in 1897. During those pioneer years, especially in the 1890's road conditions and operating conditions were just as bad as Fred Gordon and Alfred C. Sanford encountered; but despite those facts Silas Wm. Davis established DAILY MAIL AND PASSENGER SERVICE BOTH WAYS, EACH WEEK DAY from The Dalles to Wapinitia and from Wapinitia to The Da1les! That meant double the equipment, double the horses, double the labor, double the expense and all in the face of primitive road conditions that shouldn't have justified weekly service! For that outstanding service we have listed Silas Wm. Davis, (the maternal grandfather of the writer of this history) as another ore of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county.
     Hiram T. Corum had a son Curtiss, chemist at the Veterans Hospital at Tacoma, Wash. until his death in 1947. Hiram Corum died in The Dalles in 1929 followed by his wife in 1941. He constructed the first telephone line at Wapinitia, besides operating the store, postoffice and hotel, and helping to keep the stage line in operation. He was a very active and outstanding man in the history of Wapinitia.
     Curtiss Corum married Catherine Jones and has daughters Gloria and Catharine (Mrs. Paul Middlebrook) Tacoma.

Earnest M. Hartmam

     Earnest M. Hartman came west from Missouri with his parents to Salem in 1866 and moved to Clackamas county where he went to school. In 1900 he came to Wapinitia and built his store and acquired the post office. For the first 5 years his store was kept open night and day, it never closed! H carried a large stock of general merchandise and groceries. During the depression, when a farmer couldn't pay cash he took livestock in trade for food and clothing. He has been in business in Wapinitia for more than 50 years and is still active at 85. The Dalles directory of 1910 stated he was a notary public and justice of the peace. His son Lincoln resides at Wapinitia with Mr. and Mrs. Hartman.

Stage Line

     According to Dee Woodside, after the death of Silas Wm. Davis (1897) the McClure Brothers of Victor, who were bondsmen for Mr. Davis, there being no fidelity bondhouses in those days, assumed operation of The Dalles to Wapinitia Stage Line. These brothers were Albert, J.K., J.M. and W.F. McClure and Milt and Albert were the active operators. Lou Kelley operated the stage line for a while followed by H.R. Blue, all Victor farmers and finally it was sold to Hugh Jackson who continued the operation until completion of the railroads up the Deschutes made the line no longer necessary and upon the expiration of the contract in 1914 it was discontinued. In 1890 stage service became daily.
     Bink Capps hauled the mail from Maupin to Wapinitia, followed by Bernie Roberts until the Wapinitia post office was closed in 1939 and the territory served with mail from Route 1, Maupin, which was established in 1919 with Nathan Hill, first carrier, followed by Carl Pratt, Jim Beck, LeRoy Holt, Vernon Woodcock and the present carrier Everett Hammer.
     Walter Woodside at one time carried the mail from Wapinitia to Simnasho. Mr. Woodside recalled that on one of the trips to the Indian Agency, in a buckboard, they had to ford the Warm Springs river and it was so high that the waters upset the buckboard and one horse and one passenger were drowned. The Simnasho carrier meets the R.F.D. Carrier at the Wapinitia store, now, and receives the locked pouch for the Simnasho post office, on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

SIMNASHO POST OFFICE

     The Simnasho post office was established Aug. 6, 1886 on the Indian Reservation and was served for a time by the Wapinitia to Prineville stage line until the railroad construction up the Deschutes suspended through stage service via Warm Springs, Madras, Culver, Haystack and Prineville, according to John Bolter of Hay Creek. But service to Simnasho continued from Wapinitia. In 1898 Simnasho post­master was Mrs. J.M. Morrow, wife of Rev. J.A. Morrow of the Indian Mission. Teachers were Chas and his wife Maria Dean. James Scott was the Indian school laborer and Suppah, their policeman. The stage in 1886 was tri-weekly service. In 1910 the postmaster was J.A. Speer in charge of the Presbyterian Indian Mission, and he was the first postmaster of 1886 having returned in 1910.
     Other postmasters at Simnasho, according to Jessie Heath and Rena Suppal, 1952 postmaster, were: Rev. Ashharst, Rev. Wheeler, Rev. Mathews, Rev. E.H. Carson, Rev. Wilson, Rev. F.F. Blank. Mae Peters of Simnasho says the name was adopted from "ish-numa-sho", or thorn bushes that grow around the meadow there and Rev. Spear changed the name to Simnasho.

Times-Mountaineer Feb. 13, 1881

     Our correspondent from Wapinitia reports that late thaws caused very high water which stopped all traffic. The mail from The Dalles to Prineville could not make regular trips for 10 days. The bridge over White River was partly washed out. (That report indicates the mail to Prineville was routed by way of Wapinitia, Simnasho, Warm Springs, Culver, Haystack and Prineville.)

1883 Settlers

     The Dalles directory says that Wapinitia was settled in 1875. Our 1883 directory reports the following families as residing at Wapinitia: S.G. Blackerly, J.D. Capps, Hiram T. Corum & Alfred C. Sanford, general merchandise; W.H. Davis, B. DeLore, S.E. Farris, James Farris and J.W. Farris, F.M. Hunter, Hampton Kelley, J.P. Lewis, F.X. Paquett, J.W. Sanford, J.P. Weiberg, Fred Gabil, Robert Young, the Abbott Brothers, J.K. Lewis, W.P. Funk, C.W. Magill.

1897 Directory & 1898

     The 1897 Portland directory, in the Oregon State Library, listed Hiram T. Corum and Silas Wm. Davis as store and hotel operators, Louis M. Woodaide, blacksmith.
     The Dalles directory for 1898 listed just Hiram T. Corum as the notary public, general store and hotel operator. L.M. Woodside, blacksmith, The Clear Lake Lumber Co. & Irrigation Co. and the following residents:
     James P. Abbott, Bush Alexander, Tom Batty, Callie Bigbee, Jacob C. Binns, J.J. Binns, H.L. & J.S. Brown, John Cunningham, W.H., & Edward Davis; B., J.D., Louis, Moss Delore, Vic & John Doyens, B.L. Foreman, W.H. Franklin, Chas. Fryer, sawmill; S.M. Hadley, T.M. Hunter, D.E. Hurst, M.A. Huston, Hugh Jackson, stage driver and owner; L.F. & Frank Jessup; L.M. & Hampton Kelley; R.A. Laughlin, L. Lelco, V. Lewis, W.W. Little, Konrad Lohrli, R.W. McCorkle, C.W. Magill, Christ Mikkelsen, Wm. Miller, D.W. Parker, Ollie Paquet, Henry Peterson, J.M. Powell, Frank Ries, J.A. Riggles, A.F. Sackell, L.H. Scott, W.E. Shannon, W. Skervin, T.H. Smith, W.H. Taloott, C. Thompson, Al Ullry, Lewis Vern, F. Vogt, F.M., J.B. & O.S. Walters; Geo., Ira & J.W. Ward, N.O. & Ollie Weberg, John West, Homer White, C.R. & L.R. Whitlock.

Francis X. Paquet

     F.X. Paquet, of Paquet Gulch, was born in Quebec (1811); came to the U.S. at 17 as a shipbuilder; followed boating at Chicago when it had only 4 houses of logs; was a veteran of the Black Hawk Indian war (1832) Gen. Dodge’s army messenger; married Marie Landeau; came to Oregon by ox-team in 1852 and to Wapinitia 1876. His children were Peter of Oregon City; Joe of Portland; Louis of Portland; Emma of Portland and Oliver Paquatt of Wapinitia. They were among the very earliest of Wapinitia settlers before the post office existed at Oak Grove! - and operated a store in Paquet Gulch, first on the flat.

Wapinitia Irrigation

     The Wapinitia Irrigation Co. was organized in 1914 and the first water brought from Clear Lake to Wapinitia Flat in 1917. Mrs. A.W. Quinn, in an article in the historical edition of the Chronicle in 1945 says:
     "The big barbecue in 1917 held by The Wapinitia Irrigation Co. on the Charlie Cox place at Pine Grove was attended by Governor Whithycombe. Sam Brawn donated the beef and Dee Woodside barbecued it." This water from Clear lake has made possible better use of the land and more forage crops for hay and grazing purposes. Previously the better land was used to raise grain and the pasture land for livestock pasture purposes.

Schools

    The Wapinitia school is almost as old as the post office and Callie Bigbee and her husband G.F. Bigbee were teachers as far back as 1889. The Pine Grove school was built in 1915 with Chrystal Pratt of Wamic the first teacher.

Sawmills

    The first lumber for the first buildings on Wapinitia Flat was hauled out from The Dalles. Then the sawmills at Wamic shortened the distance. It was not until about 1900 that the first cooperative sawmill in the timber of West Wapinitia Flat, known as the Fryer Mill, came into production. The 1898 directory mentions the Clear Lake Lumber Co. The 1910 directory mentions the Frank Pierce  sawmill and J.R. Keeps had a sawmill out there about the same time. A.B. Lind & Son sold lumber at Pine Grove 1948.

Pine Grove

    Mrs. A.W. Quinn says that at Pine Grove the first store was started by Earl Birchard in 1924, followed by the Ben Richardson store and service station in 1925 and he sold to Floyd Eubarks in 1939. In 1927 the Wapinitia highway was built from Maupin to Portland through Pine Grove. The first restaurant at Pine Grove, called the Black Cat, operated from 1937 to 1940 by Jack Albon. Pine Grove is 7 miles west of Wapinitia and was founded in 1914.

Wapinitia 1910

    The Dalles directory of 1910 said Wapinitia was first settled in 1875; was 45 miles south of The Dalles and was served by a daily stage to and from DUFUR. It had a United Brethren Church. I. Batty operated the hotel and feed barn. Fred Delco operated a gallon house liquor store. Earnest Hartman operated the general merchandise store, was postmaster, notary public and justice of the peace. Frank Pierce operated a sawmill. Knabe & Nelson operated the blacksmith shop. H.T. Corum had a small store and A.L. Nelson operated a hotel. It boasted a good school, and the location of the pioneer cemetery, and was credited with a population of 40.

Lewis Woodside Biography

    Lewis Woodside, the blacksmith of Wapinitia was born (1857) at Silverton son of Asbury and Elizabeth (Anthony) Woodside. He received his early education in Marion county and came to Wapinitia in 1880. He married Nettle McKee and their children were: Dee Woodside, farmer of Wapinitia who has assisted with this history and who married Stella Truman and has a son, Lloyd, of Wapinitia; 2. Fred Woodside who was drowned in the Deschutes in 1902; 3. Walter Woodside who married Susie Walters and had Roy, Lee, Wallace and Florance (Mrs. Lee Ellmakar) all of Port1and; 4. Mattie Woodside (Mrs. Pete Olson) Klamath Falls; 5. Lewis Woodside, farmer of Maupin, married Fay Driver the daughter of Bruce, and have Vern and Van of Maupin; 6. Lela Woodside (Mrs. Walter Driver) The Dalles, who furnished this biography, has son Leonard Driver of The Dalles; 7. Ralph Woodside of Wapinitia married Josephene Obrien and have Harland and Kathleen.

Sam Brown

    Sam Brown, the first stage coach driver from Wapinitia to Prineville was born (1868) in Georgia and came to Wapinitia in 1888 where he homesteaded on Juniper Flat, became, a successful cattleman and vice-president of the Maupin bank. He was survived by his widow Marion Brown, daughter Mrs. Chas Cable, Portland.

James Ferris

    James Ferris and his wife Martha (Newman) Farris were 1865 covered wagon ox-train emigrants from Iowa in the same train with Silas Wm, Davis, Dalles to Wapinitia stage line operator; but went on over the Barlow road to Polk county. They returned to Wapinitia Flat in 1869 to settle on their homestead and cattle ranch, being among the very first settlers on Juniper Flat and trading at the F.X. Paquet store in Paquet Gulch and went to Sherars Bridge for mail! The directory of 1883 lists S.E., J.W. and James Farris at Wapinitia. Their son Enfield Ferris married Lizzie Davis, daughter of Silas Wm. Davis and their children were: Grover of Richmond, Calif. And Inetz (Mrs. Fred Palmer) Toppenish, Wash.

Wm. H.F. Davis

    Wm. H. Davis, 1160 acre stock ranchman of Wapitinia Flat, was born (1843) in Missouri son of James and Nancy (Johnson) Davis, natives of Ireland and Kentucky who died when Mr. Davis was 7 causing him to be "bound out" with other families with little chance for an education. In 1862 he enlisted in Co. F. 42 Mo. Infantry and served all through the Civil War with all its heavy fighting, scoutwork, spy duties in civilian clothes or in Confederate uniform into the Confederate army ranks; posing as a greenhorn, gawky boy! His service were highly appreciated, gloriously serving his country to 1865. In 1877 he came to Oregon and settled on Wapinitia Flat as a stock raiser acquiring 1160 acres stocked with fine Hereford cattle, among the first on the flat. Half the ranch was tillable allowing 300 acres of grain each year. He married Eliza H. Woodruff who died in 1904. There were no children. Mr. Davis is remembered by his friends and neighbors for his efforts in importing a better breed of cattle into that section of Wasco county which has resulted in greater prosperity, during the following years for all of his neighbors. He therefore is remembered as one of the more outstanding men in the history of Wapinitia if not in all of Wasco county. -- History of Central Oregon.

Hampton Kelley

    Hampton Kelley was born (1830) in Kentucky, son of Clinton Kelley who came west by ox-team covered wagon in 1849 and filed on Donation Land Claims in what is now East Portland where Clinton Kelley donated the acre of ground for the Clinton Kelley school at which Hampton Kelley received his early education. They were naturally very prominent people in the early pioneer history of Portland and civic minded favoring improvements that aided Portland's advancement. Clinton Kelley died at his Portland Donation Land Claim log cabin in 1875. The population of Portland was then 600.
     Hampton Kelley married (1853) Margaret Fitch covered wagon pioneer of the "big emigration" of 1852 who came west with her brother following her parents death. In 1879 Hampton Kelley filed on his home­stead at Wapinitia. The Portland climate did not agree with his asthma as did the climate at his 1600 acre Stock and wheat ranch at Wapinitia, to which he moved his family in 1881. Their children were:
    Plympton and Helen Manley of Portland, Linn, Lester and Lucern B. of Wapinitia and Maupin. Lucern (Lou) B. Kelley was born at the Kelley log cabin home in Portland in 1865 and received his education at the Clinton Kelley school in Portland, at which his father attended, and came to the Wapinitia home with the family in 1881 and continued to operate the home place after his father died in 1898. The Kelley home place was noted for the fine Hereford cattle and hogs it produced. Lucern B. Kelley married Zilpha Snodgrass daughter of Joseph and Arvesta (Stearns) Snodgrass of Wasco and Wapinitia and had a son Floyd of Maupin who married Anna Rhode and had twin sons and a daughter Helen.
    The Kelley Methodist church and Cemetery are located on a part of the old Hampton Kelley home place, 4 miles west of Maupin on the Wapinitia Market road.

Hampton Kelley by Bertha Kirsch

    Bertha Kirsch, Maupin Historian says, "I have talked to several people and they seem to think that Hampton Kelley was the person who did most for Juniper Flat people. With help, he built the road from Tygh to Wapinitia. He donated 4 acres of ground for a cemetery and officiated at the first funeral of a man named Dave Martin, brother of Aleck Martin.
    "In 1892 Dave Martin was coming from Bear Springs and his team ran away. The road was narrow and he saw he was meeting a wagon with a man and his wife and several children! In order to avoid a head-­on collision, he turned his run-away team out of the road and they ran right over a log killing Mr. Martin, - a hero who sacrificed his life to save the other family.
    "Hampton Kelley donated the land and money to build a church on Juniper Flat and saw that there was a minister there from 1889 to 1898 when he died. Job Crabtree says he paid the minister for coming out in order to maintain the church. Mrs. Hampton Kelley was a wonderful friend and neighbor. If anyone was ill she was on hand to doctor them. Mr. Kelley stipulated that no one was ever to be charged for burial in the Kelley Cemetery and Mrs. Kelley has kept the complete records of burials.
    "Job Crabtree recalled the time when Fred S. Gordon's store burned at Victor that just before his family left to pick huckleberries, his father left his money with Mr. Gordon to put in his safe at the store. Mr. Gordon had to go to attend a meeting at Wamic and on his return found the store burned to the ground. However he had taken all the money from the safe, with him to Wamic, so he was able to return all the money the people had left him for safe keeping!"
    Hampton Kelley and his wife should be remembered as one of the outstanding families of Wapinitia.

Clarrence L. Morris

    Clarrence L. Morris of Wapinitia was born (1837) in Ill. son of Preston and Adalza (Miller) Morris and received his early education in Ill. Came to Linn. Co. Oregon (1850) where his father took a Donation Land Claim on which he died in 1883 and on which Clarrence received his early education. He came to Wapinitia in 1886 and married Catherine Thomas, 1851 covered wagon pioneer who nearly starved to death conning across the plains when Indians robbed them of cattle and food. Their children were: Preston, Milton, William, Callie (Mrs. G. Bigbee) Teacher; Mary (Mrs. George Young); Marcia (Mrs. Geo. Woodruff); Hattie (Mrs. James Davidson) all of Wapinitia and Lenora (Mrs. John Nowlin) Pendleton.

Ben Foreman

Robert Laughlin

    An 800 acre stockman of Wapinitia was born in Mo. (1848) son Alfred & Lucy (Kent) Laughlin; was educated in Mo. came west with parents in 1865 to Yamhill Co. and back to Wapinitia in 1872, before there was a post office, patronized F.X. Paquet's store in Paquet's Gulch and went to Sherars Bridge for mail. He married Sallie Magill daughter of Calib Magill who died in 1887 leaving: Fred, who remained on the home place; Calude who lived with W.H. Davis; Ralph Ross who lived with Silas Wm. Davis in The Dalles; Kate (Mrs. Alonzo Amen) Portland; May (Mrs. Henry Trowbridge) Grant Co.; Gertrude of Portland.

John West

    1800 acre stockmen of Wapinitia was born in Yamhill Co. (1861) son Wm. & Eliza (Harris) West. Wm. was an 1847 covered wagon pioneer who died at Tygh in 1902, John was educated in Polk Co. His mother died at his age 4 in Mo. Came to Wapinitia 1879 with only a Cayuse, homesteaded and worked hard and acquired a fine Hereford cattle ranch. He married Anna Horton, daughter Jeremiah and Nancy (Wallace) Horton and in 1905 they were listed by the History of Central Oregon as having a son Isham of Wapinitia.

First Families

    We have checked some of the first families of Wapinitia and Juniper Flats with Grace Confer (Mrs.  Robert Davidson) and Dee Woodside, both of Wapinitia, who have provided this record with some very interesting history. Mrs. Davidson explained that Juniper Flat, extended from the Fairview school district, on the northwest tip of the flat on the old Tygh-Victor road, extending south to the Kelley Cemetery area. The area south of this "imaginary Kelley Cemetery east-west line" has always been re­garded as the Wapinitia Flat area. The country between Wapinitia and the Indian Reservation, and west toward the mountains is commonly referred to as Paquet Gulch, mostly owned by the Abbott Brothers. Pine Grove is on the new Wapinitia highway near the forest boundary. All the area gets mail on Route 1., Maupin and is known by the younger generation as "the Maupin Country", which term also extends east of the Deschutes river to include the Criterian and Bakeoven country, served by a Star Route out of Maupin. Maupin is a new town, being only 40 years old, while Victor is more than 60 years old and Wapinitia more than 75 with the first known settlement 83 years ago! Juniper Flat therefore means the Victor area while Wapinitia Flat includes all the rest of the area.

Christopher Confer

    Was born in Indiana (1849) son of Jacob and Hanna Confer and came to Juniper Flat in 1888, married Anna Creager and their children were: Nettie (Mrs. Geo. Fuller) The Dalles; Sophia Martin, The Dalles; Francis; John (1862-1933) and Grace (Mrs. Robert Davidson), Victor (R.1, Maupin) who assisted with this history.

Dee Woodside

    Dee Woodside of Victor (R.1, Maupin) historian of Juniper end Wapinitia Flats, son of Louis Woodside, the blacksmith at Wapinitia whose biography appears on page 251; was born and raised at Wapinitia and like Mrs. Davidson, knew almost all the old time families and original settlers, is owner of property adjoining the Kelley Cemetery, likes to talk history and is well posted on the history at Wapinitia.

S. G. Blackerby

    The S.G. Blackerby family, credited by the Dalles directory of 1883 as residents of Wapinitia and Juniper Flat areas, moved to the Forest Grove area and the place above Wapinitia, is now the O'Briens.           

J.D. Capps

    Lived in Paquet Gulch; sold to the Abbott Brothers and moved to Portland years ago.

Alfred Sanford

    Alfred C. Sanford, whose biography appears under both Wamic and Shaniko, was an 1883 homesteader on Wapinitia Flat, joint owner and operator, with H.T. Corum, of the Wapinitia store and Dalles to Wapinitia stage line; sold his interests in the stage line to Silas Wm. Davis and became a hardware salesman, Moro, Shaniko and Madras store owner, post office inspector and manufacturer; one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county. His place near Wapinitia is now known as the Lester Walters place.

W.H. Davis

    The biography of W.H. Davis, the Old Civil War Veteran, appears on page 251. He was an early 1877 settler who spent the rest of his life on Wapinitia Flat. Lloyd Woodside occupies the place now.

James Farris

    The biography of grandpa Jams Farris, the first (1889) settler of Wapinitia Flat, appears on page 251. He settled in Paquet Gulch. His sons John and Enfield had nearby places. They all sold to the Abbott Brothers and moved to the Yakima, Wash. country.

F.M. Hunter

    F.M. Hunter was a single man who lived on Hunter's Prairie, near Pine Grove.

Hampton Kelley

    Hampton Kelley, whose biography appears on page 253, is the most outstanding man in the history of Juniper and Wapinitia Flats! Dee Woodside confirms that "he did more for the community than any other men. He gave the cemetery, free for public use; built and for years maintained a church in the community; he helped the poor; helped develop the country and had a broad vision of its possibilities and needs; he always had the interest of the people at heart; was charitable, a fine neighbor, friend, citizen and outstanding man." The high regard Hampton Kelley held in the estimation of his friends and neighbors, who knew him best, places him as one of the most outstanding men in the 100 years of Wasco County history. More research is needed to properly present the life record of this outstanding man whom we all thirst for greater knowledge about.  

Frank X. Paquet

    Frank X. Paquet, after whom Paquet Gulch was named, was one of the first citizens and residents of Wapinitia Flat; veteran of the 1832 Black Hawk Indian War; first store owner and operator before there was a Wapinitia; has an outstanding history of pioneer service in the west; biography on page 250 lists only his sons. Dee Woodside says that his con Oliver (Allie), "had a photographic mind which recorded everything he came in contact with and could call any incident from memory. He was the WALKING HISTORY of Wapinitia Flat.” Unfortunately his knowledge was never recorded on paper for the benefit of our child­ren. Oliver's children were: Maude Wald of Wapinitia; Francis Paquet and Earnest Paquet who died at Walla Walla. The Ollie Paquet pleas is now the Bothwell place. F.X. Paquet was 2nd Wapinitia postmaster.

Nelson Weberg

    Nelson Weberg and his wife were natives of Sweden and listed in The Dalles directory of 1883 as residents of Wapinitia. Their children were: Christina (Mrs. John Cunningham); Maggie (Mrs. Joe Bins); Anna Smith and Oliver (Ollie) who married Eva Walters and had Leonard, Harry, Lela and Mable all of Wapinitia. Mrs. Nelson Weberg was a very close friend of Mrs. H.T. Corum. Alfred Weberg was single; Edna married Fred Laughlin and went to Walla Walla. Leonard and Harry Weberg are on the home place at Wapinitia which has been in the family for more than 70 years.

The Abbott Brothers  

    The Abbott Brothers, Jim and Joe came from Elkhart, Indiana, according to Dee Woodside and first settled at Prineville, then at Tygh, engaging in the stock business before settling in Paquet Gulch where they have engaged in sheep and cattle operations. Joe Abbott moved to the Suplee country and Jim marred Carrie Pegg and had son Jamie Jr. who married Helen Dement and had son James, 3rd who married Betty Porter and had son James the 4th. They have expended their holdings, as their neighbors sold to them, and moved away, and today they are among the largest stock ranchers in that area, pioneers since 1883, according to The Dalles directory.

Robert Young

    The pioneer 1875 Robert Young of Paquet Gulch was the brother of Jerry Young and a single man.

Jim K. Lewis.

    Jim K. Lewis 1883 Wapinitia pioneer lived in the Pine Grove area, married Miss Ward of Kingsley and after Mr. Lewis died the rest of the family moved away.

James Gray

    James Gray of Juniper Flat, listed as an 1883 settler in the Victor area. After his death the place was sold and is now known as the Rex Snodgrass place and the children all moved away.

W. P. Funk

    W.P. Funk, 1883 settler of Paquet Gulch had daughters Sallie and Jennie who moved away after the family sold to the Abbott Brothers.

Caleb Magill

    Caleb Magill was no relation to the Wamic Magills. His daughter Sallie married Robert Laughlin (see page 252 for biography) and Caleb sold out after his daughter's death and moved to Southern Oregon.

Jerry Young

    Jerry Young, the first postmaster of the Wapinitia post office when it was located in his store at Oak Grove, about a miles west of Wapinitia; married Miss Strickler of Wamic and had a daughter who lived in Wallowa county with whom he spent his declining years dying at her place in 1920 at age 88. The post office was established March 21, 1878 which made Mr. Young one of the earliest settlers on the flat. He was a brother to Robert Young, single, mentioned above. They came from Springwater (Kernville) Oregon, according to Dee Woodside.

Frank Woodcock & Oak Springs

    Frank Woodcock of Wamic and Wapinitia married Grace Davidson and had sons James and Cecil who built a grist mill at Maupin and tried to operate it with power from the Maupin Spring, which proved to be insufficient. They went down to Oak Springs and bought Ben Cook's place, on which he homesteaded in about 1900 and on which he raised a fine garden and orchard which he irrigated from Oak Springs. Cook was a bachelor and he sold to James and Cecil Woodcock who developed a power site for power for their Maupin Grist Mill, 1916, extra power which they sold to the people of Maupin. James Woodcock died in the service during World War I. Cecil, who is single and a graduate of Stanford University, finally sold the power plant to the R.E.A., settled up the half interest with James wife and boys in Portland. Frank Woodcock was registrar of the U.S. Land Office in The Dalles and a farmer.

Schools

    The schools on Juniper and Wapinitia Flats, according to Mrs. Davidson were the Fairview on the northwest tip of Juniper Flat; the Wapinitia school which still operates; the Weberg school; the Oak Grove school; the Victor school; the Beatty-Gordon or McClure school on Juniper Flat; the Pine Grove school which still operates with 2 teachers; the Derthic school near Lone Pine Grange hall; the Kelley school on Juniper Flat and the Maupin school which was established in 1910.

Jack Jones

    Jack Jones 1890 settler on Juniper Flat who established the Victor post office and store came from the Willamette Valley to file on his homestead which became Victor. His wife Viola was first post­master of Victor. Their children were: Claude of Mosier; Bud of Mosier; Emma and Victor, who died in infancy, after the post office was established (l893) being born in 1895 and dying in 1896. Prevailing tradition presumed the office was named for the infant. The Jones family sold out and left for Markman, Oregon, according to Dee Woodside and all the children are deceased, so there is no way of knowing exactly why they named the post office Victor; presumably for an older relative of the family. It is 8 miles from Tygh to Victor, over the old Dalles to Wapinitia stage line route and 7 miles from Victor to Wapinitia.

Hugh Jackson

    Hugh Jackson, operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia Stage Line farmed on what is now the Bates place; ran the stage line from Wapinitia to the Warm Springs Agency; was previously operator of The Dalles to Canyon City stage line on The Dalles to Antelope section. He had became operator of The Dalles to Goldendale stage line, according to Dee Woodside, just before he came to Wapinitia and when he left Wapinitia he went back to Goldendale, presumably to once again operate that stage line. Later he operated a line from Sandy to Oregon City. Then he became a contractor and built streets in Bend, Ore. He then went to Cottage Grove where he died at age 88 in 1951. He was a very charitable and outstand­ing man in the history of Wapinitia and The Dalles. Whenever a sick man needed medical or other aid Hugh Jackson seen that he got to the doctor whether he had any money or not. Families on the verge of winter starvation could depend on Jackson seeing them through for grub.

Sam Todd

    Sam Todd and his brother John Y. Todd established Sherar's Bridge in 1860 and Dee Woodside was of the opinion that he most probably was the first settler on Wapinitia Flat in the early 1860’s where he established a horse ranch to furnish miners with mounts and pack train operators with a change of horses. It was a fine horse country, lots of open range and excellent horse feed. Mrs. Davidson said "when a girl I use to see strings of horses a mile long going to water, here on Juniper Flat!"

Frank Gabiel

    Frank Gabiel was an 1883 settler in Wapinitia Canyon on what is new the Willis Farlow place. He married Annie Minnie and their children were: Charlie of Portland; Ben of Gresham; Harry who was killed in an auto wreck; Ed. who lives at Maupin city limits ranch and married Lennie Confer and has son Lawrence in the army; and a daughter who became a Sister at Marylhurst.

The McCubbins

    The McCubbins of McGubbin’s Gulch were such early settlers and have been gone so long that even the pioneers of Wapinitia Flat have forgotten their given names. They went to Wallowa County. The daughter of Jerry Young, first postmaster of Wapinitia married a McCubbins.

The Shannons

    The Shannons, who were early residents of Tygh as well as Wapinitia Flat have been gone so long to Springwater, Oregon that even old timers have forgotten their given names.

The Condons

    James B. and James W. Condon, listed as lawyers of The Dalles in 1898 directory; were originally pioneer settlers on Wapinitia Flat, according to Dee Woodside, on what is now the Oscar Walters place.

The 1898 Settlers

     The Tom Beattly place is between Victor and Wapinitia. The Sam Brown place is at Pine Grove and he died last year. John Cunningham lived in Paquet Gulch and went to California. Mose DeLore married Matilda Green of Wapinitia and their son Moss married Hazel Confer. Ben Foreman married Elizabeth Abbott and their son Wm. is deceased. D.E. Hurst lived in Wapinitia Canyon. The Marion Huston place is now the Roy Crabtree place; Huston went to Dufur. Vern Lewis married Clara Delco and went to the Willamette Valley. The Wm. Little place is now known as the Robert C. Davidson place at Wapinitia. The Henry Petersons came from Sweden, sold to the Cattle Association and moved away. The Tom Smith place at Wapinitia is now known as the Hammer place.     
     John Ward was a bachelor homesteader at Pine Grove and had brothers George and Ira of Kingsley. – Mrs. Robert Davidson.           

Louis Delco

    Louis Delco of Pine Grove children were: Jose; Fred; Henry; Lizzie all of whom have gone and John of Wapinitia who married Belle Rone.

Rufus McCorkle

    Rufus McCorkle (see biography under Tygh) married Jessie Magill of Wamic and their children were: Lester and Clifford who moved away; Calvin of Maupin who married Catherine Morris and had son Milton.

The Walters Brothers

    The Walters Brothers, Fred, Jess, Oscar, Frances and Leander of the Pine Grove district are best known as the musicians of Wapinitia Flat who can take their fiddles and make most any farmer family's feet itch to do a "do-say-do" or glide through the Missouri waltz. In this day and age of radio and television full appreciation of the efforts of our pioneer musicians has been almost lost sight of. Our "canned music" like our "canned food" is never as nice as the real thing like the Walters Brothers could put forth at an all-night barn dance.

Feed S. Gordon

    Fred S. Gordon, who established The Dalles to Wapinitia Stage line in 1878 and operated the general store at Victor married Maggie Gordon (no relation) and had son Brian and daughter Molley.

John Evick

    John Evick died at the age of 84 in 1921. He was listed as a pioneer settler of 1898 on Juniper Flat where his son Alfonse operated the store at Victor. His wife Harriett died in 1905 and a son P.H. Evick farmed on Juniper Flat in 1898.

I.O.O.F. Lodge

    The I.O.O.F. Lodge No. 209 at Wapinitia was established August 1, 1908 and moved to Maupin Jan. 1, 1918. The Rebecca Lodge was moved to Maupin Nov. 17, 1917.

Grange

    The Lone Pine Grange on Wapinitia Flat was organized in 1930.

Oak Springs

    The Oak Springs townsite plat was filed by H.F. and Margaret Woodcock July 7, 1910 and by H.M. and Florence Young, according to the Platt Book in the Wasco County Clerk's Office. This would indicate that Mr. Woodcock acquired the place during the railroad boom with the idea of developing a townsite. Later it was turned over to the Woodcock boys who developed the power site and still later a portion sold for the Oregon State Fish Hatchery location.

Breaking Horses

    Dee Woodside tells the amusing story of how Victor Butler, son of Dan Butler of Tygh, who came up to Wapinitia one day to break horses for Silas Wm. Davis' Stage Line. They had one particular mean horse which no one could hardly handle. Vic says, "Bring out the mean one, if I can't ride him I won't be able to ride any of them!" They threw a saddle on him and Vic climbed in. The bronc went straight up, landed on his hind feet, fell over backwards, struck his head on a rook and killed himself dead as could be. Vic had left the saddle and was uncinching it when he turned to Davis and said, "Well, this one's broke, bing on the next one." and the crowd just roared.

The Devil's Lane

    Dee Woodside said, “When I first moved on to my place, the former owner had put up his fences just inside, by about 6 feet, of his neighbors fences. The space in between was called THE DEVIL'S LANE. It indicated neighbors didn’t get along and said uncomplimentary things about one another, so the very first thing I had to do was rebuild my fences, in cooperation with my neighbors, lest people would think I was a ‘devil of a fellow to get along with!' There were other Devil's Lanes on Juniper and Wapinitia Flat at that time too!"

MAUPIN

    The Maupin post office was established December 18, 1909 with William H. Staats as first post­master. On July 1, 1914, W. H. Talcott became postmaster and served until July 25, 1917 when Ethel Kellogg became acting postmaster followed by Ida E. Canfield December 24, 1917 as postmaster. On Oct. 11, 1919 Benjamin F. Turner became postmaster and served 21 years until Donald E. Miller became the acting postmaster Dec. 20, 1940 and postmaster June 28, 1941.-- Data by Mrs. Pete Kirsch.

Route 1, Maupin

    R.F.D. mail service out of Maupin for Juniper and Wapinitia Flats was established in 1920 with Jason Carl Pratt (biography under Wamic) as first Rural Mail Carrier. He was formerly (1914-1920) post­master at Wamic. He carried until 1939 when he traded with James Beck of The Dalles, a city carrier, who served the route until 1944 when he made a 3-way trade for a clerkship at Camas and LeRoy Holt transferred into the Maupin vacancy. Mr. Holt died in 1950 and Everett D. Hammer, a World War 2 veteran and native of Wapinitia Flat was appointed to fill the vacancy January 1, 1951. Route 1, at Maupin, proceeds west on the Wapinitia highway to the Wapinitia Market road, south to Wapinitia where he transfers a locked pouch to the Simnasho contract carrier; west to the Wapinitia highway; on to Walter's Lane; back to Pine Grove school; retrace on the Wapinitia highway to Abbott Lane; north through Victor to The Dalles-California highway and back to Maupin. It covers 60 miles and serves 150 families.
    Maupin is located on The Dalles-California highway, 50 miles south of The Dalles, and on the Deschutes river and Oregon Trunk railroad, which makes Maupin an important shipping point and receiving point for freight, wool, livestock, wheat, lumber and other products of the area. It was named after Perry Maupin, son of Howard Maupin the founder of Antelope (biography under Antelope).

MAUPIN by Carroll Richmond

    Carroll Richmond, the author of the following excellent historical article on Maupin, which appeared in the 1948 Historical Edition of The Dalles Chronicle, is the daughter of Everett and Alma (Powell) Richmond of Maupin, and was a Maupin High School girl in 1948 now attending Bible School in Portland. It is very, very unusual that a high school student will pause from ordinary high school pursuits to give much thought and study to their friends and neighbors. We think Miss Richmond is to be congratulated by her Maupin friends and neighbors for she is one of the most outstanding historical high school students in the 100 years of Wasco county history.

Maupin

    Perry Maupin arrived at the present townsite of Maupin in 1872. He realized the possibilities of the location and constructed a ferry, which he operated from the west side of the Deschutes to the mouth of Bakeoven creek. He continued in that line for 5 years, during which time he built the first house in Maupin, now occupied by Mrs. G.I. Derthick, after which he left Maupin.
    The next settlers were "Deacon" and Eli Hinman, uncle and nephew. Eli filed on a homestead at the present site of Maupin and after he received his patent he sold to E.B. Dufur, December 26, 1890. Mr. Dufur sold to Mrs. Isabella Slusher, later the wife of J.H. Staats. She sold in 1908 to J.O. Elrod who platted the town but later turned the property back to Mrs. Staats who filed the platt in Wasco county records May 5, 1910, signed by W.H. and Isabella Staats.
    In 1898 Jim Brown, stockman, established a ferry service, hiring J.H. Chastain Sr., a millwright and carpenter to do the construction work. The high water of 1903 washed the dock and ferry away. J.H. Chastain had also built a ferry that summer for R.B. Darnall, near the Oregon Trunk depot at Cambrai. After the death of Mr. Darnall in 1905, W. H. Hunt purchased the Darnall holdings and thereafter Maupin was known as HUNT'S FERRY. Mr. Hunt's ferry washed away in 1911 but he built a new one which served the people until the building of the bridge (1912).

First Store

    The first store in Maupin was started by W.H. Staats, who occupied a small building on the site of the Clarke Richardson home. He freighted his goods from Dufur (1909) and his first grocery order was filled for Mrs. Mary Cunningham who selected and took the goods off the freight wagon before they were unloaded! Mr. Staats was first postmaster of Maupin and named the town at the suggestion of Mrs. Clevia Confer. At that time the railroads were building up the Deschutes and the Oregon Trunk is credited with laying its rails into Maupin a few days ahead of the Union Pacific. With the coming of the railroads Maupin took on a rapid growth. Staats built a 30 X 60 store and 20 X 60 warehouse at the O.P. Weberg residence corner. He later sold to R.E. Wilson who conducted the business at the time of the big 1921 fire.

Fire of 1921

    On September 10, 1921 Maupin was leveled by a fire that virtually destroyed every business place in town! The fire started in the Shattuck store and spread to the south and west, taking every building in its path! Among the buildings burned were the Wilson store, John Confer residence, Jory's grocery, Cook's hotel, the Maupin State Bank, F.C. Butler residence, Cyrs Confectionery and the post­office. The loss was estimated at $70,000 ($200,000 1952) partly covered by insurance. Most of the losers began rebuilding immediately. Shattuck, Butler and the bank erected concrete fireproof buildings. R.E. Wilson put up a hollow tile building for a hotel.

Good Water System

    Maupin is supplied with water from 2 large springs on the Staats home place. Mr. Elrod, when he platted the town, thought the place could be supplied with water by gravity and laid a small pipe to some of the lots, but found the fall was not sufficient to supply all the lots. When he turned the property back to Staats, a big over-shot water wheel was built, which operated a pump. It was replaced by a ram (1913) which pumped into a reservoir, on top of the bluff overlooking the city. In 1924 the City of Maupin purchased the water system and installed two large rams and finished placing water pipes through the city, covered the spring by concrete, arranged for the overflow and Maupin now has one of the best water systems in the state of Oregon!

Today

    Maupin today has two stores, one a hardware and general merchandise store and the other a grocery and meat market. It has 3 restaurants, a hotel, 4 garages, a barber shop, drug store, coal and wood dealer, an insurance agent, two churches, a Legion-community hall, a movie house, a beauty parlor, an I.O.O.F. building, telephone exchange and telegraph office, two grain elevators, a concrete block making establishment, a soil conservation office, a lumber mill, jail, Library, a grade school established in 1911, and a high school. Maupin's first teacher was Mrs. Miner and the schools now employ 8 teachers.
    Some of the above history was published in the Maupin Times, a weekly newspaper. Maupin is best known as having the finest trout fishing stream in the world flowing past the city and which draws anglers from all over the country and the Mt. Hood forest recreation area with its lakes, parks and mountain climbing within a short drive. Maupin is closer to Portland than The Dalles via Mt. Hood and they could always drive into Portland in 2½ hours while Dalles residents took from 3 to 3½!

Wm. Staats by Fred Lockley

    "Yes, I was the first postmaster of Maupin,” said Wm. H. Staats when I interviewed him recently at his home in Maupin. "I was born January 9, 1837, near Aurora, about midway between Salem and Portland. My father John G. Staats was born in Germany. There were 6 children in our family, 4 boys and 2 girls. My sister Emma (Mrs. J.W. Sobern) lives in the Woodstock district in Portland. My brother John  works in the forestry department and is stationed near Mt. Hood. My sister Lou and my brother Bob are dead. My brother Jim has been a conductor on the street car lines of Portland for more than 25 years. Jim and my brother John both lived in Honolulu for a time.
    "We moved to Wasco county in 1872. Father bought what is known as the Ramsay ranch, 8 miles south of Dufur and ran cattle and sheep. My mother's maiden name was Mary Alice Tobin. After my brothers and sisters had all married and left, I sold the ranch and was negotiating for the purchase of a store on Lovejoy street, near the Good Samaritan hospital. While I was in Dufur, waiting to go to Portland, I met Andrew Jackson Dufur, Jr. He told me his sister, Mrs. Slusher, was going to move from The Dalles, to the home ranch. He asked me if I wouldn't take over the job of moving her goods to the home ranch and stay while until she got settled. Well, the upshot of the matter was that I moved Mrs. Slusher out to the home ranch, and she hired me to run the place, and a few years later we were married. My wife still owns 27 acres of the old home place.
    "Come on out, I want you to look at the lake, and if you have time, I'd like you to take a boat so you can catch a mess of trout. I have trout in the lake there 15 inches long."  We walked out to the lake, and then up to the side of the rimrock bluff, where a huge spring gushes out from the solid rock.
    "The first water system for Maupin," said Mr. Staats, "was a gravity system installed by Elrod and Crossley. After the property reverted to us, I put in an overshot wheel and pump to furnish water for our home and the store. I installed a Columbia 1-horsepower ram and 2 years later I bought a No. 8 Columbia ram and built a concrete reservoir on the hill. Some years ago we sold 7/1Oths of a second-foot of the water to the City of Maupin for $8000 and the city installed a water system. This spring flows 3-second-feet of water! As you will notice, we now have 2 concrete reservoirs and the lake cover­ing a acre of ground with 15 feet of water! This spring is certainly pretty handy. It is a scenic asset; it supplies the City of Maupin with water; I have all the trout I can use and I irrigate the place here from the spring.
    "In 1920 I sold our store and the good will to R.F. Wilson. I retained the buildings and the warehouse. In September 1921, the town of Maupin was practically wiped off the map by fire. The town of Dufur was named for my wife's father and started by E.D. and A.J. Dufur. It is in the valley of 15 Mile creek and incorporated in 1894. -- Oregon Journal, November 25, 1930. (Maupin Library).

Maupin Incorporated in 1922

    The City of Maupin was incorporated June 28, 1922 with R.E. Wilson; mayor; George McDonald, recorder; O.F. Renick, marshall; W.H. Staats, Dr. J.L. Elwood, L.S. Stovall, Bates Shattuck, F.C. Butler and J.H. Woodcock, councilmen.

Mayors

    R.E. Wilson 1922-25; Bates Shattuck 1925-27; F.C. Butler 1927-29; L.C. Henneghan 1929-31; W.A. Short 1931-33; O.P. Resh 1933-35; R.E. Wilson 1935-39; C.H. Crofoot 1939-41; A.W. Gust 1941-51.

Power & Civic Progress

    A franchise was granted E.C. Woodcock for a power and lighting system in 1923. Sidewalks were built on Deschutes Ave. (Main street) in 1922: The water system vas installed in 1924 at a cost of $25,000. Jim Chalmers has been fire chief since 1924. The 300,000 gallon reservoir for fire protection was built in 1950 at a cost of $5000. The electric pumps for the water system was installed in 1938. The city hall was built in 1937 and sewer system laid in 1938. In 1950 the power and light system was acquired by the R.E.A. Cooperative. – Maupin Community Club.
    Maupin, Dufur, Mosier and Antelope are all little cities under 500 population. The record of civic progress each has made is something to be proud of. When a community’s population is over 3000 neighbors cease to know neighbors and friends no longer know friends These little towns are as near perfection as we can reach under our system of civilization and education.

Maupin by Clarence Hunt

    Twenty-five years ago (1904) there were only 2 cabins and an old sheep shed at Maupin - built by Perry Maupin (1872) and which still stand, when he operated his ferry just below the old county bridge.

    Later E.B. Dufur planted some trees and filed a timber culture claim here and pre-empted the adjoining acres. Maupin Springs was then known as Dufur Springs. Mr. Dufur and Mr. Hinman ran sheep here for a while. Later Mr. Dufur sold to Arabella Slusher, now Mrs. W.H. Staats and she and Mr. Staats planned the town of Maupin. They established the first store and post office (1909) 20 years ago. Credit is given Mr. Staats for naming the town. He sent "Maupin's Ferry" to the post office department in Washington, D.C. for approval; but the 2-name post office was not allowable. The name Maupin was chosen in honor of our first settler.
    There were 4 ferry boats built to cross the Deschutes at Maupin. East Maupin was known as Hunt's Ferry.
    The Maupin Commercial Club held its first meeting in June 1913 with many notable persons in attendance from all over the state. Maupin has since been known as a "good meeting place." Maupin rose out of the fire of 1921 with a determination to grow and it is still growing. Maupin has plenty of good water and the best in the state. The Deschutes river at Maupin is famous for its rainbow trout. The modern camping grounds, cabins and hotels, on both sides of the river, accommodate tourist and sportsman alike.
    Maupin has a modern power plant, a good flour mill, 2 grain elevators, 2 stores, 2 churches, social halls and good schools. The railroad, highways and irrigation lend growth to the community. Maupin is the market place for farmer and stockman, the shopping place for the housewife. It is one of the clean­est and best looking little towns in the Pacific Northwest. Maupin is the community center for southern Wasco county. -- Maupin Times 1929; address given at Maupin-Deschutes Bridge dedication ceremonies.

The Maupin Ferry by Lester Crofoot

    About 40 years ago (1880) Perry Maupin put a ferry across the Deschutes at the mouth of Bakeoven Canyon. He ran it for several years and sold to Eli P. Hinman who operated it until his death when it became a public ferry. No one owned it. It was used by whoever crossed the river. In 1902 a young man by the name of Fred Woodside, (son of Lewis Woodside the blacksmith of Wapinitia), with his horse, undertook to cross the ferry alone. He got about half-way across when the cable broke, turning the ferry loose and it overturned. Mr. Woodside was drowned but his horse swam on across and was found by an Indian who spread the news. The body was not found till about 3 months afterwards down near Free Bridge (Kloan).
    The Maupin ferry was put back into operation by Richard Bennett, about a quarter of a mile up the river where he ran it until he sold to Mr. Hunt who operated it until 1912 when the county put in a bridge in front of the Williams and McClure store and Fisher's Garage, connecting east and west Maupin. -- Maupin Times October 15, 1921.

The Maupin Ferry by Job Crabtree

    The first ferry at Maupin was built and operated by Perry Maupin.
    The second ferry was built by J.H. Chastein for Jim Brown. This was the ferry that Fred Woodside lost his life on at age 18. He had gone to see his girl friend, a Ridgeway school teacher named Grace Mann. This was in 1902 and Grace had taught the Victor school in 1901.

    The third ferry was owned by Dick Bennett Darnall who died in 1905 and whose wife sold the ferry to Wm. Hunt (a brother-in-law of Job Crabtree).

    Wm. Hunt used the ferry until 1911 when he built a new and larger one, which he used until the county bridge was finished March 1912. The highway bridge was dedicated in 1929.

    No freight was ever hauled from Maupin to Shaniko but many tons were hauled from Shaniko to Maupin to help build the railroads up the Deschutes.

    Most all the freight for Wapinitia was hauled out of The Dalles and Dufur until the construction of the railroads up the Deschutes and into Maupin in 1910.

Maupin by Mrs. Pete Kirsch

    These items on Maupin were taken from the History of Maupin scrapbook, kept in the Maupin library and donated by Mrs. A.W. (Maude) Gust, president of the Maupin Community Club organized Sept. 28, 1927. The schools east of Maupin were the Criterian, Turner, Lakeview 88, Ridgeway-Dodd, Caskella, Tub Springs, Antelope, Clarno, Bakeoven, Shaniko, Flanagan, Fleming-Wilson and Jersey on the Deschutes. The assembling of the data on Maupin and Criterion sections of Wasco county, for this history, by Mrs. Kirsch is gratefully appreciated. She should be remembered as an outstanding citizen of Maupin.

Bertha (Herrling) Kirsch

    Bertha Herrling was born (1899) at Stayton, Oregon the daughter of Franklin and Hanna (Mathes) Herrling who came from Wisconsin to Oregon in 1848. Bertha Herrling came to Criterion as a school teacher in 1913 and also filed on a homestead in that area. In 1918 she married Pete Kirsch, a 1912 homesteader of the Criterion district, son of August and Barbara (Parrish) Kirsch of Stayton, Oregon, emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1903. Their children were: Ted of Myrtle Point, & bulb grower and agriculture teacher; Earnest, County Agent of Gilliam County, at Condon; Gertrude (Mrs. John Hess) Bremerton, Wash. where her husband is a naval engineer; and Paul of Maupin.

---------------------­

    This history, like all histories, is short of biographies of the pioneers who MADE our history. As time progresses, we hope to gather more biographies which can be bound into book form for libraries.

NENA

    Nine miles above Maupin, on the Oregon Trunk railroad is the siding of Nena, named for Nena creek, which in turn, according to Dee Woodside, was named for Nena Pat, a buck Indian who used to live at the mouth of Nena creek near Indian Johnny's place.

DANT or FREIDA

    The post office of Dant was first established as Freida June 16, 1950 and discontinued as Freida November 30, 1950. It was established as Dant December 1, 1950, being named in honor of the Dant & Russell Perlite mine operators, 13 miles south of Maupin on the Oregon Trunk railroad.

    Ferlite ore is a volcanic glass or light weight rock with many hundreds of small cracks which bear a remote resemblance to pearls or obsidian-like. Geologists believe that volcanic action below a lake or inland sea beds, which brought the hot lava in contact with the cold water, the sudden change in temperature caused an explosion which we now see in the form of perlite ore particles. In other words the Dant mine locations at one time was an erupting volcano under Condon Lake, and they are mining one ^­of the lava flows from the Dant Volcano.

    Dant & Russel took this ore and "exploded" it again in their factory at Dant; the ore is then an excellent product for plaster, insulation, wall board, house insulation, acoustical tile.   

    On May 12, 1952 the Henry Kaiser Company announced in the local papers that they had acquired Wasco county's largest mining and processing industry, quarry and plant at Dant valued at $2,000,000 and which employs from 25 to 75 men. The plant was constructed in 1947. Most of the employees lived in Maupin.

    The open pit mine, located 500 feet up Lady Frances Hill which is a "mountain of perlite ore", a bluish volcanic glass. It is crushed to the consistency of sand, then melted in huge furnaces which cause the particles to explode into globules; full of bubbles of sealed dead-air space, making very fine sound absorption board or insulation which is incombustible, at temperatures of 2000 degrees.       

    The site was discovered in 1919 by Joseph N. Axford and they estimate there is a 50 year supply for continuous operation of the plant at the present capacity. Oregon geologists report other beds nearby. The Kaiser company has two manufacturing plants at Long Beach and Redwood City, California making gypsum board. Ten pounds of the exploded perlite popcorn is the equivalent of 75 pounds of sand for plaster purposes. The plant includes the main building, the rod mill, conveyor, wet storage, warehouse ­dryer, an electric sub-station with power furnished by the R.E.A., offices and employees homes. The Kaiser Company is expected to enlarge the plant. -- Dalles Chronicle May 13, 1952.

HARDY--DAVIDSON--North Junction

    Six miles above Dant, on the Oregon Trunk railroad is the siding of Hardy; and 2 miles above Hardy is the section houses for the section crews at Davidson, which was formerly North Junction, according to Mrs. Hilda Addington, postmaster at South Junction. North Junction or Davidson was where the rail­road lines up the Deschutes joined together and for the next 10 miles to south Junction the one track was used from the very first to the present time. Mr. McCurdy was the last operator at North Junction. North Junction was established as a post office June 23, 1927 and discontinued April 7, 1932 with J.C. McCurdy, the operator, as the only postmaster. The section crews go to South Junction for mail now.

KASKELIA

    Five miles above North Junction (Davidson) was the post office of Kaskelia, named by Malcolm Moody in honor of the first Indian chief at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation upon its establishment in 1854. Kaskelia was established as a post office June 15, 1914 and discontinued January 15, 1921 with

Ralph Brown the first postmaster. The Kaselia farm is operated by Louis Larsen an old timer.
    The Jersey school and depot, on the Deschutes, have been torn down and according to Mrs. Hilda Addington, "after the depot was torn down the railroad company put in a Y for backing trains into to head in the other direction. It has since been called the Jersey Y even after the railroad tore the Y out. There is nothing there now but a sign JERSEY Y." The Jersey Cabin is owned by Tom Dant of Dant & Russel.      

SOUTH JUNCTION

    South Junction was established as a post office June 21, 1911 and discontinued June 30, 1946. It was re-established August 14, 1919 with Carmen B. Barry, Postmaster who served until November 30, 1953 when J.M. McNeely assumed the duties and served from December 1, 1950 to November 15, 1951. Mrs. Hilda Addington became postmaster November 16, 1951 and still serves in that capacity. It was named South Junction because it was the southern end of the point Union Pacific-Oregon Trunk railroad line. At South Junction the Union Pacific tracks started climbing out of the Deschutes river gorge following Trout Creek to Madras and on to Metolius where "Joint usership" of tracks from there to Bend were the policy by "agreement." Trout Creek empties into the Deschutes river at Coleman on the Oregon Trunk.
    South Junction at the present time has the depot, post office, 21 people. The Kaskelia farm and Dant ranch get mail here. The U'Ren ranch is now owned by Collis Johnson of the Interstate Tractor Co. of Portland. Chas. P. U'Ren was South Junction postmaster from 1931 to 1946, when he moved away.

    The Oregon Trunk railroad followed for about 10 years, on up the Deschutes from Coleman to Mecca, where a depot and supply point for the Warm Springs Indian Reservation was maintained. From there they followed on up past the Vanora school. The railroad bed and Warm Springs highway parallel one another between Mecca and the Vanora school. The Oregon Trunk climbed out of the Deschutes river gorge at Melton, following Willow creek to Madras. The South Junction-Madras section was abandoned, due to so many washouts of the roadbed, and both lines now use the U.P. tracks to Metolius.

FLANAGAN by Jess Fleming

    The post office of Flanagan was established October 11,,1905 with Thomas Flanagan, after whom it was named and in whose home it existed all during its duration, the only postmaster. It was 45 miles southeast of The Dalles and 15 miles southeast of Sherars Rridge, on the old Dalles to Canyon City road; and 6 miles east of Maupin, on the old Maupin to Bakeoven road. It was located on Sourdough Ridge, which layed between Buck Hollow and Bakeoven Canyon. It was discontinued as a post office March 15, 1915.

Thomas Flanagan

    Thomas Flanagan came to Sourdough Ridge from Ireland about 1895 with a brother John. Children of Tom were James, toll collector for years on the Vancouver bridge; Helen (Mrs. Fred Van Hoomisson) Portland; Kathleen (Mrs. Joe Van Hoomisson) Portland; Gertrude and Mary, all of Portland. Tom was a stockman and the postmaster of Flanagan.

Frank S. Fleming

    Frank S. Fleming was born in Kentucky (1859) came west in the early 1860's doing railroad construction work. He helped with the extension of the Oregon Short Line and the railroad from Corvallis to the coast. He married (1895) Eva Newton, covered wagon pioneer from Iowa (1885). They first located in Thorn Hollow and then Cross Hollow, both near Shaniko. Mr. Fleming freighted supplies from The Dalles to all points as far east as Canyon City. Their daughter Leo Dorcas (Mrs. Dr. O. Larsell) lives in Portland and their son Jess lives in The Dalles. In 1887 Frank Fleming filed on his Dead Dog ranch on Sourdough Flat. He brought the first threshing machine to that area, a horse-powered hand-fed outfit. He had the first well drill and tractor. The extension of the railroad into Shaniko brought many settlers into the area, and so many of them were bachelors that the country became known as "Sourdough Flat." They plowed under the bunch grass and made wheat land out of it. Frank Fleming leased his ranch to his son Jess in 1916 and retired to The Dalles where he died in 1934.

Frank Fryman

    Frank Fryman came from Roseburg to Flanagan in 1904, a pioneer from Missouri in 1901. He had relatives near Sharers Bridge who pointed out the good points about Sourdough Flat to them. He filed on a homestead and eventually acquired 500 acres. He freighted for the railroad in 1910 and ran the stage and mail between Sherars Bridge and Shaniko. He retired to the McNeal place in Thompson Addition about 1925. He has a son Al and a daughter of The Dalles.

Arthur W. Fargher

    Arthur Fargher was born (1855) on the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea; son of Thomas and Susan (Christian) Fargher, a wealthy real estate family. In 1870, Arthur and his father Thomas and brother Horatio came to San Francisco where their brother Tom, a blacksmith lived and which trade Arthur learned. The father, Tom, came on up to Oregon to settle, first working for the O.R. & N railroad and in 1878 they settled on their homesteads on Sourdough Flat near Flanagan, engaging in the sheep business, expanding their acreage to 4000 and their sheep to 6000. Arthur married (1885) Maria Baker, daughter of George Baker, 1852 Hudson Bay Co. employee who lived (1905) at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, B.C. Their children were: Clarence, Fred, Arthur, Monia and Ellen. The Fargher station on the Union Pacific, opposite Sherars Bridge, was named in their honor, as a sort of a shipping station on that road. The depression of the 1930's wiped out most of their holdings. -- Biography from History of Central Oregon.

Tom Connolly

    The Tom Connolly family settled at Flanagan about 1895. There were several brothers in this family among them being Pat of Portland; Steve of Bridge Creek; Joe who returned to Ireland; Tony who still lives in the Flanagan area. A. J. Connolly now lives in The Dalles.

John Conroy

    John Conroy of Tygh and his brothers, were listed as 1910 settlers on Sourdough Flat at Flanegan. Besides John there were Pat, who died; Tony, who married and lived at Flanagan; Mike who disappeared and Tom of Shaniko.

    M. J. Courtwright and his wife who were 1905 settlers, sold out and moved away. Wm. Davis a 1900 preacher and his wife sold out and moved away, James Doran, a 1900 relative of Flanagans, was killed in an automobile accident in 1921. Tom Fahy was a brother to Mrs. Tom Flanagan, A.T. Linley, a 1900 homesteader, has two boys still living at Flanagan. Cyrus Tunnison came from Michigan in 1900 and his family still live at Flanagan. C. E. Mathews, single, went to California. Wm. Myers was a single Dutchman who moved away. John Van Meter was there only a short time at around 1900.

    Edwin Mays, attorney at law, son of Robert Mays of Tygh, listed as a 1910 resident of Flanagan, became a practicing attorney of Berkley, California.

    The Dalles directory of 1910 lists the population of Flanagan as 150 and said it was settled in 1905; held Methodist church services in the Flanagan school house; at first had a daily stage to The Dalles and by 1910 a tri-weekly stage service from Dufur to Shaniko, which hauled passengers and mail. Frank Fryman and Hugh Mulkins each operated the stage and mail route at different times.

The Connolly Brothers

    Tom and A.J. Connolly were born in Ireland, 1868 and 1888 respectfully, Tom coming to Flanagan in 1895, and A.J. in 1902. Tom had no children. A. J. Connolly married Anne Shults and their children are Francis of The Dalles and Josephene (Mrs. John Opp) San Francisco. The Connolly brothers operated a 40,000 acre sheep ranch with as many as 10,000 head of sheep. A. J. Connolly lives in The Dalles. Tony Connolly operates the ranch at Flanagan.

    More biographies on these interesting pioneer families would be a welcome addition.

BAKEOVEN

Military Road

    As soon as Robert Mays made the bridge at Sherars wide enough and strong enough to hold up teams and wagons, the military authorities from Fort Dalles sent wagons out with their expeditions into central and eastern Oregon to protect miners, packers and key settlements. It was these military expeditions that first threw enough rocks out of the Indian and pack trails, filled in the ravines so a wagon could cross, and they gradually, (not in one year) became wagon roads. The main road from The Dalles to Canyon City crossed Sherars Bridge and the teamsters always planned to "night" at Bakeoven spring. The military road to central Oregon branched at Antelope, went down Anteolope creek to Sisters.

Bakeoven Junction

    By 1989 enough people had settled out in Central Oregon for Dalles merchants to want a "cut-off road" from Bakeoven to Ridgeway and down Cow Canyon to Antelope Creek Military road. The County Court of Wasco County (1869) authorized Wm. Clark and Lew Daugherty to construct the Cow Canyon Toll road. The toll collecting station was located on Cow Canyon grade, at the spring where the little service station and auto camp is now located and for many years kept by Mr. Haight.

Bakeoven Stage Station  

    Then in 1872 Andy Swift established the Bakeoven inn, stage station, blacksmith shop and livery barn so that stage passengers, freighters and travelers would have a place to stop for the night, feed their horses, make repairs on their wagons or shoe their horses. In 1873 Andy Swift sold this very important stage station, located at the junction of the Canyon City and Prineville roads, to the ever popular and legendary THOMAS BURGESS and his wife, widely known in all of eastern Oregon as one of its most popular Inn or hotel host and hostess in the history of Wasco county. They had a very pleasing personality and a reputation for kindness and courtesy which will be remembered as long as Wasco county has a history!

Bakeoven Post Office

    The Bakeoven post office was established December 1, 1875 with Mrs. Tom Burgess as the first postmaster, store and Inn keeper. Thomas Burgess was a native of Columbus, Ohio who came west (1859). Married Ellen Smith of The Dalles. He had mined in California, Oregon and  Idaho before he settled on his stock ranch at Bakeoven in 1872 and buying out Andy Swift the next year. They continued to operate the Bakeoven Inn and post office until their retirement to The Dalles in 1902. They enjoyed a very large patronage of business until the construction of the railroad into Shaniko (1901) eliminated the necessity for Bakeoven and The Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight road.

Newton Burgess

    Tom and Ellen Burgess had 2 children. Their daughter was the wife of state senator Dan Malarkey of Portland and their son Newton went to school in The Dalles and Portland; was in business with his father at Bakeoven until 1895, where he kept books and helped run the 1000-head cattle ranch, when he moved to Antelope, bought a 840 acre dairy ranch, a meat market, and became a livestock and wool broker. Some years he shipped as many as 25,000 head of sheep out of Shaniko! He married Mary Ashby and their children (1905) were Ralph and Madeline. (History Central Oregon) He later moved to Pilot Rock, according to Jess Fleming, he became a prominent stockman and state representative. He was murdered in Portland in 1910. Mrs. Mararkey lives in Portland with her sons.

    Tom Burgess and his wife lived at 7th S Kelley Ave, in The Dalles, after their retirement from Bakeoven. Mrs. Burgess was actually credited with being the postmaster at Bakeoven, and the Inn keeper, with the help of her son and Tom ran the ranch and helped manage everything. Tom Burgess and his wife Ellen were two more of the most outstanding people in the history of Wasco county.

Henry Wakerlig

    Henry Wakerlig bought the store, post office and Inn at Bakeoven from Tom Burgess (1902). He was born in Switzerland (1853) son of John and Regla (Frei) Wakerlig. He came to the Shaniko area (1853) and herded sheep for Solomon Hauser, Al Porter, E.M. Gilsay and Wm. Jones. In 1886 he bought 400 sheep and started in business for himself, first on a rented place and in 1888 homesteaded on Ochoco creek 12 miles from Bakeoven, acquired 1100 head of sheep and lost all but 300 in the hard winter of 1889. He had to go back herding for the next 2 years to pay debts and eventually acquired 10,000 head of sheep and 3000 acres of land and bought out part of Tom Burgess place, store and Inn. He was married in Switzerland to Mary Wittweiler of Switzerland (1878) and their children were; Henry, Edwin, Earnest, Walter, Mary (Mrs. Albert McKinley), Bertha (Mrs. Roy Logan), Rosie, died young; Julia Spalinger of Portland, Annie (Mrs. John Medler) Harper, Minnie (Mrs. Walter Lang) Wamic. The Wakerligs all left Bakeoven and their place was sold to William Moody. -- History Central Oregon; checked with Jess Fleming. Henry Wakerlig went back to Swtzerland.

Bakeoven by Jess Fleming

    After Henry Wakerlig sold the Bakeoven ranch and post office to Malcolm Moody Mr. Thorp became the postmaster with the post office in his farm-home. Then George Mickle became the next postmaster and moved the office to his farm-home; from there it went to the Claud Wilson farm-home. In 1914 my father Frank Fleming moved the Bakeoven post office to his Dead Dog ranch, about half way between Flanagan and Bakeoven, where my mother Eva Fleming became postmaster. After their retirement to The Dalles in 1916 I became acting postmaster of Bakeoven until the office was closed March 30, 1918.    

    Jim Hinton and Tom Ward are now the owners of Bakeoven, which is a part of their 90,000 acre ranch. The original house, Inn or hotel burned although the blacksmith shop still stands. There are no buildings at Flanagan. The Bakeoven, Flanagan and Criterion districts are now served mail by a Star-contract route out of Maupin which goes out The Dalles-California Highway to Shaniko and returns to Maupin over the Bakeoven-Flanagan road, on a twice a week service basis.

    Some of the old timers of Bakeoven that I remember are: Harry Adams, stage and freight operator; L.C. Albrecht, the blacksmith; George Von Borstal, sheepmen who retired to Germany and whose son Henry Von Borstel was deported to Germany from 8 Mile creek during World War 2; Tom Brady was a sheepherder; “Uncle Tom” Burgess, the likeable store and Inn keeper; J.M. Davis and Herman Isenburger moved away early; John Farrar went over to Antelope; John Flanagan moved away early; Emil Hachler went over to Wapinitia; C.W. Haight operated the toll station in Cow Canyon for 20 years and his son E.C. Haight farmed in the Fairbanks area of lower 15 Mile creek; Richard R. Hinton increased his 300 acres in 1898 to 90,000 which his son Jim of Salem owns jointly with his foster son Tom Ward; Fred N. Jones is now a Sherman county pioneer as is Wm. Kelsey; the A.M. Kirchheimer place is now the Andrew Brown place; John Karlen went broke at the sheep business during the 1934 depression; Wm. & Scuyler Leuder, sheepmen left before 1900; Adam Lohr and John Nachter sold to Hinton and moved away; Marmaduke Maxwell sold out to Hinton and went back to England; George Moore sold to Robert Mays and went to Wamic, Vernon Roberts, homesteader on Sourdough Flat, operated a stage line between Maupin and Wapinitia after he left Bakeoven; Chas. Rothery worked for Fargher at Flanagan; Robert Thompson moved to Thorn Hollow near Shaniko; Chas. and John Todd were sons of John Y. Todd, who owned Sherars Bridge and after they left Bakeoven John Todd became a City Letter Carrier at Bend, Oregon.

1883 Settlers

    The directory of 1883 lists the following Bakeoven settlers; J.O. Ball, W. A. Baskale, R. Bootan, Tomas Burgess, W.R. Cantrell, Chandler & Roper, T.V. Demmick, James Fitzpatrick, Joe Frizzell, C.W. Haight, (toll collector on Cow Canyon road); W.A. Halley, D.A. Harvey, Robert R. Hinton & son James, largest individual landholders in Wasco county; S. House, Ed. Martin, Macken Bros., Wm. Mathews, Wm. Norvall, W. H. Pool, J.M. Stimpson, J.T. Wells, George Young, G.Y. Yancy, R. Closter, N. Quinn.

1898 Settlers

    The 1898 settlers, listed in The Dalles directory and in addition to those listed above were; Arnold Blaser, J.W. Brockman, Wm. Bosh, Frank Brown, J.N. Burgess, Lemuel Burgess, Tom Burgess, 2100 sheep and general merchandise store; R.E. Campbell; Chas. Cannon, Wm. Christianson, I.E. Church, H.W. Cook of Ridgeway, Ed Costello, Wm. Daken, R. Dockley, G. Dodd, Chris Danavon, Alex Fargher, Arthur Fargher, Tom Fargher, Frank Fleming, last postmaster, Gai Barney, S. Golden, Peter Harris, Lillie Hinton, teacher committed suicide in Portland; Robert R. Hinton, large sheepmen; Joe Holdman; W.E. Hunt who lived in the Criterion district; Jonathan Jackson of Dufur; Wilbur Johnson; W.O. Johnson, J.B. Kelsay, August Longren, later of 8 Mile; James Linton, W.M. Lyle, John McLaughlin, J. Manning, E. R. Mendenhall, T.H. Milliron, J.B. Moore, Nyfeler & Hachler, W. H. Ostrander, Mike Popp, C. Patterson, Wm. Quinn, C.B. Reese, Wm. Rolf, Louis Schadewitz, J.N. Smith, J. Spoonemoore, K.N. Staehr, Julius Stelon, G.A. Stout, Harry Swigert, C.H. Vandruff, Henry Wakerling, J.W. Willis, W.H. Wilson, C.L. Wray.

1910 Settlers

    Settlers of 1910 listed in The Dalles directory; Mrs. J. Alden, fruitgrower (had 2 trees, according to Jess Fleming); John Conroy, now of Tygh, sheepmen; Robert R. Hinton, 50,000 acre sheepmen; John Karlan, sheepman; M. Maxwell, who went back to England; Patzen Bros., Henry Wakerling, general merchandise and postmaster, later went back to Switzerland. The directory of 1910 said Bakeoven has a population of 20 and was served by a stage between Dufur and Shaniko which ran 3 times a week.

Richard R. Hinton

    The Shaniko Leader in 1902 said, "Richard R. Hinton was the largest individual sheep and land owner in Wasco county. His holdings and belongings are an empire within itself. He was born in Missouri in 1852 and his parents brought him to Lane county where he grew up and at 19 came to Shaniko and located on the Robert R. Hinton place, then (1869) known as the Imperial Stock Ranch. He started out with 183 head of sheep, increasing his stock and improving his strain he, in time, be­came the largest individual owner of sheep and land in Wasco county. He married (1886) Clara J. Bird and in 1902 had Richard and Mary. (His son James was by a previous marriage)."

    The above story says Mr. Hinton came to Shaniko in 1869. Shaniko did not exist until 1901 so we have placed the short biography under Bakeoven, where the Wasco County Assessor claimed he lived in 1883, 1898 and 1910. In 1952 the Hinton ranch is listed as being at Shaniko because the Bakeoven post office is no longer In existence. The Bakeoven post office and store location is now (1952) a part of the Hinton ranch. Post offices may come and post offices may go, but the Hinton Ranch will go on forever. It has never moved, except as it has expanded to now (1952) include 90,000 acres and is the largest single, individually owned ranch in Wasco county! It is 140 square miles or if square it would be just under 12 miles on each side or 48 miles of fence all the way around it. With the cross fences to maintain there are more than 100 miles of fence and wire!

CRITERION

    The post office of Criterion, 10 miles east of Maupin on The Dalles-California Highway, was established September 11, 1913 with Ida Canfield, first postmaster. She was succeeded in office by Mrs. George Miller in 1216 and in 1917 Dollie Decamp Ducus became the 3rd postmaster. The mail was first carried between Maupin and Criterion in 1913 by Elder Miller, now of Lindsay, California. Pete Kirsch next carried it between 1922 and 1926 when the office was discontinued June 30 and a Star-­contract route established with Phil Starr the first carrier.

How It Was Named

    J. Elmer Miller of Lindsay, California says: "I selected the name Criterion out of the dictionary. We were conceited enough to think we could weld a community spirit which would be a model (standard or measure) for other communities to copy.. We believe we were successful for we soon had a new schoolhouse, post office, county road which we got made into a state highway, a voting precinct, a rural telephone line, Farmers Union, Sunday school, Literary Society, and we got Congressman Nick Sinnott to open up that country for settlement and enlarged homesteads. We had submitted "Three Notch Juniper" and "Can­field" along with Criterion and the post office chose Criterion. The "'Three Notch Juniper" stood be­tween my place and Earl Gamblers, south of my house, where the two trails, from Two-Springs to Shaniko and Maupin to Gateway, crossed." (Between mile post 59 and 60).

Criterion by Bertha (Mrs. Pete) Kirsch

    We always thought W.E. Hunt was our most outstanding citizen. He was a big sheep man but he always encouraged homesteaders to come in and settle up the country. He helped with everything that was to our benefit. Mrs. Hunt was especially good to encourage and help us. She had been a school teacher at Shaniko and lives at Maupin now. W.E. Hunt was born in Sacramento, California (1866) and came to Ridge­way (1896) and herded sheep for George Young. He saved enough to buy himself a small band of his own and homesteaded at Criterion. His sheep herd increased to two bands and his homestead was added to. In 1904 he married Rojina Campbell of Wamic, who had filed on a homestead adjoining Mr. Hunts. Their children were; Wm. Hunt (1906-1938) killed by a tractor at Tygh; Genevive and Clarence of Maupin who operated the Hunt cattle ranch at Criterion. All three of these children attended the Criterion school. During World War I Mr. Hunt put the Red Cross drives over by contacting his neighbors on horseback. He died Oct. 8, 1937. The Hunt Memorial Park (Wasco County Fair Grounds) at Tygh Valley was dedicated in his memory and is used for picnics, family gatherings, organizations, schools and is considered one of the best fair grounds, in Oregon with green grass all summer. The Criterion people all appreciated Mr. Hunt's kindness and interest in the homesteaders. Everyone was always welcome at the Hunt home. Mr. Hunt spent practically, all his life at Criterion. He loved race horses and in his younger days was a jockey. He never missed going to the Tygh Valley Fair and taking an active part in it, invested in the buildings and first improvements, which Mrs. Hunt donated to the Fair Board.

Three Notch Juniper

    The Criterion country was once called Three Notch Juniper. This Juniper is near mile post 60, at the top of the hill on The Dalles-California highway. It was sort of a land mark where the trails from Two Springs to Shaniko and Maupin to Gateway, crossed. About 1880 there were some horse corrals near this juniper. There were springs, near the juniper at that time, but all have since dried up.

Early Settlers

    Carl Duis filed on a homestead at Criterion in 1906 and later freighted for the O.R.& N railroad between Shaniko and Maupin. At that time (19l0-1911) there was a railroad camp near the Criterion school house (mile post 58) and just 2 miles from Three Notch Juniper corrals. This camp was called the Halfway Camp. In 1908 Marie Bassoni filed on a claim where the Criterion school house now stands. George and Andrew Whitten and Miss Whitten-Starling filed on homesteads in 1909 as did Jerome Kidder, wife and 4 children. In 1910 Arthur Gamber and wife and R.H. DeCamp and 3 children; H.M. Green, wife and 2 boys; Roy Caster, wife and 2 daughters; Jim Baxter, wife and 2 sons. These children caused the need for a school which was established in 1911 with 6 children, Hilda Caster, Paul and Dollie DeCamp, Ida and Edwin Kidder and Roy Batter. The Marie Bassoni cabin was the first school house. James Wasson was the first teacher. Omaha Munier was the next teacher (1913) and Bertha Herrling (Mrs. Pete Kirsch) taught in 1914-15-16. Marie Bassoni donated the grounds for the school house with the request that the school house be used for community gatherings, and many good times was held at this school house. Sunday school and church was held there as were literary meetings, 4th of July celebrations, the Community Christmas Tree. In 1925 the school was discontinued and the pupils transported to Maupin, as soon as the highway was completed.

    Other homesteaders were: Carl Decus, W.E. Hunt, Jerome Kidder, Chas. Skogsberg & father; John, Andrew and Edith Whitten; Hugh and Bert Knight, Elmer Horquist, Mrs. Betsworth, H.R. DeCamp, Arthur and Earl Gamber, Pete Kirsch, Bertha Herrling,_, Ben and Alfred Herrling, Roy Caster, D.L. Rutherford, Murdina McLeod, Allan Canfield, Elmer and George Miller, Bert Appling, M.C. Snelson, Boss Wilkins, Henry Richardson, Frank Sinclair, Tom Moss, Bert McCready, Fressie Martin, H.M. Green, Homer Martin, Arthur Henderson, Bob Thompson, Dave Wilson, Sils Miller, Joe Kramer, Walt Driver, Henry Cramer, Ed Cramer, Walt and Oscar Brown, Oley Holmes, Bertal Nosker, Jeff Winfrey, Jim Baxter, Fred Gray, George Stage, Roy Crabtree, Henry Thomas, Paul Kirsch, Oliver Barton, Jim Axford, Donald Morrison, A.E. Troutman, Sels Miller, Arthur Bonney, Dale Bonney, Herstel Hollis, Ewen McLennon.

Phone

    In 1917 the people got together and built a telephone line to Maupin and later extended it to Ridgeway to serve the 100 people of Criterion. Not one family makes their home there now. Most of the land is owned by Hinton & Ward and by Clarence Hunt, Ed and Alfred Herrling, sheepmen. Carl Ducis donated the cemetery ground in 1918. Mr. Kirsch and I moved to Maupin in 1942 when our Criterion home burned. Our children are Ted, Myrtle Point; Earnest, Condon; Paul, Maupin and Gertrude Hess, Bremerton.

RIDGEWAY

    The post office of Ridgeway was located on the "ridge" at the head of Cow Canyon and about 2 miles southeast of the junction of the Sherman County highway with The Dalles-California highway, and on the old Bakeoven-Cow Canyon Toll road. It was established March 3, 1892 with Mary Cook, postmaster and wife of Harry Cook. Mrs. Chas P. U'Ren was postmaster from 1900 until it was discontinued on Oct. 31, 1905. It was a stage and freight wagon stop, when first established, on the Bakeoven to Prineville run. The Cooks maintained an Inn where meals and lodging could be had and a blacksmith shop where repairs on wagons could be made; and a small sale of tobacco and some emergency groceries. -- (Oregon Hist. Society).

Harry Cook

    Harry Cook was born in England and was a graduate of Oxford University; come to California in 1872 where he and Mary were married and came to Ridgeway in 1885 to remain on his homestead and sheep ranch the rest of his life. His wife died at Oakland, California. Their children were: Fred, who still lives on the Ridgeway ranch; Wm. E. Cook, World War I Veteran who died in the flu epidemic of 1918 and is buried in France; Herbert and Robert; Henry, who is on the Ridgeway ranch and Francis (Mrs. E.G. Rice) of Portland. Harry Cook had a brother who was a physician in Portland.

Chas. P. U'Ren

    While Chas. P. U'Ren's place was on the Deschutes at South Junction, where he was postmaster for 15 years (1931-46); when he first homesteaded on his South Junction ranch (1900) there was no South Junction and he was credited with being a resident of Ridgeway, by Wasco County Assessor; and his wife Mary U'Ren was postmaster at Ridgeway, maintaining the office in their home from 1901 until it was discontinued in 1905. Most of the rest of the families at Ridgeway went to Shaniko for mail after the Shaniko office was established in 1900. In other words the office of Ridgeway was in the Cook home at the head of Cow Canyon until Shaniko was established, then it was moved to the U'Ren home at South Junction. The South Junction post office was not established until the building of the railroad up the Deschutes river in 1911 and its first postmasters were railroad agents (dispatchers) the names we did not have for the record under South Junction.

    Charles P. U'Ren was born at Cheyenne, Wyoming (1868), the first white child born in Cheyenne. His father was Wm. U'Ren, tool dresser for the Union Pacific railroad and was born in England as was his wife Francis Ivy. Chas. U'Ren received his education in Colorado, Nebraska and Oregon, indicating his father followed railroad building in those areas. He came to The Dalles with his parents when he was only 14 (1882) where his father was employed by the O.R.& N railroad when it was first extended into The Dalles. Later the father homesteaded in the Cow Canyon area and in 1889 he married Mary Johnston, daughter of Wm. and Sophia (Borches) Johnston, superintendent of schools at Prineville (1887-90) and a Cross Keys (Trout Creek) homesteader. Their children were: Charles A. U'Ren, Oregon State Policeman of The Dalles who married Veva Bolter of Cross Keys, daughter of John Bolter and have a daughter Donna; Salina (Mrs. John Baker) Portland;_.Francis (Mrs. Walter Cowherd) The Dalles; Bessie (Mrs. Henry Swinhof) a Sacramento, California nurse; Margaret (Mrs. J.J. Gard) Portland. Chas. P. U'Ren's brother Tom went to Johannesburg, South Africa where he died. His son Wm. runs a store at Dayton, Oregon. -- Mrs. C.P. U'Ren.

1898 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1898 lists the following pioneer Ridgeway settlers: H.W. Cook, sheepman; Mary (Mrs. H.W.) Cook, postmaster; Walter Davy, cattle; Geo. Dodd, John Farre, R. Hockley, W. Johnson, W. Lyle, M. Maxwell, Chas. B. Neal, E.S.F. Newcome, Herbert C. Rooper (biography under Antelope); H. Smith, Joe Smith, Chas. U'Ren and George Young.

Ridgeway by James W. Fisher of The Dalles

    Walt Davy moved to Molalla; George Dodd sold to Cook and went to Madras. John Farre was a black­smith at Antelope and later went to Burns. R. Hockley lived near Bakeoven. Wm. Lyle's cattle ranch on Hay Creek is now the Chet Kennedy ranch just above the Priday place. George Young sold to McLennan and the place is a part of Hinton & Wards. Maraduke Maxwell, a single man and avid athiest sold to Hinton and moved down on the coast. E.S.F. Newcome was a single cattleman and went back to England where he had an aunt who was going to will him her estate but she outlived him! H.C. Rooper went to Antelope. Henry Smith, sheepman, sold to McKay and his daughter Mrs. Wm. Malone lives at Metolius.

George A. Young

    George A. Young of Ridgeway and Shaniko, was President of the Oregon Wool Growers Association, a member of the Oregon Pioneers, was a carpenter, butcher, sheep and cattle stockman, real estate broker of Shaniko, hotel man, miner and one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county, promoting the growth of Shaniko region and the railroad into Shaniko that did so much for people of that area around 1900-1911.

    He was born at Middlesex Village, Mass. (1833) son of John and Nancy (Nutting) Young. Dan Nutting, Nancy's father served 8 years in the American Revolution and lost a thumb in the battle of Bunkerhill. He came to Oregon in 1857 by boat and was first a carpenter on Fort Yamhill; then (1862) ran a hotel in Salem; (1863) mined in Idaho; (1864) built the Overland hotel and operated it at Boise; (1869-74) mined in Idaho; 1874 came to Ridgeway with son Fred and bought a sheep ranch which they operated as George Young & Son, with Fred the manager. George continued to live in Portland where he operated the Occi­dental and Clarendon hotels. By 1880 he began to like Ridgeway better than Portland, moved up to Ridgeway, bought out his son Fred and managed the 7000 acre ranch with its 16,000 head of sheep and 150 cattle until his retirement in 1904 to Shaniko where he became a broker and money lender.

    He married Lydia Heald of Anson, Me and their children were: Fred, mentioned above, who went to Idaho; Agnes (Mrs. Sheridan Soule) Billings, Mont. and Georgia (Mrs. F.D. Shepherd)  Portland. Mr. Young lived the rest of his life at Shaniko. -- Biography from History of Central Oregon.

CROSS HOLLOWS (Shaniko)

    The little known and forgotten post office of Cross Hollows, predecessor to Shaniko, 58 miles south of The Dalles an The Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight road, was established May 23, 1879 and operated until May 27, 1887. In 1878 August Schernackau built a store, hotel and blacksmith shop on the old Dalles to Canyon City road camping spot at Cross Hollows spring (where Shaniko gets its water) and where the two Hollows made a perfect cross, from which the place took its name. In addition to his store and Inn he operated a saloon and was the first postmaster. He did an immense business which the History of Central Oregon said, "ran as high as $50,000 a year." Mr. Shaniko, whose name was shortened by Indians and freighters who couldn't spell or pronounce Schernackau, had originally came from the Boar district of South Africa and was of Dutch descent and a single man. He sold out to Wm. Parr, who became the 2nd postmaster of Cross Hollows and Inn and store operator. Mr. Shaniko moved to Astoria where he later became Mayor. Mr. Parr operated the business until May 27, 1887 when he moved his stock of goods over to Antelope, closed the Inn and post office of Cross Hollows, 68 years ago.

    Cross Hollows (old Shaniko) should not be confused with Cross Keys, another post office on Trout Creek, established July 3, 1878 on The Dalles to Prineville road and discontinued by John Bolter July 31, 1902 after which time the mail was sent to the Ridgeway post office. No one knows why it was named Cross Keys. The name Indicates that a horse or ranch brand was the inspiration for the name.

    Jim Clark, keeper of the Burnt Ranch stage station, on The Dalles to Canyon City run, was the car­penter who built the large 16 room Inn and store for August Shaniko at Cross Hollows in 1878. It was needed as a place to change horses, on the stages, in both directions in bad weather. Cross Hollows was the eastern terminus for Joseph Henry Sherar's toll road. It was also the junction point for The Dalles to Boise Military Road Company’s free road down through Sherman county to the Cordon and Free bridges.

    Jess Fleming of Bakeoven says, "my dad, Frank Fleming, hauled freight from The Dalles to Cross Hollow for August Schernackau, but I did not know there was a post office there. Dad and Edw. C. Pease, of The Dalles used to joke about how the freight for Schernackau was simply marked A.S. as no one could spell Schernackau's name! The simplified spelling became Shaniko, the name for the present town of Shaniko. Earnest Schmidt of Maupin tells me that August Schernackau was the first postmaster of Cross Hollows until he sold to Gus Schmidt (Earnest's father) who became the postmaster until it was discontinued. Mrs. Otto Hinkle of The Dalles is another of Gus Schmidt's children and could probably tell more."

Gus Schmidt

    Gus Sshmidt was born in Germany (1856) where he received his early education which included the know­ledge of six languages. He went to California (1874); settled on Cherry creek (1888) where he married Antonie Schmidt and moved to Cross Hollows in 1887 where he homesteaded and ran as many as three bands of sheep in the open country out there then  and lived in the 16-room Inn or hotel of Cross Hollows using the old Schernackau store for a wool shed and bunk house for the men. Their children were: Armen of Canby; Agnes (Mrs. Otto Hinckle of The Dalles; Hattie (Mrs. Art Hanna) Mosier; Max Schmidt of Mosier; Earnest Schmidt of Maupin; Otto Schmidt of Canby and Alaska; Arthur Schmidt of Ridgeway (Shaniko) and Lucielle (Mrs. Carl Thompson) The Dalles. -- Biography by Mrs. Otto Hinkle.

    As this biography indicates Mr. Schmidt did not come to Cross Hollows until after the post office was discontinued (May 27,1887) and the Cross Hollow store supplies were moved to Antelope by Wm. Farr. Mrs. Hinkle claimed her father did not conduct a store at Cross Hollows. They did put up a few hungry travelers, freighters etc. in their 16 room home, occasionally, and sold flour and other items to neighbors, who ran out of provisions, at times; but never conducted a store business. Mr. Schmidt did later operate a saloon in Shaniko. They are 2nd oldest Wasco County family of Shaniko (Cross Hollows).

Thomas A. Ward

    Thomas A. Ward became one of the first drivers for Henry H. Wheeler when he established The Dalles to Canyon City stage and express service in 1884! He maintained the first small stage station and Inn at Cross Hollows from 1864, until they sold put to August Schernackau (1878). It was not a post office that early and the only other station between there and The Dalles was at Sherars Bridge (established 1860). Howard Maupin kept the next stage station at Antelope and Jim Clark kept the next one to the southeast at Burnt Ranch. It was a long, hard, rough, severe drive, each trip, over those rock-strewn 58 miles to Cross Hollows, from The Dalles. Hostile Snake Indians, who hid in the caves of the Deschutes river, near Sherars Bridge, took delight in firing upon the stages and their passengers and horses. Even under the best of conditions, we don't see how it was possible for Thomas Ward to have continued as a  driver for those 12 long years! It was pioneers like Mr. Ward that made settlement of that country possible! Mr. Ward is therefore listed in this history as another one of the most out­standing men in the 100 years of Wasco County History! Who, in 1952, would be man enough to be able to ride a stageooach for 12 years! They just don't make iron men like that anymore!

    Thomas A. Ward (1846-1903) was born in Wisconsin son of John H. Ward who came west as a California and Virginia City, Nev. miner. He was married (1876) at the Spanish Gulch Mines, in Grant County to Mary L. Kerns, daughter of Wm. Kerns, 1852 pioneers of the Mt. Tabor district of Portland. Their children were Elmer and Lulu Ward, both single, and Rex Ward of The Dalles who married Maude Coleman and who have a son Tom Ward of The Dalles who was for 4 years clerk of The Dalles Co. H., Oregon National Guard, during its south sea island campaign against the Japs in World War 2 and who follows the feed and grain business in The Dalles, graduate of The Dalles High School and namesake of his grand­father.

    After selling to August Schernackau, Thomas Ward established the Nansene stage station, just above Dufur in Long Hollow and was first postmaster there (1878-1884). Then he went in the hotel and livery stable business in The Dalles (Ward & Robertson) where the auditorium is now located; and was sheriff of Wasco county in 1892; died in The Dalles in 1903 after an outstanding pioneer life of service.

SHANIKO

    The post office of Shaniko, an the Sherman County highway, 11 miles north of the function with The Dalles-California highway and 58 miles south of The Dalles, on the old Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight road via Sherars Bridge and Bakeoven; was established March 31, 1900 with John Wilcox the first postmaster. It was formerly known and called Cross Hollows in 1887.

The Railroad

    In the fall of 1899 it became generally known that the Columbia Southern railroad would be extended from Moro and Grass Valley into Cross Hollows terminal. Surveyors laid out a new townsite, after the Moore Brothers of Moro had bought the land. A bank, warehouse, general store and railroad terminal buildings were in the original plans which created a lot of southern Wasco county excite­ment. The Times-Mountaineer, is quoted in the History of Central Oregon as saying on Sept. 20, 1899: "The Columbia Southern railroad will be pushed on south from Moro to Cross Hollows as rapidly as pos­sible and that place will for years (12) to come, be the terminus for the road, for when it is completed into Cross Hollows there will be little reason for building it further, as it will be in a position to handle all freight traffic for many miles to the south. A number of Dalles people have interested themselves in the place, among them being Wentworth Lord and W.C. Laughlin who have taken stock in the Shaniko Warehouse Co., which proposes to erect a large wool and grain warehouse and do a general for­warding, storage and commission business. They have also taken an interest in the Shaniko Townsite Co., with a capital of $48,000 ($160,000 1952), the purpose of which is to acquire title to realty, build a waterworks, electric light plant etc. The incorporators are B.F. Laughlin, Edw. C. Pease, D.M. French, Wentworth Lord and J.W. French all of The Dalles; and W.H. and H.A. Moore of Moro. The interest of these gentlemen indicates there is money back of the town of Shaniko which is one of the things needed to put it going."

    The Shaniko township plat was filed with the County Clerk of Wasco County by W.H. and Laura Moore Sept. 8, 1699. The first building erected was by G.G. Wiley in March 1900. The Shaniko Townsite Co. built a two-story house soon afterwards, making the 2nd building. The Townsite Co. laid out the grades for streets and sidewalks, planned the water, and sewer system for the 30 block city, with business streets 100 feet wide and residential streets 80 feet wide! The Shaniko Warehouse Co. was incorporated in September 1899 for $42,000. The Townsite Company announced in the Portland Oregonian that the rail­road would be completed into Shaniko April 1, 1901, and that Shaniko would become the largest wool market in the world! (It was). By March 1900 more than 100 men were employed in Shaniko "tent city", there being only one wooden building erected! -- and used for a saloon and gambling house! By April 20, 1900 the application for the post office had been granted as of March 31 1900 with John Wilcox the first postmaster. By May 13, 1900 the first railroad construction train rolled into Shaniko and two days later passenger and freight trains followed. The June 1, 1900 federal census showed Shaniko's population to be 172. The water system when completed in July 1900 cost the Townsite Co. $20,000 and was obtained from a big spring, like that at Maupin.

First Fire

    The first "big fire" hit Shaniko Oct. 2,1900 and took Pease & Mays 100 square foot store and Houghton and Henry's Drug store. Pease & Mays carried a $20,000 stock of merchandise. The total loss was $33,000.

Incorporation

    Shaniko was incorporated Feb. 9, 1901 with F.T. Hurlbert, mayor; E. Lewis, recorder; Del Howell, marshal; and councilmen Cy Cooper, of Fairbanks and Dufur, harness maker; N.M. Lane, blacksmith; Fern Batty, George Ross, H. Bruner and F. Lucas. By 1902 the railroad shops were completed and the warehouse stored 4,000,000 pounds of wool!, for shipment and 400 cars of cattle were shipped! Stage coach service to central and eastern Oregon, left daily.

Other postmasters

    Following John Wilcox in office as postmaster were: Alfred Sanford, Archie McCullough, Leola Stocker, Mr. Beaugard, Mrs. Dick Kinney and Maude Garrett, the present postmaster. John Coe 1910.

Shaniko 1903-1910

    G.M. Cornet operated stages to Prineville and Mitchell. Population 300. A.C. Sanford was postmaster. Some of the stage drivers were Wm. Neal, Richard Hoffer, Fred McCormick, Harry Adams, Wm. Rose, Walter Check, John Sumner, Benjamin Dougherty, Tom Hulzler, M.G. Miller, Tom Sharp, Chas. Carey, Wm. Ledford, Frank Barnett, Grover Ewing, Glenn Eyre, Lester Miner, P.K. Simonds. 1910 population 600. Wm. Kelsey farmed between Shaniko and Kent, now the Mobley place. The telephone line was extended from Shaniko to Prineville in 1904. Wool shipped amounted to 5,000,000 pounds annually, besides the wheat and live­stock. In those days, old times say, "Shaniko never had a cemetery because nobody ever died a natural death; and those killed in gun battles were left for Coyote food; and those who drank themselves to death were poured back into the keg, a yeast cake added, and left to 'work' again!"

Deschutes Railroad Boom

    The Deschutes railroad construction boom in 1910-11, saw Shaniko's muddy streets and board side­walks lined with construction laborers, teamsters, stockmen, gamblers, cow punchers, sheep herders, women camp followers, in true western dime-store novels manner without parallel since the 1860's in The Dalles! Its saloons and gambling halls dwarfed the churches. Towhy Brothers brought strings of 25 or 30 men into a restaurant at a time, for meals. The hotels were crowded. Teamsters kept the roads in a fog of dust or a mire of mud. The livery stables did a big business. The merchandise stores sold ranchers a YEAR of supplies at one time, not a week's supply, like we buy in 1952! The anvils at the village blacksmith shops rang out their tunes 16 hours a day, in good weather, while their horse­shoers swore at the beasts in many languages. Harness makers worked early and late, repairing harness, making new harness or working on saddles, shoes or other leather equipment. Such was the picture at Shaniko from

1900 to 1915.

Shaniko 1910

    The Dalles directory of 1910 listed 270 names of Shaniko residents, mostly transients, and claimed the city had a population of 800, was a growing and prosperous town with the best water system in the state, good schools, first class hotels, telephone and telegraph service. Cafe owners were Price & Potter, Richard Ruder, Harvey Ashton & Al Baker, besides the Shaniko and Columbia Southern Hotels. There were 7 saloons and gambling halls. Livery stables were Randall & Baker, Delmar Howell and John Flanagan and Chester Ward. Gus Reader had a harness shop. Cy Cooper had moved his harness shop to Dufur. General stores were Pease & Mays, managed by Tom Gavin (Fire Chief) and brother of John Gavin of The Dalles; R.M. Berglund, A. B. Estebenet and Alfred C. Sanford, M.M. Lane and Wm. Hatten operated blacksmith shops. The Cornet stages had gave way to the Bend auto stages. Dr. James Graham was the Shaniko physician. The Shaniko Leader and Shaniko Star were the two newspapers. The Eastern Oregon Banking Co., with a capital of $50,000 was headed by T.S. Hamilton, President and Ed. French as Vice-­president. The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. had completed a line into Prineville by 1904. W.H. Moody operated the warehouse. Frank Hulbert started the Shaniko bank.

Shaniko 1952

    The extension of the railroads into central Oregon in 1910 took all the business away from Shaniko that justified its investments and creation 10 years earlier. The building of the highway in 1925 definitely put an end to its importance. Today it has a post office with Maude Garrett, postmaster; the Olson general store with John Reeder, manager; the Shaniko Hotel; the grain elevator managed by Wm. Reese, a service station and a few houses and other buildings. A number of the dwellings was torn down and moved to Madras and other localities and some of the buildings burned. Shaniko enjoys a fine climate and the view of 9 snow-capped mountain peaks, still has fine water and a good school.

Gus Reeder

    Gus Reeder, farmer, deputy sheriff, harness maker, mayor, marshal; came to Shaniko in 1894 from Iowa with his brother Mike and went into the sheep business and later (1906-1950) was a Shaniko business man. He married Minnie Burr, daughter of Aaron Burr of Shaniko and their children were: John Reeder, manager of Olson's store in Shaniko; Ralph of Portland; Elsie (Mrs. Tom Jones) of Moro with whom Gus (85) stays,and Margaret of Portland. Mike Reeder had a boy Fred of Orchards, Wash. Gus Reeder is considered one of the most outstanding men in the history of Shaniko. -- Biography by Gatch Bolton.

James McHargue

    James McHargue, 1904 hotelman of Shaniko was born (1851) at Brownsville, Ore. son of James and Sarah (Montgommery) McHargue, 1647 covered wagon pioneers. He married Mary Kinney and their children were: Wm., John, Flora, Margaret Shaw and Lillie who married Wm. Reese, manager of the Shaniko Elevator and warehouse, and who still reside in Shaniko.

Norris Lane

    Norris Lane the blacksmith of Shaniko (1904-1010) was born at Eugene son of Andrew and Indiana (Smith) Lane; came to Bakeoven and started a blacksmith shop in 1891 in partnership with his brother Lewis L. Lane, blacksmith of The Dalles associated with Frank Sexton. In 1900 he established his blacksmith and harness shop in Shaniko, employing from 3 to 5 men. He married Elizabeth Whitsett and had son Floyd.

A.R. Altermatt

    A.R. Altermatt, banker and outstanding painter of Wasco county; came from Minn. to Shaniko where he worked in the bank. His wife Louise recently died in The Dalles and his sons Robert and Darrel live in California. His best known work was "The Emigrants Crossing at the Mouth of the Deschutes" which hangs in the Wasco county courthouse, "Mt. Hood From Lost Lake;" and "Horses on the Range Hear Shaniko." Little as we know of Mr. Altermatt he is never-the-less one of the most outstanding men in our history.

George Ward

    George Ward, half owner and manager of the 90,000 acre Hinton & Ward livestock and wheat ranch, the largest ranch in Wasco county which lies between Bakeoven and Shaniko on the old stage road as well as The Dalles-California highway; was the son of Chester and Mary (Gibson) Ward, farmer and feed yard owner of Antelope (1900-1920) where Mr. Ward was born about 1914. He married Mary Hampton, daughter of Chas. Hampton; furniture merchant of The Dalles. The ranch employs up to 40 men and runs up to 80,000 sheep.

James W. Fisher

    James W. (Shaniko) Fisher of The Dalles was born (1873) at Salem and went to his Shaniko sheep and cattle ranch In 1900. Was son of James and Mary (Starkey) Fisher 1852 pioneers. He married Dolly Brown and they have a daughter Helen (Mrs. Joe McMemamin) Seattle. Mr. Fisher assisted with this Shaniko history.

Alfred C. Sanford

    Alfred C. Sanford, whose biography appears on page 253 under Wapinitia was a 1902-06 pioneer merchant of Shaniko and Madras at the same time; moving from these places on account of his wife's failing health; went to Spokane in 1911 where he was a special postal agent, appointed by Frank Hitchcock to work out a better postal bookkeeping methods in eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana as well as Oregon, finally building a factory at Centralia, Wash. and died in Portland in 1923. He operated a stage line out of Arlington, Oregon before he came to Shaniko and Moro. While postmaster at Shaniko, the volume of mail was third highest in Oregon, and the boys he trained at Shaniko were sent directly to Portland and San Francisco main offices for employment in bookkeeping departments! At the time of his death in 1923 his son Fendel Sanford lived in Long Beach, California and his daughters were: Mrs. Randall Fries, Spokane; Mrs. Stephen Price, Centralia, Wash.; Mrs. Louis Falkenhagen of Grants Pass and Velva Sanford of Portland. His first store was in a tent in Shaniko in 1900. He enjoyed a large trade in groceries and hardware, shoes, hats, wagons, plows, stoves etc.; was a Shaniko councilman and school director. His entire life has added much to the growth of Wamic, Wapinitia, Arlington, Moro, Shaniko, Madras, Spokane, Centralia and the progress of the postal service. He is therefore credited as being one of the most outstanding men in the 100 years of Wasco county history. – Bio. by Glayds McCallister, R. 3, Bend, Ore. -- next Peterson Rock Gardens.

ANTELOPE

    The post office of Antelope was established August 7, 1871, 85 miles southeast of The Dalles on the old Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight wagon road. Howard Maupin was the first settler and he was the caretaker for the old Antelope stage station which Henry Wheeler established in 1864. Mr. Nathan Wallace was the first postmaster with the office at first located at "old Antelope" about 2 miles east of the present town, where Howard Maupin had his stage station. The History of Central Oregon quotes the Antelope Herald of August 12, 1692 as saying:

    "On the old Antelope location, 2 miles east of the present town, Nathan W. Wallace settled in 1870. It was in 1873 that "old Antelope" came into existence. In 1873 he officiated as host at the stage station. He secured the post office which was named Antelope and of which he became first postmaster. The town had a blacksmith shop and in 1879 a store was added by Nate Baird, who later became postmaster. In 1891 the toxin was moved to its present location, owned by Nate Baird and B.F. Laughlin. During the earlier days of 1870's hostile Indians made raids in this section of the country and the old Nathan Wallace home was built on the "stockade plan", with loop holes through the heavy hewn logo. It was a frequent rendezvous for the scattered settlers."

Howard Maupin

    Howard Maupin was born in Kentucky (1815) leaving home as a 15 year old boy for the frontier of the west pushing on to Oregon in the "big emigration." of 1852 first settling in Lane county but returning to the Antelope area in 1863 where he had the first homestead and operated a horse ranch for the benefit of the miners and pack train operators heading for the mines at Canyon City. His closest neighbor was Andrew Clarno, 20 miles east on the John Day! His closest friend was Joseph Henry Sherar who operated a pack train to Canyon City from The Dalles and who named the station or ranch, kept by Howard Maupin (an old Mexican War Veteran of 1846), Antelope Station, after the many antelopes  to be seen and which provided meat for the miners and pack train operators going through Antelope valley to Burnt Ranch and Mitchell Maupin also had a few head of cattle, which, like the horses, he sold to his Antelope Station guests who always arrived hungry.

    The Indians had been in the habit of raiding Maupin's stock, were molesting and killing miners and travelers. Soon as Nathan Wallace came to Antelope (1870) Maupin sold out to him and Wallace operated the stage station and started the post office. Maupin moved over on Trout Creek. The Indians continued to raid him over there, stealing his horses at night from the corral and one night he grabbed his trusty musket and killed one of them near his house (cabin); but this didn't put an and to their raiding.

Killing of Chief Paulina.

    The Prineville Shopper of August 4, 1949, on file at the Oregon State Library carries the following story on the killing of Chief Paulina by Howard Maupin:

    Chief Paulina was killed in 1867 by Howard Maupin, keeper of a stage station on The Dalles to Canyon City Stage route at Antelope. He had moved over to another stage station on Trout Creek (near Ashwood) and just previous to that time, the renegade Indian Chief Paulina had stole some of his horses, used on The Dalles to Canyon City Stage line, some of which belonged to James N. Clark (1866) stage driver between Antelope and Mitchell (for Henry H. Wheeler). Both Maupin and Clark were on the lookout for the Chief and his raiding band.

    So on the morning (1867) that Clark spotted the Indians in the Burnt Ranch section of the run, (which took its name from the fire set by the Indians to Clark's property there); he turned the stage around, at the first opportunity and drove back to Maupin's station, at Antelope and told him the Indian raiders were passing through from Andrew Clarno's place with some of Clarno's cattle, and headed toward the Deschutes river, and that that was the opportunity to give them a dose of their own medicine.

    They put the stage teams up and started out on their saddle horses with their rifles to find and follow the raiders. The Indians had a band of 25 head of cattle and horses which they had stolen and were therefore easy to follow. They trailed them to their Trout Creek camp, eluding the Indian lookouts. They crawled up as close as they could to the Indians and open fired with their rifles. One Indian fell mortally wounded. The rest scattered into the nearby bushes and fled into the hills on foot, leading the dead and any wounded, their livestock, horses and supplies behind. Coming into camp, upon the mortally wounded Indian, Clark saw he was not dead and pumped some more hot lead into him until he was dead; then went on in search of other Indians, as did Maupin, but without success. They returned to

the camp, scalped the dead Indian, rounded up the livestock and drove them back to the Antelope Ranch Stage Station.

    It was not until later, after they had further examined the articles they had picked up in the Indian camp, that they determined that the renegade Chief Paulina was the Indian that they had mortally wounded and killed, then scalped. Their conclusions were later confirmed by Warm Springs Indians, to where some of Paulina's followers took refuge and told the story of his death.

    This put an end to most of The Dalles to Canyon City Stage Station and stock robberies. The Indians were taught a lesson, by the old Mexican War Veteran, "to leave the property of the white man's stage stations alone or he would trail them down and shoot to kill with his high powered rifles!" Howard Maupin and Jim Clark's dead in killing Chief Paulina and breaking up his Indian raiding band made that section of southern Wasco county safer for settlement. We therefore list both Howard Maupin and Jim Clark as two more of the most outstanding men in the 100 years of Wasco county history.

    It is said that Howard Maupin went back and got the bones and kept them on display in his cabin till it burned and now only a monument near Ashwood marks the spot of Paulina's death. Howard Maupin married (1841) Nancy McCullum and had Perry who founded the town of Maupin; Elizabeth; Rachel; Garrett and Nancy. Howard Maupin died at Antelope in 1878 and a monument at Ashwood, near his Trout Creek home, marks the final resting place of this outstanding pioneer.

Nathan Wallace

    Nathan Wallace 2nd settler of Antelope (1870), blacksmith, cattle man, store, hotel keeper and first postmaster of Antelope was born (1832) in Ohio son of Ephirian and Elizabeth Wallace; came to Yamhill county with the "big emigration" of 1852; served 8 months as a Veteran of the Yakima Indian War of 1858 following which he married Sarah Naught, daughter of John Naught, 1853 emigrant from Illinois. He came back to The Dalles during the 1884 Smallpox Epidemic, where he ran a horse-drawn ambulance for The Dalles Hospital while his wife nursed the many afflicted patients; remained in The Dalles as a black­smith until 1888 when he went to Current Creek (near Mitchell) for a year following blacksmith work and raising stock and settled in Antelope in 1870, where he acquired Howard Maupin's holdings in Old Antelope and ran The Dalles to Canyon City Stage Station, a small store, blacksmith shop and established the post­office and was the first postmaster of Antelope. He retired in Antelope in 1897 and died there in 1904. He appears to be the second of Antelope's outstanding citizens. The Wallace children were: Fred, who went to Bend; Chas. of Antelope; Aliva (Mrs. J.P. Lucas) Goldendale; Minnie (Mrs. Geo. Herbert) Cornucopia; Jessie (Mrs. James Oakes) Wheeler county; Annie (Mrs. Chas. Winneck) Prineville -- History Central Oregon.

The Present ANTELOPE

    In 1881 the Dalles to Canyon City Stage Route was changed from the Maupin-Wallace Stage Station at Old Antelope to the present town and location of Antelope. As previously stated Nate Bird and B. F. Laughlin (of The Dalles) bought up the present site of Antelope; platted the town of Antelope (1882) and incorporated the City Government in 1883. Nate Baird had moved his store to the present site of Antelope in 1881 and Nathan Wallace followed with his blacksmith shop and so "young Antelope" was started. Dr. Owsley built the new Antelope Stage Station, which Mr. Wallace acquired and moved to "new Antelope" along with his store and post office.” A man named Carter," says the History of Central Oregon, "built Tammany Hall," a community meeting center and "city hall". In 1887 Wm. Farr closed out his big store and post office at Cross Hollows (Shaniko) and moved over to Antelope, making Antelope a far more imp­ortant place, without the competition of Cross Hollows, 7 miles to the west. Then one of two more stores moved in and Antelope took on importance. The Antelope Herald was quoted by the History of Central Oregon on September 21 1892 as saying:

    "Antelope is witnessing a great boom. Lumber is being hauled from the mills and piled up awaiting the action of carpenters to convert it into business houses, residences, etc. Everyone is improving his property and erecting new additions thereto. Town lots are selling at a rapid rate and at good prices. Outsiders are beginning to realize the advantages of living at Antelope and sending their children to school here when the now school house is completed. E.M. Wingats established his general merchandise store with Frank Irving; the Antelope Herald; the drug store by Dr. Franks and John Silvertooth; enlarging the Laughlin hotel; a warehouse by Wilbur Bolton; the new school house; barber and shoe repair shops; organizations and residences."

    "The hard times of 1893 did not effect Antelope much, the Herald later reported, "and the movement to incorporate in 1883 was delayed to 1898 when the people petitioned Wasco County Court for the privilege of voting upon the question of incorporation. They "alleged" that there were 170 people within the proposed boundaries and the petition was signed by 51 electors. The September session of the County Court granted the request and the election was held Oct. 19, 1898 and carried by a vote of 33 to 14. Those elected were John Hollingshead, mayor and aldermen S.W. Patterson, John McLennon, Wilbur Bolton, Nate Baird, W.H. Silvertooth, Nathan Wallace, T.S. Cook, marshall and Frank Irvine, treasurer.

    “In 1897 Antelope had 2 general merchandise stores operated by Wilbur Bolton and Co. and Frank Irvine; a drug store by Dr. R.J. Pilkington, physician and surgeon; blacksmith shops by Peter Kirchheiner and Antone Nelson; 3 saloons by F.W. Silvertooth, McLennan & McBeth and McKay & Tunny; 4 hotels by W.J. Ashby, Nathan Wallace, McLennan & McBeth and Mrs. M.E. Perrin; a barber shop by G.E. Patterson; 2 livery stables by W.J. Ashby and Henry Dyce; a harness shop by C.F. Perrin; a meat market by G.E. Patterson; the Antelope Herald edited by M.E. Miller; a furniture store and undertaking parlor by E.J. Glisan; a bowling alley by E.C. Dickerson; a stationary store and post office by J.T. Bennett.

The Big Fire

    "The big fire of July 11, 1898 at 2:30 A.M. wiped out the business district of Antelope in one hour! It originated in the Condon Bowling alley and would have taken the town had not the wind changed! The Antelope Hotel blazed so fast the guests barely escaped with their lives! The livery stable was taken next and then Kirchheiner's blacksmith shop, Dr. Pilkington's drug store; the post office; Glisan & Brown's furniture; McNeth’s saloon and hotel; the Scott building; Silvertooth's saloon; Patterson's store then Bolton's store. On the north side of Main all the buildings were taken. The loss was placed at $70,000 ($280,000 1952). The town was gradually rebuilt and a good gravity water system installed for fire protection, hose, hose carts, ladders, hooks, buckets, axes, which cost the city $4000.

    "The building of the Columbia Southern railroad into Shaniko in 1900 did not kill or in any way effect Antelope. The 1903 assessed valuation of Antelope was $48,800. It had a Masonic, Eastern Star, United Workmen, Degree of Honor, Odd Follows and Sheep Camp No. 387 of Woodmen of the World, besides a Methodist and Episcopal church and fine schools." -- History of Central Oregon.

Other Postmasters

    Postmasters following Nathan Wallace were Nate Baird, T.H. McGreer, Wilbur Bolton, Wm. Menefee, J.T. Bennett, F.N. Wallace, James Hamilton, Wm. E. Johnson, J.A. Rooper, W.N. Rooper, Florence Johnson, Edith Hastings, Thelma Resse, Addis Dickson, Archibald McCulley (1908-9).

Up to 1901 mail was brought out by The Dalles to Canyon City stage; since then by rail and truck.

1883 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1883 lists the following pioneer settlers of the Antelope vicinity:

    J.B. Ashby family who have all left the Antelope vicinity; Nate Baird, early merchant, all of family has left; Tom Berry; Andrew Clarno (see Clarno history); Mrs. C.C. Caldwell; Ike and S. Darbin families have all left; J.N. Friend; Gilman Brothers, left early; D.D. Gray, left early; W.L. Hinkle sold to Tom Brogan in 1900 and left; N. Kelsey; Dan S. Kinney family have all gone; C. Perry Maupin, son of Howard Maupin, (first settler of Antelope), became the first settler of Maupin; J.C. Murphy family all left, son Frank works at Joseph Wilson school in The Dalles; W.H. Peugh, N. Provo, H.R, Rowland, J.W. Scoggin, W.F. Woodbridge, T.A. Wright, W. D. Lord, Hugh Fraser and O.W. Porter all 1eft early (befere 1900); August Schenechau (see Cross Hollows) went to Astoria; Henry Steers, father of Joe of The Dalles came to The Dalles early. -- List checked with Robert Rooper, merchant of Antelope and The Dalles.

1898 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1898 listed the following settlers of Antelope:

    J.B. & W.J. Ashby, livery stable men have all left Antelope; Lem Axe; Nate Baird family have all gone; Joe Barmon; Geo. Baxter; John Baxter, son of George; T.J. Bennett; Frank Bishop; Wilbur Bolton, general merchandise (see biography); Frank Bradford, single; Phil Brogan family have all gone; Duncan Chisholm, stockman; Chauncy Clark, farmer; Andrew, Charlie and John Clarno (see under Clarno); George Cochrane; Tom Condon, ran bowling alley and had daughter Evelyn; F.T. Cook, carpenter; Tom Coughtin, herder; T.E. & Walt Cowell families have all gone; Wm. Crowe, herder, deceased; Dan Crowley moved to Portland but owns an Antelope ranch; F.M. Diel; L.T. Dam, blacksmith; E.C. Dickerson, livery barn has a son Lewis at Antelope; C.B. Don, stock; Wm. Donaldson, herder; Andrew Dougherty, herder; Wm. H. Duffy; C.B. Durbin, stock; John Finlayson, stock; Columbus Friend went to Ashwood; Horace Gamble was a carp­enter; E.J. Glisan operated a furniture store and was an undertaker; E.T. Glisan have descendants at Maupin; Allen Grant was a farmer; John Grant, stockman; W.J. Grayson, herder; James Gregory, teamster; Wm. Griffith, farmer; Sam Glover, The Dalles; Al Groshon, herder; W.O. Hadley, jeweler; E.B. Haley, teacher; James Hamilton, carpenter; John and Tom Harper stage drivers and mail contractors to Prine­ville; Nat Harrington, herder; Chas. Haynes; Wade Herman, farmer; Tom Hennighan, bartender; W.L. Hinkle, farmer; Chas. Hixon; John Hollingshead, mayor.

    Frank Irvine, store (see biography); John Jann; Isaac Jenkers, farmer; A.P. & Chas. Jones, stockmen; A. Keaton, farmer; Alec, Dan, J.F., J.P., R.A. and Wm. Kelsay, sheepmen and sheep herders are all gone; W.E. Kemp; D.S. Kimsey (see biography); Frank Kincade, teamster; A.M. Kirchheimer, insurance; P. H. Kirchheimer, blacksmith; Antone Knapp; Dan Larkins, farmer; Mike Larkins, herder; Rev. D.H. Leech; Chas. Levine, stockman; John Little, stockman; Hugh Lloyd, herder; Chas. Lund; J.D. McAudie, stockman; John, Rod and Duncan McAuley, stockmen; Finley McBeth; Wm. McBurney, herder; J.W. & Asher McCollum, teamsters; Robert & Kenneth McDonald, farmers; Geo. McFawn; T.H. Greer, stockman has son Hugh at Antelope; J. F. McIntosh, herder; F. McKay, stockman; Murdock McKay, still at Antelope; D. Kelsey, teamster.

    J. McLellan, saloon; Alec, Donald and Elmer McLennon, saloonmen have all left; Duncan & Don McRae, stockmen have all left; John May, herder; Chas. Merritt; M.E. Miller, meat market; A. Marsh, harder; Dan Marrisey, herder; C. Perry Maupin, son of Howard Maupin, first settler of Antelope, has daughters Eva and Jesse in California; John May, herder; Chas. Merritt; Tom Moore; Geo. Morgan, herder; James Morgan, herder; Chas. Murphy, farmer; Martin Murray; Louis Nelson; Fay & E.R. Newton, herders; Chas. Nolin; Dan Norman, herder; C.C. O'Neal, ranch foreman; W.M. Ostrander, herder; Mike Sullivan, herder; Colbert Patterson, herder; George Patterson, barber; G.W. Patterson, shoe maker; Chas. Ferrin, harness; Mrs. M.E. Perrin, hotel; Dr. R.J. Pilkington, physician and surgeon and druggist; Chas Powne, clerk.

    T.J. Reese, farmer; J.N. Rayburn, farmer; Chas. Riley, blacksmith; A.D. Robbin; Bert Rodgers, farmer; C.W. Rutherford; Al Russel, laundry; Gus and Mike Reader, sheepmen and Gus Reeder is now (1952) the oldest resident and citizen of Shaniko; Gus Schmidt, stock; Dave Scott; E.M. Shutt, editor Antolope Herald; Felix Silvertooth, saloon; Geo. Slocum, stock; Frank Spicer, farmer; Frank and Henry Stark, farmers; E.M. Stephens; Zachary Taylor, stock; John Thompson, herder; I.L. Troth, stock; J.D. Tunny, sawmlll; Elmer Turner, stagecoach driver; L.L. Turner; Ed. and Wm. Vandervoot, farmers; W.C. Vredt; Charles Wallace, farmer; N.W. Wallace, hotelman; Wm. Walker; James Whitten, stock; A.R. Wilcox, stock; W.N. Wiley, later livery stableman of The Dalles was stockman at Antelope; Wm. Worth.

Antelope in 1910

    Antelope Drug store, Felix and Wm. Silvertooth, owners; Joseph Ashby, farmer; Ashwood Stage Line, F. McCollum, prop.; Fred Berring, farmer; Wilbur Bolton Merchantile Co.; E.C. Bower, physician; Geo. Bowley, fruit grower; Tom Brogan, wool grower; Martin Clancy, labor; Geo. Cochran, herder; Albert Cowdell; Sam Cox, farmer; Frank Dial, farmer; Enoch Dickson, farmer; Chas. Durbin, sheepman; Fossil Stage Line, J.F. Stephens, Prop.; M.L. Frater, blacksmith; Hardy Gamble, carpenter; Ed Gleason, farmer; Allen Grant, freighter; Mrs. J.M. Hamilton, hotel; Chas and Isaac Hixon, farmers; J.A. Horn, manager, Prineville Land & Livestock Co.; Frank Irvine, general merchandise; W.E. Johnson, postmaster; Roy Keaton, butcher; Finley McBeth, Occidental Hotel prop.; T.H. McGreer, sheepmen; Fred Martin, barber; Dave Nance, farmer; Herbet Randall, carpenter; Vern Randall, laundry; Herbert C. Rooper, U.S. Land Commissioner and wool grower; Shaniko-Antelope Stage Line, T.Y. Sumner, prop.; Felix and John Silvertooth saloonmen; Wm. Vreidt; Fannie Ward; Wasco Southern Telephone Co. W.E. Johnson, sec.; F. Wolver, feed stable; Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. Mrs. F.J. Martin, manager.

    Antelope in 1910 had a population of 300 and shipped 100,000 head of sheep annually, Antelope in 1952 has a store operated by Mrs. Tom Hunnington; the post office with Edith Hastings, postmaster; John Silvertooth's barber shop and beer parlor; a school and population of 50. -- Robert Reaper.

Mayors of Antelope

    J.L. Hollingshead, Wilbur Bolton, Herbert C. Rooper, D.V. Bolton, Robert B. Rooper and J.A. Hastings. For 55 years the mayorship of Antelope has been in the Bolton--Rooper families!

Antelope Fair

    The Antelope Fair was held in 1897 and 1893 by the Antelope Stockmen's Union. They ran races on a half mile track; gave liberal premiums for cattle, horses, sheep, wool, wheat and other exhibits. They offered attractive purses for racing and athletic events. The event was held during the second week in October of each of those years. E. M. Haley was the Antelope Fair secretary. - Times Mountaineer, 1898.

Nesmith County

    The Times-Mountaineer of The Dalles reported that at the turn of the century, when there were lots of stockmen east of the Deschutes river, and transportation to the Wasco County seat at The Dalles was a long hard day's drive with a fast buggy team, in good weather; that the Tom Burgess bill, in the Oregon State Legislature, for the creation of Nesmith County, by taking off Wasco all the territory east of the Deschutes river, and some off Wheeler, Grant and Crook counties; passed the house of representatives but died in the state senate. Antelope was to be the county seat of Nesmith County, being centrally located, in the beautiful Antelope Valley, ½ mile wide and 8 miles long. Antelope was named by Joseph Henry Sherar after the antelope which roamed the valley in 1880-62 when he first went out in that country as a packer for the mines.

Herbert C. Rooper,

    Herbert C. Rooper, No. 1 citizen of Antelope, U. S. Land Commissioner, mayor, postmaster, editor of the Antelope Herald, Wasco County Stock inspector, wool and sheep grower; was born at Huntingdoushire, England (1852) son of John (veteran of the Crimean war) and Charlotte (Nethercote,) Rooper of England. He was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Agriculture (1870) at Circester, England; was an emigrant to Iowa (1871) and came to Antelope (1876) and herded sheep 2 years before he went into partnership with the Chandler Brothers, sheepmen of Antelope. For the next 7 years they handled and shipped 6000 sheep per year, in addition to the wool, and raised horses enough to man the ranch with. In 1885 he went into the sheep business for himself at Antelope. By 1904 he ran 4000 head on his 2200 acre ranch, besides 200 cattle, horses to operate the ranch with, and had a nice home in Antelope. 

    He married (1886) Elizabeth Pohl of Denmark at Astoria and their children were: Henry who operates the Rooper ranch at Antelope and still runs one band of 1600 sheep; John Rooper of McMinnville; Edna (Mrs. D.V. Bolton) The Dalles; 1951 president of the Wasco County Pioneers’ Association who have a daughter Verna (Mrs. Jim Carson) The Dalles; Alma (Mrs. J.A. Hastings) Antelope whose children are: Fred of Bend; Robert of Antelope; Richard of Portland; Herbert of Hillsboro; Ed of Arlington; Wm. of Corvallis; James; Francis (Mrs. Alex McKay) Antelope; Margraret Rooper (Mrs. Gatch Bolton) The Dalles whose children are: Valare of Portland, Maxine (Mrs. Dorman Phillips) Tumalto; Bessie (Mrs. Blake Johnson) Vancouver; Wm. Rooper of The Dalles has a son Wm. of The Dalles; Isolda Hooper (Mrs. Glenn Steal) Garden Home, Ore.; Fred Rooper of Antelope, single; Robert B. Rooper, merchant of Antelope and now merchant of The Dalles, married Hilma Peterson and their children are Ralph of The Dalles, Robert of Portland and Marie (Mrs. Donn Sweany) of Portland; Dorothy Rooper (Mrs. Dave Crabtree) Bend, Oregon.

    Since it is the opinion of the people of Antelope that Herbert C. Rooper has did more for the people of Antelope area than any other one man, he too is set forth in this history as another one of the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco County.

Wilbur Bolton

    Wilbur Bolton, mayor of Antelope and owner of the Bolton Merchantile Co. which carried a $$15,000 stock of goods at Antelope for the stockmen of that area; was born at Boyd, Oregon (1860) son of Daniel (1855 Donation Land Claim farmer of Boyd and 1832 emigrant by ox team from Missouri) and his wife Elizabeth (Fullweider) Bolton of Va. Daniel Bolton of Boyd was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Inksell) Bolton.

    Wilbur Bolton received his education at the Wasco Independent Academy under Prof. Gatch who was later President of the Oregon Agriculture College at Corvallis. He ranched for a time with his father then was with the Wasco Warehouse Co. of The Dalles before he went to Antelope with his brother Virgil and started the Bolton Merchartile store with McFarland & French as "silent partners". Virgil died at Antelope in 1891. His brother Simeon Bolton was county clerk of both Wasco and Klickitat counties and later the postmaster at The Dalles. In 1883 Wilbur Bolton married Jennie Gilmore of The Dalles and their children were: D. Vivian Bolton, Wasco County clerk who has assisted with the Antelope section of this history and who married Edna Rooper of Antelope and have a daughter Verna (Mrs. Jim Carson) The Dalles; Gatch Bolton of The Dalles who married Margaret Rooper and whose children Valerie of Portland, Maxine (Mrs. Dorman Phlllips) Tumalto and Bessie (Mrs. Blake Johnson) Vancouver are also listed under Roopers above; Vernon Bolton of Oregon City married Ethel Parks and have George of California and Betty of Richland, Wash.; Virgil Bolton of Salem has Vivian of Everett, Fred of Salem and, Yvoone of Tillamook. Dr. Wilbur Bolton of Portland is an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist.

Max Lueddemann

    Max Lueddemann, editor and owner of the Antelope Herald, Madras_.Pioneer, Bend Bulletin (1904) and who now (1952) lives at 2227 NE 21 in Portland; was born in Alabama (1873) son of Guido and Joanna (Chisholm) Lueddemann of Tuscuynbia, Alabama. He was a graduate of the Alabama University and the Cumberland Law school. He came to Antelope in 1898 and besides editing the Antelope Herald he was U.S. Commissioner. He married Ollie McConnell. There were no children. His brother Earnest Lueddemann was an assistant cashier for French & Co. bankers in The Dalles in 1904. Mr. Lueddemann afterwards went to Portland where he engaged in journalistic activities and still lives in Portland and likes to talk history.

Ben Taylor

    Ben Taylor, operator of the 73,000 acre ranch of the Antelope-Shaniko area was born at Antelope (1834) son of Zachary and Addie (Palmer) Taylor. The Taylor ranch runs 2300 head of cattle, 23,000 head of sheep and 1700 acres is devoted to grain. Zachery Taylor came around the Horn in a windjammer in the 1840's and were among the early residents of the Antelope area. Besides Ben there were Wm. and Pearl who died young. Ben Taylor married Edna Hamilton, daughter of James of Prineville and their children are: Eva Priday, Clair and Harold on the Taylor ranch.

Edwin Glisan

    Edwin Glisan was a Yakima Indian War Veteran and Antelope sheepman, was born (1835) in New York the son of Soloman and Mary (Taylor) Glisan; came to Salem by ox-team in 1853, lived in southern Oregon and steamboated on the Columbia from The Dalles to Astoria, ran the Union House in Salem; married Minnie Starkey (1860); mined in Baker county in 1862; returned to Salem and then came to Antelope in 1891. Their children were: Ed Glisan, Antelope undertaker; Wm. a Hay Creek blacksmith; Albert a California Cafe operator; Ben a Lake County sheepmen; Euguene, a Shaniko warehouseman (1904); Robert a stockman of Antelope; Mable (Mrs. James Warren) Prosser; Nettie (Mrs. Wm. Kemp) Pendelton; Bessie and Inetz. – Hist. Cent. Ore.

Frank Irvine

    Frank Irvine, general store operator of Antelope was born (1860) on his father John and Catherine (Keith) Irvine’s Donation Land Claim on Chenowith Creek at The Dalles, 1852 ox-team emigrants, Yakima Indian War Veteran of 1856, who sold their place to Ed. Kelsay and the Joles Bros. Frank Irvine was educated in the schools of The Dalles and Wasco Independent Academy. He first worked for the O.R.& N railroad, then Wingate & Co. and French & McFarland. He went to Antelope in 1891 and worked for the Bolton Mercantile Co. then went in business with Ed. Wingate at Antelope, later acquiring ownership of the entire store and stock of $15,000 in merchandise. He married Lydia Walker, daughter of Wm. of California and they had a daughter Bertha.

August Nixon

    August Hixon was owner of the Antelope Livery Stable and operator of the Antelope to Shaniko Stage and mail line. He was born in Ohio (1867) son of Albert and Elizabeth (Lane) Hixon. He went to work for himself at 13. He came to Antelope in 1399 and bought Wm. Ashby's stable and farmed. He married Nellie Spencer, sister of Ralph of Antelope; sister of Mamie (Mrs. Chas. Hixon) Antelope. August Hixon had brothers Isaac and Chas. of Antelope. The August Hixon children were: Albert, Fern, Iva, August and Nellie all of Portland and Arthur of Antelope. -- History of Central Oregon.

D.S. Kimsey

    D.S. Kimsey and his brother Frank were stockmen of Antelope; D.S. being born in Polk county (1848) son of Duff and Maude (Smith) Kimsey 1847 ox-train pioneers. He (D.S.) homesteaded at Antelope (1872) and bought. He married Catherine Ashby daughter of Joseph and Mary (Savage) Ashby 1872 pioneers to Antelope. The Ashby children, besides Mrs. Kimsey, were: Wm. of Calif., Joe of Salem, Grant of Oregon City, Geo. of Wiser, Ida., Mary (Mrs. Henry Steers) mother of Joe Steers of The Dalles; Hattie (Mrs. Wm. Humphrey) Salem and Grace (Mrs. O.D. Glover) Portland. The Kimsey children were: Earnest of The Dalles who married Maybelle Reese and have son Dolph, manager of the Port of The Dalles who has son Duff; Ray Kimsey married Nellie Channess and have Loran of Hermiston; Grace Kimsey (Mrs. Henry Frayer) lives in Portland.

John Silvertooth

    John Silvertooth was born at Antelope (1805) son of Felix and Ella (Caleb) Silvertooth. Felix Silvertooth came to The Dalles in 1876 and was an early day stage driver at different times on The Dalles to Canyon City and Dalles to Walla Walla runs. He was born in Tennessee and Mrs. Silvertooth was the first white child born in The Dalles City proper. (There was a Perkins child born at the mission in 1836 before there was a town at The Dalles). Felix Silvertooth was a drug store and saloon operator at Antelope, Shaniko and Bend. Their children were: Wm. of Long Beach, Calif.; Richard who died in 1917; Chatty who works in the Sheriff's office in Portland and John Silvertooth, barber and beer parlor operator at Antelope. John married Laura Stalker and has daughters Mildred and Janett of Portland.

    John Silvertooth has been a legendary and historical character in the history of Antelope for more than 50 years. If all the stories about John Silvertooth could be bound in one volume it would be an American "best seller." He has seen Antelope decline from the booming town that it was in the Gay ‘90's, leading sheep and wool center of the northwest; to an almost forgotten village in the hills of eastern Oregon. John Silvertooth was born and raised in Antelope and if all its other citizens were to desert Antelope, John would still remain to tell the passer-by the tales about the city and the good people who have lived there. His place of business is full of the relics of by-gone days. His memory is full of the faces of those pioneers who have came and gone and the good deeds they did to make the community what it was. The drinks John has dispensed to thirsty sheep herders and cow punchers is not the only thing he is remembered for.   

    Charity is the thing John Silvertooth is best known for. It is 100 miles to a hospital from Antelope and many people have been taken by John, in his car, at his own expense and time, to hospitals for treatment at all times of the day and night! It is 100 miles back from the hospital to Antelope and John was always back home to tend to business the next day, if possible. Antelope has no bank and many laborers and sheep herders as well as other citizens have borrowed money from John, without interest in many cases in order to meet obligations or make emergency trips. Like Hanley and Sinnott, of Umatilla House fame in The Dalles, John Silvertooth was the "Handley & Sinnott" of Antelope who helped people when in need. Not all of those people paid him back. Like Handley & Sinnott he has many I.O.U's on file. His life has been one of charity and kindness. John Silvertooth and Victor Trevitt are the only two saloon keepers in the history of Wasco County who have merited the badge and place among the most outstanding citizens in the 100 years of Wasco county history.

    There may be other outstanding Southern Wasco County citizens. Who are they?

CLARNO

    The post office of Clarno, established as HUNTLEY (1870) in Wheeler County, on the Antelope to Fossil road, at the John Day river, 13 miles east of Antelope. When T.B. Hoover got the post office of Fossil granted Feb. 28, 1878; the Chas. Huntley family at Clarno got the HUNTLEY post office approved for establishment on the same date, February 28, 1876. It was located in the Huntley farm home at what is now Clarno.  In the spring of 1876 Marion Brown became the Antelope-Clarno-Fossil­Condon to Heppner stage operator. The mail was then taken out of The Dalles on The Dalles to Canyon City Stage Line to Antelope and transferred to the Antelope to Heppner stage, first on a weekly then a tri-weekly basis. That stage line and service operated for 6 years from 1876 to 1881, when the rail­road was extended to Arlington and Willows and stages from those points ran up to Condon and Fossil; and from Willows to Heppner. This same contract stage service operates now (1952) between Antelope and Fossil, serving the ranches by "socks" or small sacks; which contain the mail and are thrown off at the gates of the ranch houses or deposited in rural mail boxes, 50 gallon drums or "bird houses". It goes from Antelope to Fossil on the odd days of the month and back from Fossil, to Antelope on the even days. The railway mail clerks kick off the papers for the route at Arlington on the even days and via The Dalles to Antelope truck on the odd days, so as to give the farms "daily paper service!"

    On June 23, 1876 the home of the post office was changed from Huntley to Pine Creek and probably changed to the home of another rancher, the name of whom post office departments records does not show. On December 16, 1877 the name of the post office was changed from Pine Crook to CROWN ROCK and no doubt moved to another farm home. It was discontinued as Crown Rock November 28, 1892.

Clarno

    The post office of Clarno was actually established under that name Sept. 6, 1894 with Chas. Huntley as the postmaster and named in honor of Andrew Clarno the first settler on the John Day at that point.

Andrew Clarno

    Andrew Clarno came from New York with his family to the California gold fields in 1819 and while down there he met some very friendly WARM SPRINGS INDIANS who told him about the stock raising possibilities on the John Day river at the Clarno location. That fall (1851) when the Warm Springs Indians came north to The Dalles Andrew Clarno came north with them, his provisions on 2 pack horses and his saddle horse mount. He paid the Indians the equivalent of $10 to guide him from their beaten trail, out in the Cow Canyon country, over to Clarno on the John Day, through the beautiful Antelope Valley. He thought the stockraising possibilities looked good so he returned almost immediately to California to arrange to bring his family and possessions up by pack train next spring (1852). He hired some friendly Warm Springs Indian helpers to go back with him to help drive some cattle up to his new homesite and extra horses. He threw up a rude cabin and came to The Dalles, 100 miles away where the closest white families lived; bought a couple of wagons and outfits, loaded them with lumber and "blazed the first wagon roads through Sherman county to Antelope and Clarno, with that lumber for his home and out build­ings. These buildings are still standing at Clarno today and are approximately 100 years old, the old­est buildings between the Cascade Mountains and Salt Lake City! At the time that Howard Maupin killed the renegade chief Paulina, at Ashwood (1867) Andrew Clarno had been living at Clarno for 15 years with­out any trouble with the Indians! During that time he always came to The Dalles at least once a year to sell cattle and get his year’s supply of grub! He employed Indians who were good friends of his.

    Tom Craig followed Charley Huntley as postmaster at Clarno; then Mrs. Knox; Ed. McGreer who had the office of the Wasco County side of the John Day. (In 1876 it was all Wasco county). Wm. McGreer was the next postmaster and John Herman filled the office from 1923 until his retirement November 1, 1949 at which time the post office of Clarno was closed.

John Herman

John Herman was born (1879) in Clackamas county son of Warts Herman a very early 1889 pioneer settler of Antelope where he first went to school, later attending the Baptist Academy at Phioomis, Ore. In 1918 he married Catherine Gray, for 13 years a patient of the Eastern Oregon T.B. Hospital at The Dalles! They have one son Wesley of Portland. Mr. Herman claims he has seen the scalp of the renegade Indian Chief Paulina, which is still in the Maupin family keepsakes! He said Chris McCrey had a small store at Clarno for a short time. The Clarno Grange hall is on the Wasco County side of the river; the McCrey store was on the Wasco County side of the John Day. (Mr. Herman has assisted with this Clarno history).

Clarno Grange

    The Clarno Grange-community hall is the center of all social life at Clarno. It is more than 30 years old. All their dances are held there, Christmas parties, social gatherings, funerals, meetings, and is probably the most important community grange hall in Oregon!

Laura (Clarno) McDonald

    The obituary in The Dalles Optimist in November 1942 said, "The death of Laura Clarno (Mrs. Kenneth McDona1d) the daughter of Andrew Clarno who attended the Pine Creek log school house and whose father Andrew Clarno was guided into the Clarno country, by a lone Indian to whom he paid $10, first lived in a log cabin, later building a house of lumber hauled from The Dalles by wagon and ox-team (100 miles). Antelope was a Fort in 1866 where soldiers were stationed and where women and children were taken when the Indians were raiding, stealing or killing (Snake Indians not the friendly Warm Springs). Howard Maupin were their closest neighbor at Antelope for years. Funeral services were held in the Clarno Grange Hall and burial was in the Clarno cemetery. The Clarno children were; John, Andrew and Mrs. George McGeer of Clarno and Arthur, Francis and Charlie of Portland.

Clarno Oil Well

    More than $300,000 was sunk in two oil wells drilled by Dalles business men on the Hilton ranch in the 1930's. They went down 4800 feet, got some gas but had a lot of bad drilling luck. There is oil, aluminum, boxite, asbestos and fossils in the Clarno basin, according to John Herman.

PETERSBURG

    Petersburg, the first station on the Great Southern railroad, 6 miles from The Dalles on the lower 15 Mile-Fairbanks road, ¼th mile beyond the present location of the Petersburg school house; was never a post office, only a wheat receiving warehouse. The old 5-Mile Stage Station, on The Dalles to Walla

Walla and Salt Lake City runs, was located just below Petersburg station, at the junction of 5-Mile and 15-bile creeks (mislabeled by the highway department as 8-Mile creek, which flows into 5 Mile creek about 2 miles up the 5 Mile-8 Mile canyon at the Schanno place). The old 5 Mile Stage station was in operation by Hodgkin as early as 1858, according to Carson C. Masiker, early Wasco County historian, and Hodgkins sold to J.M. Cook; Cook sold to Mr. Gilliam and he sold to Wm. Floyd.

Wm. Floyd

W    m Floyd acquired the old 5 Mile stage station about 1868 from Mr. Gilliam although the water right dates back to 1874. At one time he had fenced and controlled some 10,000 acres of grazing land, which reached from the Milo M. Cushing place (now occupied by the Joe Re family), on both sides of the Old Oregon Trail road and 15 mile creek, almost to Fairbanks (7 miles); although at the time he sold to Charlie Bernard (1902) there were only 2600 acres involved in the transaction, which indicates he had sold some of his holdings. Henry Wickman (1876 settler of Petersburg) thought maybe Floyd had a lot of government, railroad and Dalles to Boise Military Road land fenced up, which he was using for pasture but had no deed to. The point is that Wm. Floyd owned or controlled for 30 years, all the land in and about Petersburg and operated the 5 Mile Stage Station up to the time he left, as the Sherman County Stage and freight wagons continued to operate out of The Dalles until the building of the Columbia Southern Railroad into Shaniko (1901). The Floyd children were: Judy of Burns; Wm. Floyd, Jr.; Carl Floyd of Seattle; Ella of Calif.; Verna Stone of Seattle; Floydie and Annie. After selling to Charlie Bernard, Henry Wickman thought Wm. Floyd, Sr. and his wife went to Portland. The place is now occupied by Gard Fulton.

Charlie Bernard

    Charlie Bernard, the next owner of the Wm. Floyd place of 2300 acres, 300 of which was wheat land, at the junction off and 15 Mile creeks (now owned by Gard Fulton) was born in France (1886) the son of Charles and Josephene (Rons) Bernard. He received his early education in France and in 1883 came to Los Angeles and herded sheep all around in what is now Los Angeles, Hollywood and Pasadena for 2 years; then herded for a time in Kern Co. and went over to Reno, Nevada and herded sheep all around where the gambling dens are now located. The sagebrush grew right up to the Reno depot and when he got off the train there in 1686, he told the writer of this history, "I tied my dogs up to a sage bush, near the Reno depot, left by bed roll for them to guard and sleep on while I went over to inspect the little village and see what the prospects were for a herding job. I herded sheep around Reno for 2 years and then went to Crook county where I filed on a homestead, bought some sheep and gradually acquired more land until I had 600 acres and a nice band of 2000 sheep. In 1902 I came down to The Dalles and bought the Wm. Floyd place and ran sheep and had some wheat and hay ground. I came to The Dalles to give my children better educational advantages." He had married Rosa Delore, daughter of Peter Delore of Wapinitia an old Indian War veteran and Hudson Bay Co. trapper and their children were: Henry, Andrew, Naomi and Ivy. Henry lives at the Bernard ranch at Izee and the girls live in Los Angeles. The writer of this history bought his little place in Thompson Addition from Charlie Bernard and he was a fine man, liked by all his neighbors and a very hard worker.

Schanno Place

    Carson C. Masiker says, "A short distance up 5 Mile creek, from the 5 Mile House (stage station in 1860), was the Booth place, later occupied by George Stone, Jacob Brondvile and D.E. Thompson. It was still later known as the Col. Nys place, then the Ketchum place and now the Delaney Schanno place.

Fred Wickman

    Carson C. Masiker said, "In 1860, Nathan Olney lived about a mile above the (Petersburg) school on 10 (lower 15) Mile creek. Nathan Olney (first permanent settler and business man in The Dalles) was the best known Indian fighter in all of eastern Oregon. He organized The Dalles Co. of 40 men during the Civil War and the ladies of The Dalles made the company a new flag which they presented on the front porch of the Globe Hotel (2nd & Washington) before a large crowd of people and with a brass band on hand. After the ceremonies the company rode away. Capt Olney suffered a stroke July 3, 1888 and died that fall. Orville Olney lived next to Nathan Olney." Elizabeth Wickman (Mrs. James Gibson) sister of Henry Wickman said, "Father (Fred Wickman) moved on to what we now call the Vernon Crawford-Mark Henkle place in 1875 at Petersburg and he bought it from Nathan Olney heirs, I think Olney made the house out of his boat."

    Fred Wickman was born in Germany and apprenticed as a bootmaker and came to The Dalles in the early 1860's as a bootmaker at a location on Washington street whore the Granada theatre is now located. He married Mary Schusters, daughter of August Schuster who lived on Schuster's Flat at Granddalles, Wash. opposite Crates Point. Mrs. Elizabeth Gibson was born on First street in a dwelling near Union (1869). The other children besides Mrs. Gibson were: Henry Wickman, who for years worked for Seufert's cannery and who has helped with the Petersburg section of this history; Kate (Mrs. John Whitcomb) The Dalles who married Godfrey Guinther the first time and has several children of The Dalles; Fred and Wm. Wickman, deceased and Frances Daniels of Springfield, Oregon. Henry Wickman married Vera Johnson, daughter of George Johnson and his son George Wickman is manager of the General. Electric Co. at Philadelphia.

    The mother, Mary Schuster had previously married policeman Keeler of The Dalles force who was shot to death by a soldier of old Fort Dalles at 6th & Lincoln, leaving the widow and a daughter Emma (Strode of Walla Walla). Fred Wickman sold his boot and shoe shop to Wm. Wigman and moved to Petersburg in 1875 and where he died in 1863. The family continued to live at the Petersburg home to about 1910, or more than 30 years,, during which time the Wickman children attended the Petersburg school, one of the oldest in Wasco county. The stages to Salt Lake City, Walla Walla and Sherman county passed Petersburg then!

    Fred Wickman Jr. died single. Wm. Wickman married Cleen Senical and they had a son Harry of The Dalles. Kate Wickman who married Godfrey Guinther and lived on 5 Mile for a time (1910) had sons Fred, Leo, Peter, Morris and Luther; and daughters Minnie (Mrs. Chas. Walston) and Mrs. Pratt all of The Dalles. Francis Daniels of Springfield had a son Bud. Elizabeth (Mrs. Jim Gibson) lived on the Koontz place on lower 5 Mile_s ajoining the James C. Benson place at the Benson school on the Benson road, and they were one of the earliest cherry orchardists in Wasco vicinity. Their children were Ethel (Mrs. Hugh Pagan -- Hugh recently retired as assistant postmaster at The Dalles); Orville of The Dalles; Lavina (Mrs. Ollie Lash) of The Dalles; Grace Hulls of Eugene; Esther (Mrs. Ralph Erwin) Los Angeles; Ted Gibson of Los Angeles and Florence (Mrs. Tom Swales) Pendleton. The Gibson family lived at 4th and Federal when they first moved in from Petersburg and Elizabeth Gibson lived at 1009 View street for around 30 years and is now 83. It is a pleasure to talk with a person like Mrs., Gibson and Mr. Wickman, they know so much of our early history which is cloudy, in spots, to us of the younger generations. Jim Gibson was a sheepman of Umatilla county who came to The Dalles about 1900. (The writer of this history earned his first dollar picking gooseberries on the Godfrey Guinther place on 5 Mile in 1910 and he didn't save any of it either).    

Peter Strohler

    Henry Wickman said, "Peter Strohler was the man in whose honor the Petersburg school and railroad station was named at the time of the building of the Great Southern railroad up 15 Mile in 1905." The History of Central Oregon says, "Peter Strohler lived at the forks of 5 and 10 (lower 15) Mile creeks; that he was born in Switzerland (1862) son of Peter and came to Illinois with his father (1865); went to Iowa (1877) and came to Troutlake, Wash.(1890); to Salem (1898) and to The Dalles (1900) where he homesteaded on Kuykendahl Hill (about a mile east of the Petersburg sohool) and traded his 250 acres to Wm. Floyd for land down next to the Petersburg school, on 15 Mile creek, where he built his house and farm buildings on property now known as the Chandler place. "He married Louisa Mayer of Germany and had Ludwig and Lena by 1905 and there were other children later, one or two who died here and their death caused him to get discouraged, according to Bert Emerson, and the family moved back down to the Salem area. Henry Wickman added, the Great Southern railroad had to have a name for their station in 1905 Bo they selected Petersburg in honor of this old German homesteader who was a school director of the Petersburg school at that time, which school was, before that, known only by a school-district number."

The Linnton--Joe Boyer place

    The Linnton--Joe Boyer place, now occupied by Wm. Remington, son of Issac of Fairbanks; was in 1854 the Orville Olney place. He sold to Linnton who, according to Henry Wickman, "grew a large apple, pear and prune orchard there and I worked for Mr. Linnton for 50¢ a day, in his dryer where he dried his fruit. Sometimes it didn't dry fast enough for the amount he had to dry and we dried some of it out­side the dryer, on racks. People used lot of dried fruit in those days. The place was afterwards owned by Joe Boyer who ran sheep there." Mr. Linnton sold some of his fruit fresh or traded for meat and wheat, with his neighbors, besides what he sold in town.

The Otto Johnson Place

    The next place up from the Linnton-Boyer place was the Otto Johnson place. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson came from Sweden and he was a millwright in the old Wasco Warehouse Milling Co. (now the United Mills) when he first came here, according, to Henry Wickman; then filed on his homestead on lower 15 Mile. The place still belongs to his son Eric Johnson, manager of the R.E.A. and P.U.D. electrical distrib­ution system for the farmers and the P.U.D. system for the people of The Dalles (see Electricity story).

Ed Mann Place

    The Ed. Mann place was just across the creek from the Otto Johnson place, now occupied by Robert Foster, and according to Henry Wickman. Ed. Mann was an old Dalles to Prineville freighter and he used to go up with Frank Fulton and the Cooper boys to "Horse Heaven"  (Mabton, Wash..) to round up wild horses nearly every year and they had Mc Jones whose right name was Bull, who used to ride and break the horses for saddle or work purposes. Wild horses didn't cost anything and_.lots of them were just as good as any other range horses. All it took was a little time to go after them and break them. The Kaser Brothers place was a part of the Linnton-Joe Boyar place.

More on Peter Strohler

    In one of Fred Lockley's articles in the Oregon Journal, a few years back, on Guler, Wash. he said, "Peter Strohler was the first homesteader at TroutIake, Washington. The climate and scenic beauties of Troutlake were similar to those of the Switzerland-Italian section of the Alps mountains. Troutlake, in those days set back miles in the timber. Strohler was snowed in every winter and walked out on snow­shoes for mail and what supplies he could carry back. He had even carried his own cook stove in on his back and his wife's sewing machine! The first road into Troutlake was from Husum, but long before that road was built Peter Strohler lived on deer meat, elk meat, bear meat, wild ducks, geese and swans and the abundance of trout which filled the river and Troutlake. It was, and still is, a wonderful stock country at Troutlake and in the days of Peter Strohler wild hay grass could be had for the cutting. A person, in those days, could catch 100 trout in Trout Lake, in ½ day, all from 12 to 18 inches long! Henry Strohler sold out to Christian Guler, of Switzerland, who likewise had to first go into Troutlake on horseback and in winters on snowshoes. The Peter Strohler place at Troutlake included part of the lake, the hotel and resort site, which, for so many years, drew hundreds of Dalles and Portland people to the comforts and beauties and restfulness of the famous Troutlake, Washington resort.

Milo M. Cushing Place

    The Milo M. Cushing place, at the Cushing Falls, just above Seuferts cannery, now occupied by the Joe Re families; was the location of the old Wasco County home for aged, which Mr. and Mrs. Cushing operated for a number of years. The story (biography) on the Cushings appears on page 82 of this history under the title "The Little Girl of the Wilderness". Milo Cushing's son Milo Jr. inherited the place and it was sold to the Re family by the Cushing heirs. A grandson Morris Cushing works for The Dalles Luber Co. and lives across the highway from the mill.

FAIRBANKS -- FULTON

    The post office of Fairbanks, 12 miles east of The Dalles, on lower 15 Mile creek and the old Great Southern Railroad; was established October 31, 1905 with Cyrus C. Cooper, son of Daniel Cooper, Civil War veteran pioneer settler of Fairbanks, the only postmaster. The office was closed July 31, 1909 at the time R.F.D. No. 3, The Dalles, was established (see page 32 for routing). The station of Fulton, on the Great Southern Railroad was only 1½ miles up 15 Mile creek from Fairbanks; and Brookhouse, the next station was only 4 miles above Fairbanks. The early history (before 1905) of these three stations, on the Great Southern, was treated as and referred to as FAIRBANKS, because that stage station on the Old Oregon Trail is as old as The Dalles!

    The Fairbanks Crossing, on lower 15 Mile, was known to emigrants of the Old Oregon Trail as far back as 1843, 111 years ago! before that it was an important camping grounds for the Indians, who fished at Celilo, "for so many moons" that even the oldest Indian never knew when it was first used? That crossing, on the Old Oregon Trail road was approximately 10 miles from The Dalles, and for that reason early emi­grants and settlers of that portion of lower 15 Mile creek referred to it as "10 Mile"; but by modern highway roads it is 12 miles east of The Dalles.

    When John Heimrich built the Great Southern railroad up 15 Mile to Dufur, when he got to "10 Mile Crossing" he needed a name for his station. Daniel J. Cooper, Civil War Veteran settler at Fairbanks suggested the name of FAIRBANKS, in honor of Charles Warren Fairbanks, Vice-President of the U.S. under Theodore Roosevelt (1905-1909). His daughter Mildred Galloway, Wasco County Treasurer says, "Dad was a National Republican Delegate who helped nominate the Roosevelt-Fairbanks ticket and helped all he could with their successful election and was a great admirer of both Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Warren Fairbanks."

Daniel J. Cooper

    The History of Central Oregon says: Daniel J. Cooper was born in Tenn. (1838) son of Elbert E. of Kentucky and Nancy (Wann) Cooper of Tenn. He went to Missouri with his parents in 1838 and went to Calif­ornia by ox-team in 1858. He went back to Missouri (1861) by boat and enlisted as a Serg. in Co. D 76 Mo. Infantry and served about a year during the Civil War. He came to Polk county, Oregon (1863) by ox-­team on his second trip across the U.S. He returned to The Dalles and settled on his Fairbanks ranch, which he bought from Col. J.C. Fulton, in 1878.

    Mildred Galloway says, "His ranch at Fairbanks was purchased from Col. Fulton, who had established the Inn for emigrants and travelers, maintained the blacksmith shop and livery stable accommodations. After the purchase of the place by D.J. Cooper, these services were practically discontinued, the ranch being devoted to raising of horses for the Montana trade. Later sheep was raised on its extensive acres; and still later than that, when the plow broke the sod, the place was planted to wheat, with the bottom land in alfalfa. There was 2900 acres in the place." It is now the Clarence Quirk place and operated by Lloyd Messenger.

    Daniel J. Cooper married Arvanzena Spellman of Mo. (1861) and their children were: Belle, wife of Dr. E.E. Ferguson of The Dalles hospital; Chas. Cooper, Mayor of Dufur; Elbert Nathan Cooper who traded in and sold horses to the army in Montana; Cyrus C. Cooper, postmaster at Fairbanks and operator of the Fairbanks farm and father of Rod Cooper, in the U.S. Bank at The Dalles; Dan J. Cooper, Jr. who sold horses with his brother Elbert in Montana and Wyoming; Avery Cooper who made the U.S. Army his career; James Cooper went to California; Kenneth Cooper, manager for a time of the U.S. Veterans Hospital and later a Portland insurance man; Naney (Mrs. Chas. Thomas) Troutdale; Prudence (Mrs. Fred Bayley) The Dalles whose son Alfred is with Studebaker Motors and daughter Dorothy has for years been in the Wasco County Assessors office and daughter Nancy of Berkley, Calif. and daughter Katherine Bell of Portland; Ruth (Mrs. Judd Fish) Encineda, Calif.; Virginia (Mrs. Harry Northup) Portland and Mildred (Mrs. Francis Galloway) Wasco County Treasurer of The Dalles who assisted with this biography.

First Settlers

    Frank Camp is credited by the History of Central Oregon as the first settler at Fairbanks who oper­ated a small store and trading post with the Indians and emigrants as early as 1853 and he sold to W.C. Laughlin of The Dalles in 1854, who continued the little store. Carson C. Masiker in his writings on

15 Mile creek said, "Shipley Geiger had a place at the mouth of Company Ranch Hollow (Fairbanks) in 1860." This place was later part of the Col. Fulton place, then Daniel Cooper, then Issac Remington and now the Rex Kaseburg place. Carson C. Masiker continues, "The next place was the James M. Bird and then the Marcellus Falconer places (1860)." These two places became a part of the Daniel J. Cooper place.

    Mr. Masiker continues, "Then came the Col. J.C. Fulton place. The school house was built on Col. Fulton's place in 1860 by Robert Cochran who worked for Col. Fulton. Mrs. Masiker was the first teacher and the pupils were James Fulton, John Fulton, David Fulton, Emeline Newton, Alice Faulconer, Wm. Masiker, Esther Masiker, Elmyra Masiker and Carson C. Masiker (writer of the 15 Mile Creek History, quoted herein.) Rev. Arthur Walker held church services in the school and he preached at 8 Mile, Dufur and Tygh, as did W.D. Nichols and had Rev. Nichols lived in the days when they burned men's bodies to save their souls, we could have understood how he could harbor such cruelty. (Fred Krusow occupies the Col. Fulton place.)

    The next place above Col. Fultons was Henry Luseinegr (E.C. Haight place, then Jim Fulton and now Robert Olson of Alaska). Then came the Gabriel Deekert place (Mace Fulton and now George Petroff) who came there in 1861. The next place was the James Woolery place for so many years occupied by Richard Brook­house (now a part of Louis Kelley's place) and formerly known as the GORDON PLACE. The next place was the Z.M. Donnell place (now a part of Louis Kelley's place)." The Donnell place, which his daughter Lulu Crandall wrote so much about, was about ½ mile up the creek from the Brookhouse bridge and Martin Z. Donnell says, "It was only a small place with a house and barn. Father ran livestock which he fed there and we got our water from a spring, up in the draw back of the house (east) for drinking purposes. The house no longer exists. The place is part of the Louis Kelley place."

Col. James C. Fulton

    Col. James C. Fulton, stockman of Fairbanks (1857-1870) and later stockman of Fulton Canyon in Sherman County; was born (1816) son of James and Catherine (Lynch) Fulton at Paoli, Indiana. He married Priscella Wells (1840) and came by ox-team to Oregon (1847) crossing the Deschutes at Sherars Bridge, by fording the river before there was a bridge and went on down to Yamhill county via the Barlow road, where he took a Donation Land Claim. He went to the California, gold fields in 1848, made a small fortune and returned to Portland by boat. He was elected Colonel of the Oregon Militia and later participated in the Yakima Indian War of 1856. He bought his Fairbanks place in 1867 (2700 acres) and made it into a horse and cattle ranch. He drove cattle to the mines of eastern Oregon and Idaho as early as 1857, from his Fairbanks ranch. He bought and sold cattle and participated in annual cattle drives to the mines every year after that until the mines gave out, and made as much money as he did gold mining in California. In 1860 he lost 1000 head of cattle during the hard winter, but bought more from other farmers and emigrants and continued in his annual cattle drives to the mines. He sold out to Dan Cooper in 1870 and went east of the Deschutes river to his well known Fulton Canyon ranch in Sherman county where he lived on that stock and grain ranch until his death there in 1896. His wife died there in 1902.

Their children were:.  

James Fulton

    Born in Missouri (1847) son of Col. James and Priscella (Wells) Fulton; came West as an infant by ox-team to Oregon with his parents; received some of his early education in Yamhill county schools and the rest at The Dalles. He was married a young man of 20 (1887) to Georgia Foss, daughter of Geo. and Joanne (Johnson) Foss 1862 emigrants of Fairbanks and moved to their home 1½ miles east (up 15 Mile) from Col. James Fulton place at Fairbanks. The James Fulton place became known as FULTON STATION on the old Great Southern railroad. It remained in the Fulton family until about 5 years ago when it was sold to Fred and Stanley Krusow of Sherman County. Their children were: Nellie (Mrs. Wm. Floyd) Prosser, Wash.; Wm. Fulton of The Dalles; Ada (Mrs. Fred Stone) Okanogan, Wash.; Bessie who died single and Mace Fulton, Wasco County Commissioner of The Dalles. J. Frank Fulton was born on the Col. Fulton Cooper place at Fairbanks in 1867; married Lillian Hulburt, daughter of Dan and Katherine (Miller) Hulbert (Willamette river lighthouse keeper) and moved on to his 840 acres 4 miles east of Fairbanks in 1900 and their children were: Leland, who is on the home place; Glenn, on the Priday place on Hay Creek (Gateway) and Ned of Los Angeles. Wm. Fulton (son of James) married Bell Walker and his sons were: James of Mosier and Wm. of Los Angeles. The other children of Col. James Fulton were: Judge John Fulton of Sherman county; Davis Fulton of Sherman county who had son David; Annie Fulton of Sherman county who remained on the home place with her parent's until their death; _.and Elizabeth Fulton who married Louis Scholl, architect of the buildings of Old Fort Dalles, the Castle of The Dalles (see page 27) and the buildings of Fort Walla Walla where they lived as late as 1910.

    The history of the Fulton family, like that of the Kelley and some of our other pioneer families, is getting a bit complicated after 4 or 5 generations, and for that reason we have devoted space to clear up relationships and their importance with the early pioneer history of Fairbanks and Wasco county. As this biography shows, the Fulton family has been identified with the history of Fairbanks for nearly 100 years. Upon the death of Leland Fulton, the Fulton family will pass out of the Fairbanks history.

Richard Brookhouse

    Richard Brookhouse and his wife Anna (Clark) Brookhouse came from Ireland to the U.S. in 1850, mined in Penn. and eastern Oregon until they homesteaded at Tygh (1860) and shortly thereafter bought the Woolery, James and Thomas places, at BROOKHOUSE STATION on the Great Southern Railroad, 4 miles east of Fairbanks, consisting of 320 acres. Richard Brookhouse died at Brookhouse Station (1879) leaving his widow Anne and 15 year old son Wm. Brookhouse the responsibility of raising the family, including John and Richard Jr. Wm. Brookhouse married Johanna Shelly of Ireland and they have daughters Mary and Kate. John Brookhouse remained single. He walked the 2½ miles from Brookhouse Station (1870) to the Columbia school, when it was located on the east side of 15 Mile creek at the function of the Freebridge and Neabeek roads. He often told George Wagonblast how the Indians used to be camped along 15 Mile creek at Freebridge, that he had to walk past their camps to school both, ways, each day, and some of the young Indian bucks were not always friendly toward white people and he often had to detour their camps. He pointed out to George Wagonblast the location of the Indian cemetery, on the east banks of 15 Mile about half way between Freebridge and Neabock. John Brookhouse liked to talk history, but none of his knowledge was recorded. The Brookhouse place is now owned by Louis Kelley, son of James L. Kelley and whose biography appears under Wrentham. As Carson C. Masiker said, "the Brookhouse place was formerly the Gordon place." We have pointed out the Gordon Ferry and bridge" under Deschutes Bridge (Page 230) and the Gordons lived on the Brookhouse place while they operated the ferry on The Dalles to Boise Military Road, which branched off the Old Oregon Trail at Fairbanks, followed up 15 Mile creek to the Gordon-Brookhouse place, thence east past the Frank Fulton place and down into the Deschutes river canyon, about 4 miles south of the mouth of the river. After the bridge washed away, a small ferry was operated to about 1880, when the O.R.& N railroad eliminate its need. It operated on a cable.

Gabriel Deckert

    Gabriel and Mary (Berninger) Deckert were emigrants from Germany who settled on their Fairbanks place in 1862 as stock and later grain farmers. Their children were: Nellie, Emma Odell; Lena Hittman; Charlie and August all born on the Fairbanks ranch. August Deckert married Vera Simpson and they had a son Ivan. August Deckert lived on a 600 acre place adjoining his father. These places later became the Mace Fulton place and he sold to George Petroff who first went out in that part of the country to work for Albert S. Roberts on his 3000 acre stock and wheat ranch, on the breaks of the Deschutes above Emerson Station, on the Great Southern; that was back in 1908 when it took 4 horses on a bob sled to come to town in the winter. But George had perseverance and was thrifty and a hardworker and now owns one of the nicest little hay, stock and wheat ranches out in that country.

Company Ranch Hollow

    Shortly after Col. James C. Fulton moved to Fairbanks (1857) gold was discovered in eastern Oregon and Idaho and freight had to be moved to the mines. There were no boats on the upper Columbia at that time, except the small Hudson Bay Co. batteauxs. To transport freight, as we have pointed out under the

Deschutes Bridge history (pages 228, 230, 231, 232) Orlando Humason, father of Wasco County and Robert R. Thompson, one of the 4-Horsemen of early Columbia river transportation; organized a Dalles to Deschutes Portage Wagon Road Co. in order to transport freight at $15 a ton, from The Dalles, over the Old Oregon Trail by way of Fairbanks, to Deschutes Bridge, where they had a boat terminal and where their boats ran from Deschutes Bridge to Umatilla, Wallula, White Bluffs and Lewiston.

    The old original Old Oregon Trail road, came straight up over the aide of the mountain from Deschutes Bridge (Miller) and straight down into 15 Mile creek to Fairbanks (10 Mile Crossing). From there it followed up (southwest) the ravine, commonly known from 1858 to 1862 as COMPANY RANCH HOLLOW. From there it took a more westerly direction down what we now call Kuykendahl Hill to 5 Mile Stage Station (at the junction of 5 and 15 Mile creeks); then followed along the bluff to Thompson Addition and down the Brewery Grade into The Dalles on 3rd street, with its terminal in Union Street Park.

    Company Ranch Hollow, was established by The Dalles to Deschutes Portage Wagon Road Co., as the Half Way Station, between The Dalles and the Deschutes river (1858-1862); and it was quite a little village. It had an Inn, blacksmith shop, horse stables, horse and cattle corrals, buildings for the men to rest in and called "bunk houses", company mess hall for the men, horse and ox shoeing shops, a wagon making and repairing shop, harness shops, feed (hay and grain) for the horses and oxen. The Inn sold meals to stage station passengers who waited for a change of horses both directions. All the immense freight wagons stopped there, in both directions, to change horse a or oxen or mules.

    The Old Oregon Trail from Fairbanks to Deschutes Bridge had to be repaired and rebuilt, to carry the heavy freight loads east; so they went directly north from Fairbanks, up through Emigrant Gap toward the Columbia river, then turned east and followed along the upper bluffs to the breaks of the Deschutes and down to Deschutes Bridge (called Deschutesville before erection of the bridge and establishment of the post office there in 1860).

    During that 5 year period, especially the last three years, the Old Oregon Trail portage road, from The Dalles to the Deschutes carried the largest volume of traffic any pioneer road ever carried in the history of the west! Besides the immense freight wagons built and operated by this Portage Wagon Road Co., some of which required from 12 to l6 horses, mules or oxen for 2 wagons, to get them up the dusty mountain sides and it was an all day trip from The Dalles to the Deschutes river. Besides these big freight wagons, which operated in a continuous stream all day long, from daylight to dark, in good weather; the old Oregon Trail had its stage coaches, which left the Umatilla House every morning at 5 A.M. to connect with the 7 A.M. boats at Deschutes Bridge. They waited there all day for the evening boat and made the run back into The Dalles. Often it was a trip in the darkness, in one or both direct­ions and the old stage coaches and freight wagons had no headlights, like automobiles, to see the road with and for that reason stage coach passengers ware "strapped into their seats" so in case the rig struck a rock the passengers would not be bodily thrown out of the stage coach and hurt. The horses had "cat eyes" and could see the road. Good "cat-eye leaders" for stage coach service, which would keep the rig in the road, were really valuable horses. Some horses seem to be better in that respect than others.

    This section of the Old Oregon Trail had its regular annual quota of emigrants every fall and the miners, travelers, traders and other people, heading to and from the mines in an endless stream, by pack horses, pack trains, saddle trains, buggies, wagons, on foot and horseback, helped swamp that road with traffic never known before or since in the history of Fairbanks or the entire west! -- until the recent volume of automobile traffic! It was a narrow, inadequate road in the first place and with the volume of traffic expanding more than 4 times normal, it is no wonder that early farmers and settlers of the Fairbanks area could point to wagon tracks, used by emigrants, out in their fields, far from what is now the Old Oregon Trail road!

    The Dalles to Deschutes Portage Wagon Road Co. sold out to the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. (1861) and they constructed The Dalles to Celilo Portage Railroad and Telegraph Co. which eliminated the heavy freight wagons and stage coaches to Deschutes Bridge. Some traffic did continue to be hauled out to the Portage railroad terminal at Celilo, by wagons,. but it way very small compared to the original volume. The railroad could operate the year around, it was practically free of dust and mud, it was a whole lot faster and could move larger loads of both passengers and freight. The railroad passenger train could leave the Umatilla House at 6:30 A.M. and make it to Celilo in time for the 7 A.M. boat, while it was a long, hard, dusty and rough ride of at least 2 hours by stagecoach. Freight on the rail­road could be handled at the terminals by crews, leaving the train crew free to move cars. In the case of the freight wagon, the wagon, horses and driver were all tied up at each end of the line while the loading and unloading took place, in addition to the time they had to spend on the road both ways.

Col. James Fulton's Station

    Company Ranch only took care of the business of The Dalles to Deschutes Bridge Portage Wagon Road Co. Fulton's store, Inn, blacksmith shop and livery barn at Fairbanks took care of the emigrants, miners, travelers, Indians and general public. It did its big business during the same years Company Ranch operated. Col. Fulton bought the store from W.C. Laughlin and his partner who went out there as early as 1854 to operate the store and run cattle, and horses. Laughlin lived there only a very short time but he had operators in charge of his holdings until he sold to Fulton. The Dalles to Walla Walla and Dalles to Salt Lake City and Dalles to Canyon City stages, pack trains and many of the freight wagons went through Fairbanks in those days and Fulton's Station was well known then to those people and a very important link in our transportation history. Business fell off after D.J. Cooper acquired Fulton's holdings and he did not operate a store or stage station, according to Mrs. Galloway, his daughter.

Zeleck M. Donnell

    The Zeleck M. Donnell stock ranch, 4 miles up 15 Mile from Fairbanks, now a part of the Lou Kelley place, was settled on by Mr. Donnell in 1866. He was born in Indiana (1829) son of James Donnell and came to Oregon in the "big emigration" of 1852. They only lived out there a short while the family moving to The Dalles for the educational advantages of the children who were: Martin Z. Donnell, retired druggist of The Dalles whose son Merril operates the drug store, and Lulu Donnell (Mrs. C.J. Crandall)  historian of The Dalles and whose story appears on page 63 of this history!

Isaac Remington

    Issac F. Remington, in 1900, acquired the Cooper Fulton place at Fairbanks, including the old store and post office of Fairbanks. Since the Old Oregon Trail passed through his place and he was personally acquainted with many of the old pioneers who came west over the Old Oregon Trail, he became very much interested in its history and took it upon himself, after talking with Ezra Meeker, to place a very attractive little historical marker, at Fairbanks in front of his home, to draw attention to the fact that the Old Oregon Trail road passed through Fairbanks. His son Wm. B. Remington says, “My father Issac Remington talked with Ezra Meeker personally, in 1910 about the marker at Fairbanks, the 2nd one of a number of them he placed along the old Oregon Trail from The Dalles to Independence, Mo. Mr. Meeker had a man and a woman with him when he made that trip by ox-team and prairie schooner and camped on the flat just south of the Fairbanks post office. He placed a pipe in some concrete where Isaac Remington erected the monument. He asked my father to place some papers in the monument, which he would send father but he never received any from Mr. Meeker. Issac Pemington took it upon himself to place the monument you see, where it is today! (For more Ezra Meeker - Old Oregon Trail story see page 151.)

    The Old Oregon Trail marker is of cement, stands about 6 feet high, with an ox-yoke on top of it, which Mr. Remington made of wood at Fairbanks. It contains a small vault at the base in which he placed a jar with a number of newspaper clippings of a 1940 date. One of those clippings stated, "that Dr. Howard Briggs claimed that 20,000 graves marked the Old Oregon Trail making it the longest cemetery in America!" A Chronicle clipping of Dec. 16, 1940 listed 14 of Wasco County's most outstanding men in its history, all of whom are listed in this history with their biography.   

    Issac Remington was born in Boone Co, Indiana (1859) son of Hugh Remington. He married Elizabeth Brown of Nebraska and came to Walla Walla in 1902, and to Fairbanks in 1909 where he acquired the Fulton-Cooper places now occupied by Clarence Quirk, Lloyd Messenger, Robert Swett, Rex Kaseburg and Marvin Markman. The Robert Swett home was the Fairbanks store and post office operated by Cyrus C. Cooper (1905-1909). Their children were: Hugh; farmer of Company Hollow whose son Victor farms in the Columbia District;. Cleo of The Dalles whose sons Vince and Gale are farmers and Ray and Bennett live in The Dalles; William who lives on the Joe Boyer-Linnton piece about 3 miles below Fairbanks and whose daughter Mildred is Mrs. Earl Wagonblast of the Fairbanks district and daughter Virginia (Mrs. Harold McLaughlin) lives in Hood River; Clara Remington (Mrs. A.J. Ray) lives in The Dalles but her son Forest Hay occupies the English post office site, under which the Hay biography appears.

Early Settlers

    Other early settlers of the Fairbanks area, listed in The Dalles directory of 1883 were: W. Bennett, G.A. Erskine, Joe Shields, Robert Snodgrass, Joe Southwell, Frank Fulton, Dan Cooper, Bellshaw (Earnest Kuck place); August Deckert, E.C. Haight, James Fulton, John Brookhouse, George Linnton one the Wm. Remington place and who had 2 sons and 4 daughters; the Kennisons of Emigrant Pass (1910).

1910 Settlers        

    The Dalles directory of 1910 listed Cyrus Cooper, August Deckert, Frank Fulton, James Fulton, Helen Haight, James Hurst, T.E. Kuyniston, James and R.H. Vibbert; and Settlemeier & Riggs, who, according to Cliff Gilpin, planted an orchard at Fairbanks, and had a fruit dryer out there then. Orchards seem to be popular in the 1910-20 period and they were often planted in locations not suitable for them. Part of the orchard was acquired by Issac Remington and part by Clarence Look. Issac Remington built the house on the Rex Kaseburg place and he later lived in the Cyrus Cooper house, where the store and ­post office were located.

    The exact location of the Company Ranch Hollow village, was just above the junction of the Old Oregon Trail and Company Hollow ravine. The site was excellent to run their stock on, plenty of good pasture, plenty of water, a nice protected place for the buildings and the many  corrals needed for the livestock. Wm. Remington says, "I have found lots of old oxen and horse shoes in and about the old horse-shoeing shop. Of course I knew nothing about the existence of the village and wondered how they got there and why a blacksmith shop of the size that would use so much iron, which we have plowed up, existed!” R.R. Thompson, one of the partners in the venture and founder of Thompson's Addition to The Dalles, was described as: "In his later years R.R. Thompson wore a long white beard and ear rings. He chewed tobacco, which kept his white whiskers dyed brown in the region of his mouth; and he was considered the best poker player in eastern Oregon;" according to Ralph Moody, attorney of Salem. (For more R.R. Thompson story see pages 80, 221 and 222.)

    The enlarging of Todd's Fridge at Sherars, by Robert Mays In 1864, diverted much of the emigrant traffic from that date on, through Tygh and over the Old Barlow road to the Willamette valley. Fairbanks from 1864 to the building of highway 30 in 1922, never again carried the heavy volume of traffic over the Old Oregon Trail, that was carried before that date. The building of the free bridge across the Deschutes, between Kloan, on the Wasco County side of the river and Freebridge, on the Sherman county side of the river, in the early 1880's, -- again diverted traffic away from Fairbanks. The Freebridge road forked off the old Oregon Trail, near the Pearcy Place, at the top of Kuykendahl Hill, proceeded east through English, Freebridge on the Great Southern, Kloan and Freebridge on the Deschutes, and then through Sherman county to Shaniko, Antelope, Mitchell or to Prineville. After Sherman county was taken off Wasco in 1880, the need for travel was less; and the railroad construction in 1882 made another very important cut in the volume of traffic through Fairbanks.

ENGLISH

    The post office of English was located 10 miles east of The Dalles, in the Columbia District and on the Freebridge road, at the head of Company Ranch Hollow. It was established July 2, 1996 with Christopher C. English the postmaster, and closed August 12, 1898. This post office was served by The Dalles to Moro and Sherman county stage, which branched off the Old Oregon Trail road about 2 miles west of English and crossed the Deschutes river on the free bridge at Freebridge and Kloan, on the Deschutes. It is apparent from the date of closure that the stage line to Sherman county was suspended in the summer of 1898 by the extension of the railroad from Biggs to Moro, and later (1901) to Shaniko.

    Christopher English moved on to his homestead in the 1880's from around the Yakima country; then his wife died about 1898 and he moved back over to Ellensburg country for a time with his daughter Tina, renting his place. Finally, according to Ray Pearcy, Dalles Taxie owner and 1898 resident of English.

    Mr. English sold the place to "Slippery Jim" Bennett, who fixed up the fences and sold it to Harry Richards. Harry kept it for a while, and it got run down again so he sold it back to "Slippery Jim" and this went on two or three times before Marlin Remington bought it and he and Archie Remington operated the place until they sold it to A. Jack Hay. In the meantime Chris English went down to Ashland, Oregon where he was last known to be operating the hotel and mineral springs down there.

A. Jack Hay

    A. Jack Hay was born (1884) son of Thomas George and Ida (Imgley) Hay of Yreka, Calif. His brothers were Tom, Archie, Lee and James Hay. Tom Hay farmed in the Columbia district, near English on the Barnum place. The family moved from Yreka to Scio, Oregon in 1890 and to The Dalles in 1901. In 1915 A. Jack Hay purchased the old post office site of English. He had married, that same year, Clare Remington, daughter of Isaac Remington of Fairbanks. Their children were: Floyd Hay, surveyor of Montana; Doris (Mrs. Lioriel Hamlin) deceased; and Forest Hay, born at The Dalles in 1918 and who married Katherine Herman, and who operates the Hay ranch, formerly the old English post office site and his children are Dolores Anne and Forest Jackson Hay. The mother Clara Hay resides in The Dalles and helped furnish this Hay biography.

First Settlers

    The first settlers of the English--Columbia District were Howard Pearcy, father of Ray of The Dalles; Bert and Frank Emerson, whose biography appears under the Wrentham section of this history; Tom Hay, Martin Jaksha, Wm. Richards, "Slippery Jim" Bennett, Archie Remington, Malin Remington, Chester Campbell on the Pankonone place, Mr. Carlson on the Virgil Kelley place; Elk Conklin on the English place; Mr. Hart on the Pearcy place; Bert And on the Lou Kelley place; Herman Wilhelm on the Virgil Kelley place. This data checked with Cliff Gilpin, whose father moved to the Gilpin place, just above Wrentham (1881) and who visited with Chris English at Ashland just before he (Gilpin) died in 1907.

Martin Jaksha

    Martin Jaksha, 500 acre wheat and stock rancher of the English-Columbia district, was born in Austria (1848) son of John and Anne (Golovich) Jaksha and learned 4 languages. He came to Portland in 1879 and filed on his homestead at English in 1880. He married Albina Pashek and had son Andrew Jaksha.

Wm. Richards

    Wm. Richards, carpenter and 735 acre wheat farmer at English and owner of the English post office site once or twice, was born in Penn. (1844) son of Daniel and Mary (Raub) Richards. He came to The Dalles in 1883 as a carpenter and filed on his homestead, near English, moving on to it in 1888. He married Abbie Adams and their children were: Mary (Mrs. Clarence Sisson) Portland; Susan (Mrs. John Mann) The Dalles; Lillie (Mrs. Richard Howarth) Portland; Edith (Mrs. Frank Howarth) and Harry Richards who lived with his father, farmed in the Columbia district and is now a carpenter in Portland.

Bones of Mammoth Found at English

    Last March (1952) Forest Hay dug up some really "ancient history" about English, while looking for agates near his home. He was down in Company Hollow gulley when he found something that looked like a round stone. As he dug it up he found it was a ball and socket point of an animal's leg bone that almost fell to pieces before he could get it home. It was a brown color and almost 3 feet long and 8 inches in diameter. He knew a bone of that size could come from no present day animal, except the elephant, and the only known American relative to the elephant was the Wooly Mammoth, which became extinct during the ice age a million years ago! Two geologists identified the bones as those of an adult mammoth which roamed the area 10,000 to 85,000 years ago! Sam Sargent, Army Engineer geologist at The Dalles dam and Ed. Morrow, flying geologist of The Dalles made the identification and concluded it was a front upper leg of the animal. They also found 2 teeth, well preserved, weighing 10 pounds and measuring 8 inches in width and concluded the animal was 14 feet high from the ground to the shoulders.

    Professors E.M. Baldwin and J.E. Gair of the University of Oregon and members of their geology class took the teeth and bones to the Thomas Condon museum at Eugene. Another expedition was planned to the Company Hollow location to dig for the remaining bits of the skeleton. A tip of a tusk, on the Rex Kaseburg place, at the foot of Company Hollow, was also taken back to Eugene by the group. Professor Baldwin cautioned that excavation will expose the bones to the air and when they dry out they crumble. They wondered whether the animal had died a natural death or had been killed by an arrow or other evidence of man's presence in this area 25,000 years ago!

    Mr. Egbert recalled that when he was a boy on his father J.C. Egbert's place above Wrentham, they had discovered some large bones, similar to those found on the Hay place, near the house on the place now owned by the Fax brothers. This would indicate that that whole country, especially the ravines, is good geological hunting out in that area.

FREEBRIDGE on the Great Southern

    The post office of Freebridge, on the Great Southern railroad, 12 miles east of The Dalles, was established January 29, 1908 with Louis Peterson as postmaster. He was succeeded in office by Ida Carlisle. The office was closed July 30, 1910. Besides the post office there was a store and wheat recieving warehouse on the Great Southern. It was named Freebridge in 1905 by the Great Southern rail­road because it was the junction point on the Great Southern, where the wagon, stage and freight road to Sherman county, crossed the Deschutes river on the free bridge, built in the 1880's by Wasco county so the people east of the Deschutes (now Sherman county) would have a free road into The Dalles. All other roads from Sherman county were toll roads, toll bridges or toll ferries.

    Mrs. Ida Carlisle of Miller says, "Mr. L. Peterson resigned as postmaster at Freebridge and I was appointed in January 1909. My husband, W.H. Carlisle, and I operated a store in connection with the post office on the Great Southern railroad. My maiden name was Ida Stranahan (of Hood River). When the Freebridge post office was discontinued the mail was sent to Wrentham. The mail for the Deschutes river railroad construction crews (1910-11) was received at the Freebridge post office. When the Moody post office was established Feb. 28, 1912 I was postmaster at that office. In 1917 it was moved to Miller, in Sherman county and the name changed to Miller in 1926. I retired Nov. 30, 1950 on account of age.

FREEBRIDGE on the Deschutes

    There is a tremendous amount of confusion and bewilderment regarding the difference between the locations of Freebridge, on the Great Southern railroad up 15 Mile creek; and Freebridge, on the Union Pacific rail road (opposite Kloan) on the Sherman county side of the Deschutes river; and the free bridge, Wasco County built across the Deschutes river between Kloan, on the Wasco County side and Freebridge, on the Sherman county side of the Deschutes! If this Freebridge section of this history accomplishes no more than clear up that confusion, it will be a worthy accomplishment. Freebridge, on the Deschutes was an important construction camp location for the Union Pacific railroad during the construction days of 1910-11. Most of their supplies were unloaded at Wasco or Moro and freighted by wagons to Freebridge railroad camp site. Kloan, on the Wasco county side of the river had equal importance as a campsite for construction crews of the Oregon Trunk railroad and they recieved their supplies by the Great Southern railroad, which unloaded them at Freebridge, on the Great Southern, and hauled them over the hill and down Rattlesnake Grade to the Deschutes camp at Kloan.

    The freight and stage road from Freebridge, on the Great Southern, followed up 15 Mile about 1½ miles to the Ben Hurst place (now owned by Joe Kelley), then east up the mountain where it connected with the Neubeck, (on the Great Southern) road and went on over the hill, down Rattlesnake Grade to Kloan. The Freebridge-Neabecto junction was the site of the original Columbia District school at which Bert Emerson, Charlie Swinford, John Brookhouse, Frank Emerson and other old timers went to school in the 1880's and 1890's. This school was later moved to Neabeck, then to the present site of the Columbia Farmers' Union hall and still later to Freebridge, on the Great Southern, where it was torn down during the depression of the 1930's when school bus service was established. If that school house had been mounted on wheels it would have saved the taxpayers of that district the cost of at least 3 buildings!

Freebrigde on the Great Southern, Changed to Daneville

    To add further to the confusion of people's minds about "these Freebridges", we find that along about 1920 Freebridge, on the Great Southern, had its name changed to DANEVILLE! Henry Peterson of The Dalles, son of Louis Peterson of Freebridge, explains as follows, "One day John Stapleton, a Union Pacific rail­road official from Omaha, Neb. and a distant relative of the Petersons, came west to pay them a visit. Their railroad pass brought them to Freebridge, on the Deschutes, where they got off the train and he and his wife could find no Peterson family or any other residents of Freebridge! They finally got back to The Dalles, examined records and found there were TWO Freebridges. He requested John Heimrich, owner of the Great Southern railroad to change the name of his Freebridge station. Heimrich consulted Louis Peterson about the problem and Mr. Peterson agreed to a change and suggested the name of DANEVILLE because he was from Denmark. This was agreeable to John Heimrich and for the rest of the years the Great Southern operated the warehouse was called DANEVILLE! The present owner of the Freebridge-Daneville station, on the Great Southern railroad is George Wagonblast, whose biography appears on page 219 of this history and who has assisted in clearing up this tangled history.

Early Settlers

    In 1908 Freebridge was credited with having a Baptist church and the following settlers: John Woolery, Perry McCorkle, Jim Kelley, Walter H. Carlisle, W.E. Gilhouson, E.I. Conklin, W.H. Gilbreth, R.G. Gray, Louis and James Peterson, N.A. Blinston, John Hettman, J.J. Floyd, Joe Ramus; Jim Bennett, the Southwells, Wm. Foss of Blowout Hollow, Douglas Place at mouth of Douglas Hollow (sold Ben Hurst).

Louis Peterson

    Louis Peterson was born in Denmark (1861) came to San Francisco (1883) and to Freebridge in 1900. He married Mary Maclearn and their children were: James of Portland, Martin of Vernonia and Henry of Dalles.

Ida Carlisle

    Was born in Hood River (1880) daughter of Chas. Stranahan, manager of the Wasco warehouse, Civil and Indian war veteran of Minn. who settled at Hood River in 1877. He married Margaret McKinley and their children were: James, Geo., Chas and John, farmers; Maude, Eva, Maggie and Ida (Mrs. Walter H. Carlisle) postmaster of Freebridge and Moody. --History of Central Oregon.

John Woolery

    Was born in Mo. (1830) son of Henry and Lettitia (Beatty) Woolery, came to Oregon by ox-teem in 1852; fought in the Indian Wars of 1856 and settled at Freebridge among the Indians whom he didn't fear, in 1857. He married Ada Wilson who died in 1881 and children were: Ina and Floyd Woolery.

NEABECK

    The Neabeck station on the Great Southern railroad, 2 miles up 15 Mile creek from the Freebridge­Daneville station, was named for the Wm. Henry Neabeck family. Among Lulu D. Crandall's clippings at The Dalles Library we located the following obituary published in the 1923 Chronicle which said:

William Neabeck

    Wm. Henry Neabeck, whose recent death occurred at his home near The Dalles, was born in Germany (1840) and went to the California gold fields in 1847 and carried mail between California and Fort Tucson, Arizona and was an Arizona Indian war veteran participating in one or two campaigns with hostile Indians in that part of the southwestern U.S. before he came to The Dalles in 1885 to operate a livery stable. His livery stable was burned out in the big fire of 1891. He then moved to his Neabeck ranch, formerly the James Woolery place where he spent his remaining life. He is survived by two daughters Mrs. Venz Bauer of Portland and Mrs. Wm. J. Sayyeau 214 E 14, The Dalles, a son Ben of The Dalles and a son George of Vincent, Oregon.

    Old timers will recall that Venz Bauer, 118 W 8, was son of Jacob and Johanna Bauer, operated a real estate office in The Dalles and the first "automobile livery service"; they didn't call it a "taxi service" in 1910 like they do in 1950; and what will they call it in the year 2000?

    We also want to call to the attention of the student and history critic that we listed John Woolery, the 1858 Indian war veteran who settled at "Freebridge" in 1857 and had son Floyd; but since Neabeck didn't exist before 1905,the "Freebridge area" took in Neabeck; therefore both John and James Woolery can rightfully be credited as living in either or both of these places.

    Our old friend Carson C. Masiker says, "the next place above Donnells (at Brookhouse) was (1880) Wyman Hembree at the mouth of Hembree or Blowout canyon (Freebridge-Daneville). He sold to Wm. Foss. Above him was the James Woolery place." The History of Central Oregon's biography called James Woolery "John J. Woolery”! To clarify the record we shall call this early 1857 settler at Neabeck JOHN JAMES WOOLERY and he had no brothers or sisters listed in his biography, nor has there ever been any other Woolery that ever lived in that section of lower 15 Mile. John and James Woolery are therefore one and the same man. As we have mentioned, under the Brookhouse biography (Fairbanks), "John Brookhouse walked up 15 Mile creek to the Columbia school, at the junction of the Freebridge and Neabeck roads, past the many camps of Indians, some of whom were not always as friendly toward white people as they could have been." All the way up 15 Mile from the John Brookhouse place to Neabeck were wig wam after wig wam (Tee-Pees) of Indian dwellings for 3 miles! That meant a lot of Indians lived along the creek there from the time Woolery went out there in 1857 to 1900 or over 40 years! Since the Yakima Indian War had just been fought to completion (1855-56) it took a lot of courage on the part of John James Woolery and his wife to move to their homestead at Neabeck! For his heroism and bravery and that of his wife, for having the courage to blaze the trail for settlement in that area, among hostile Indians, and living the balance of their pioneer lives out there, until practically all the Indians left, we are crediting them as being among the most outstanding people in Wasco county.

    The obituary of Wm. Neabeck said, "he operated a livery stable in The Dalles until the fire of 1891 when he moved to his ranch at Neabeck where he lived the balance of his life." As a matter of fact Louis Kelley says, "Wm. Neabock first lived on the W.E. Gilhousen place at Freebridge-Daneville, then on the Dan Bulley place at Neabeck and later he moved in to The Dalles to a house near 20th & Mt. Hood streets where he died." However Wm. Neabeck was the pioneer resident of Neabeck station in 1905 when the Great Southern railroad was put up 15 Mile and the station was named for him by John Heimrich.

Early Settlers

    John James Woolery, Chester, Burt and Frank Emerson; Chas. Swinford, Wm. Neabeck, Marion, Ben and James Hurst; Douglas, Dave and Andy Allen; Bulley and Barzee families and "Slippery Jim" Bennett.

Neabeck Station

    The big Warehouse at Neabeck did its biggest business in 1909-10 when Louis Kelley received freight for Tohey Bros., contractors on the Oregon Trunk railroad at Kloan. The warehouse was also used to receive and ship sacked wheat on the Great Northern. Neabeck station was later acquired by Bert Emerson and his sister Lillian (Mrs. Wm. Crawford). It is now owned by Vernon Crawford and he and his son-in-law F.O. Bradford live on the place which includes all of Neabeck.

The Neabeck Hospital

    Very few people can remember that there was ever a hospital anywhere in Wasco County, outside of The Dalles! But Dr. Fred F. Thompson, retired physician of The Dalles said, "I operated a 27 bed hospital at Neabeck from July 1, 1909 to November 1910, to accommodate sick and injured patients of the Oregon Trunk railroad construction gangs. They brought the patients up Rattlesnake Grade, in wagons, from Kloan to the Neabeck Hospital. The hospital was on the east bank of the creek, faced the creek."

    Wherever there is a hospital there has to be a cemetery. Harold Emerson said, "the Neabeck cemetery contains the bodies of about 10 Italians and other construction workers who were severely injured or died from other causes during railroad construction days up the Deschutes. It was located on the West bank of the creek just above the Neabeck warehouse." The Indian cemetery is located about half way between Neabeck and Freebridge-Daneville, on the east bank of the creek.

    George Wagonblast recalls having a minor finger injury treated at the Neabeck hospital. Roy Johnson (biography on page 74) said, “When I was working for the Oregon Trunk railroad at Kloan in 1909 I got sick with fever. They wanted me to go to bed in the Neabeck hospital but I came on the train into The Dalles and entered The Dalles hospital with typhoid fever from bad drinking water. I remained doubled up in bed and unconscious 72 days! My body wasted to 50 pounds. They expected me to die. I was taken home in a doubled-up condition and it took Dr. J.E. Anderson, osteopath, 30 treatments in 30 days to got me back so I could walk. He walked from town up to the historical buildings to give me those treatments and only charged $30. Now the patient walks to the doctor and pays $5 a treatment!"

EMERSON

    The next station above Neabeck, about 4 miles, on the Great southern railroad, was Emerson, named for the pioneer Chester W. Emerson, son of Alfonso and Sarah Emerson, 1853 ox-team emigrants to The Dalles, thence by boat to Portland and steamer to San Francisco, settling at Knights Ferry, California where Chester W. Emerson was born (18_4). He married Elizabeth Russel, daughter of Chas Russel, of Farm­ington, Calif. and came to The Dalles in 1881 where he worked in the railroad shops until 1884, when he settled on a farm just below Emerson station, where he became a wheat and stock rancher. He retired in 1911 and moved to Seattle where he died in 1938. His wife died in Seattle in 1944.

    Their children were: Bert Emerson, native (1882) son of The Dalles, retired farmer of the Emerson and Neabeck stations who has assisted with the history of that area. He married Laura Remington, daughter of Malon Remington of Fairbanks and their children were: Elsie (Mrs. Ogden Elwood) Portland and Ralph who died single. -- Biography by Bert Emerson.

    Frank Emerson (son of Chester W.) was born at Farmington, Calif. (1879) and was a retired farmer of the Emerson area. He married Fannie Moe (1902) daughter of J.C. and Martha (Harper) Moe of Boyd where the Moes lived for nearly 100 years. Their children were: Florence (Mrs. Owen Austin) Medford; Harold Emerson, farmer of Emerson station, married Lavitta Lambert and have Chester, Anabel and Marlyn; Eldon Emerson, farmer of the Tony Wilhelm and Emerson station places, married Myrtle Davies of Vancouver and have Joanne, Helen and Jean; Allen Emerson, single, cattleman of Emerson station; Frank Emerson Jr. married Betty Payne, lives in The Dalles and has Dan and Charlotte. -- Biography by Mrs. Frank Emerson, Sr.

    Lillian Emerson (daughter of Chester) married Wm. Crawford and they have a son Ray of Medford; Vernon who farms the Neabeck Crawford ranch with his son-in-law F.O. Bradford; Mel of Sweet Home and Willard of Evanston, Ill.

Emerson Station

    The warehouse at Emerson station was built by Malcolm Moody in 1905. A small elevator was built and later an 80,000 bushel elevator was constructed in 1917 by the Standard Hollow Elevator Co. and was torn down in 1935. There was no store or post office at Emerson because the Wrentham post office was only ½ mile up the creek and served the community until R.3 was extended.

Early Settlers

    Besides Chester, Bert and Frank Emerson; our old historian Carson C: Masiker says, "the next place above Jim Woolerys (Neabeck) was the Douglas place (1860) at the mouth of Douglas Hollow (about ½ mile above Neabeck) who left in 1862. The next place was “Spokane” Jacksons, his wife Mary being from the Spokane Indian tribe. Then the Nelson Moad place at the mouth of Moad Hollow, later changed to Buchanan Hollow and still later to STANDARD HOLLOW;" – now Emerson station is at the mouth of Standard Hollow. Other places were: Anderson Obarr, James Johnson; J.C. Egbert; John Mahn, Tony Wilhelm, Albert S. Roberts, Julius Pankonin, Walt Korage, John Moad 1865-1886 Dalles to Canyon City pack train operator, went to Tygh.

    Cliff Gilpin says, “The Perry Watkins place (Emerson station) in 1884, when Watkins had it, a hard winter blizzard and deep snow and lack of feed caused Mr. Watkins to lose nearly 1000 head of horses. The Pankonin place was then operated by Archie Darnielle. The Archie Campbell place, now called the Barnum place, joined Pankonin on the north while Martin Jaksha place was just across the road.”

    Ed Egbert says; "Between the house and the road on the upper Fax place in 1891 we found bones of a Mammoth like those recently found at English, and 2 miles east of the Egbert ranch house 8 or 10 petrified trees stood on the Jim Johnson place, near Mud Springs and Rattlesnake Grade."

Anderson Obarr

    Anderson Obarr and his wife Julia (Braden) Obarr were early settlers of the Emerson district where their son George Obarr, was born (1883) and married (1906) Ethel Treat, daughter of Edward Treat, Dalles farmer. George Obarr retired from farming at Emerson in 1922 and died in 1947. His son Linden Obarr operates the ranch. Linden married Louise Chandler and their children are Linda and Judy. Laverne Obarr married Farrel Jenkins and lives in Portland. Reta  Obarr married Linn Marshall and lives in The Dalles. -- Biography by Mrs. George Obarr.        

Jim Johnson

    James Johnson was born (1870) at Salem son of Joel and Ellen (Trockell) Johnson, emigrants from Scotland who came to the Salem area in 1860 and to The Dalles in 1892 where the family settled on their Douglas Hollow ranch above Emerson. James Johnson married Belle Allen, daughter of James Allen, farmer of the Neabeck area. James Johnson's sister (Mrs. Herb Egbert) lived in The Dalles; his sister Lydia (Mrs. Myron Farrington) was postmaster of Wrentham and later as Mrs. Wm. Underwood continued as Wrentham postmaster.

    The James Johnson children were: Ralph Johnson who acquired the home place in 1929 and married Grace Reed, daughter of George Reed and their son James operated the old home place jointly with his father. Dr. Dean Johnson, son of James, is a practicing dentist of The Dalles and married Zena De Bitt and have a daughter Virginia. -- Biography by Ralph Johnson.

The Kortge Brothers

    Matt, Walt, Ray and Wm. Kortge, all sons of Fred and Rachel Kortge of West Salem, Illinois where they were all born. Walt married Winifred Coffee in Illnois, came to The Dalles and worked on the A.S. Roberts ranch (1907) which he now owns jointly with his son Kenneth. He first rented a portion of the Roberts ranch then bought the McIntire place, which he still owns. When wheat got down to 25¢ a bushel, during the big depression, he had the courage to buy the Roberts ranch, and now owns 6500 acres. His son Gary is on the Schanno ranch; his daughter Maxine (Mrs. Guard Fulton) lives on the Wm. Floyd place and his daughter Verl (Mrs. Ron  VanOrman) lives in Klamath Falls.

    Wm. Kortge lives in Portland. Ray Kortge lives on lower 8 Mile. Matt Kortge, retired, lives in The Dalles and his son Wm. farms the Mann place, in Douglas Hollow; J. Ray Kortge farms in  Jap Hollow and Paul was the No. 1 wheat farmer of Wasco County for 1952 and lives at Dufur on part of the old Malcolm Moody-Angus McLeod place. -- Biography by Walt Kortge of The Dalles.

WRENTHAM

    The post office of Wrentham, on the Great Southern railroad ½ mile up 15 Mile creek from Emerson and 11 miles southeast of The Dalles, was established October 12, 1900 with Mrs. Myron Farington, sister of Jim Johnson of Douglas Hollow above Emerson, as postmaster. After Mr. Farington's death she became Mrs. Wm. Underwood but continued to operate the store and post office at Wrentham until it was closed December 15, 1936. The name Wrentham was chosen by the Farington family who came from Wrentham Hill, N.Y. The large warehouse on the railroad was owned by the Wrentham Warehouse Co. and used to receive and ship sacked wheat on the Great Southern railroad. It is now the property of the Eddins Brothers of The Dalles. The post office and store were in the dwelling now occupied by Earnest Mason, who assisted with this history on Wrentham. Fred Fisher ran a stockade trading post for the 1000 Indians at Wrentham (1862-1880).

Early Settlers

    Carson C. Masiker wrote, "Next (above Emerson) came the Cogswell place (Wrentham). He died in 1881 and was buried on the place beside a child there." Other early settlers were: D.O. Davis, the Fairfields at the mouth of Jamison Hollow; Jake Gulliford on the Dave Nelson place; Bert Case on the Chas. Nelson place; George Harth on the Harth places; Henry Gilpin at the Gilpin corner; Vince, J.D. and J.L. Kelley; J. Park Bolton; Myron Farington; Scott McKellar on the Nick Mason place; George Mann; J. W. Quirk on the creek; the Runyan Brothers, later at Neabeck; Dave and Chas. Nelson and W.D. Richards. The Dalles direct­ory of 1910 said, Wrentham was settled in 1885. (Masiker says 1880). In 1910 Myron Farington operated a store and feed mill at Wrentham and the Wrentham Warehouse Co. was managed by James L. Kelley.

Kieran Kelley (1832-1884).

    Kieran Kelley was born in county Kilkenny, Ireland; came to Canada with parents (1837) his mother dying at sea and his father shortly thereafter in Quebec. The orphan spent his early life near St. Paul, Minn. where he married Mary Burke and moved to San Jose, Cal. as a brick mason and to Portland (1870), Walla Walla and The Dalles (1880) where he homesteaded on Center Ridge (above Wrentham). He sold to Frederick Clausen (1882) and moved into Wrentham Canyon where he died in 1884. Their children were: James, Joseph, Vincent, Katherine and Roanna.

    James Leo Kelley (1881-1929) farmer of Wrentham married Henrietta Wakefield and their children were: 1. Leo Henry, scalded to death at 3; 2. Louis J., farmer above Fairbanks, m. Alice Hillgen and they have (A) R.H.L. farmer of lower 15 Mile and Columbia districts who married Margaret Wiley and have Teresa, Constance, Peter, Raymond, Richard and Virginia. (B) Ardis (Mrs. O.W. Gustafson) who have Edwin, Alice, Marie, Stephen and William. 3. Most Rev. Edward J. Kelley, bishop of the Catholic church at Boise, Idaho since 1928. 4. Raymond F. Kelley, deceased farmer of the Columbia district and Dalles business man, married Augusta Mayer and had sons: (A) James, farmer of the Columbia district and Dalles business man who married Mercedes Foley, daughter of Pat Foley, Hotel Dalles owner and they have James Jr., Diane, Kelvin, Mark. (B) Wilbur, farmer of the Columbia district, married Emily Amsheys of N.J. and have Brian and Michael. (C) Vernon, farmer of Wrentham, married Lucielle Thouvenel and have Paul, Thomas and Douglas. (D) Kennith, fruitrancher of 3 Mile, married Patricia Bennett and have Kenneth Jr. 4. Virgil, fruit rancher of 3 Mile and Dalles business man, married Eva Gilpin and had: (A) Leonard, fruit rancher of 3 Mile and wheat rancher of the Columbia district, married Barbara McClure of LaGrande and they have Kathleen, Sharon, Colleen. (B) Jerry married Donna Ingram. James Leo Kelley was also a Dalles business man, mayor of The Dalles and state legislative representative and farmed in other areas besides Wrentham.

    Joseph Daniel Kelley (1864-1947) farmer of the Wrentham area, Dalles City councilman and water commis­sioner; married Margaret LeDuc, daughter of James LeDuc of Rail Hollow and they had: 1. Margaret Mary now Sister Margaret Jean of Marylhurst college. 2. Kieran, farmer of Wrentham, married Rita Hurley and have Patrick, Brenda, Sheila and Maureen. 3. Donna (Mrs. Wm. E. Hart) Seattle who have Barry and John. 4. Joseph, farmer of Freebridge-Neabeck area, married Dawn Corey and have Frances; John and Daniel. Joseph D. Kelley farmed the original Kieran Kelley ranch above Wrentham and bought the George Fall, F.H. Wakefield and George Barnett ranches now operated by Kieran Kelley, - son of Joseph D.

    Vincent John Kelley (1867-1939) operated the original Kieran Kelley ranch jointly with his brother Joseph D., owned the Ward mill site above Dufur and other holdings; married Alice Ward daughter of Joseph Wm. Ward Boyd and Dufur sawmill owner and farmer. Their children were William and Vincent Jr., both single and both died young.

    Katherine Kelley, daughter of Kieran Sr. married Daniel Curran of Portland and had Mary, John and Eileen. Roanna Kelley (Mrs. George Brown) The Dalles had no children. -- Biography by

Kieran Kelley.

J. Park Bolton

    J. Park Bolton, son of Absalom and Oliva Bolton of Bolton Canyon above Boyd, was a pioneer farmer of Wrentham and married 1. Minnie Heisler, daughter of Monroe of Dufur, and had Vern, who farms the Wrentham home place and Lois (Ms. Leon Crawford) Prossor. He married 2. Bertha Rabheim and had Louise of Long Beach, Cal., Anna (Mrs. Harold Hansen) Pleasant Grove, Utah and Betty, nurse of The Dalles.

Henry C. Gilpin

    Henry C. Gilpin was born (1848) in N.Y. son of Harry and ____ (Kile) Gilpin. He was a contractor in Portland from 1868 to 1880 when he came to The Dalles where he homesteaded just above Wrentham and did carpenter work on the Umatilla House and mason work on the Catholic church, riding a horse from the ranch to town and back each day. He married (1888) Lois Janes of Council Bluffs, Iowa and their children were: Claudia, single; Cliff who married Mary Nickerson and had Orville of Eugene and Lola (Mrs. Dick Obrist) Boise; Lincoln who married Louise Steenhout and had Harry, Claudia and Constance; and Veva (Mrs. Virgil Kelley) whose children appear above under the Kelley biography. -- Biography by Mrs. Virgil Kelley.

    GEORGE HARTH was born (1848) in Wisc. son Fred & Teresse (Best) Harth of Milwaukee; married Phebe Sims and farmed in the Columbia District (above Wrentham-west) 1894. Their son Chas. farmed part of home place and son George, of Vallejo, Cal., has his sons George and Wilbur on his places. Chas. Harth sold his place, just before his death, to Earl Meeker. --  Biography by Chas Harth.

RICE - Horace Rice

    The station of Rice, on the Great Southern railroad about 4 miles above Wrentham and about the same distance below Boyd, was named in honor of the Horace Rice family who settled there in 1863. Horace Rice was born (1829) in Ohio the son of Wm. Rice and came to The Dalles by covered wagon in 1851. The George Bolton--Horace Rice emigrant train ran out of provisions in Idaho and had to trade bedding and clothing to the Indians at Boise for fish skins to live on, supplemented by roots, roseballs, hazel brush and any game they were lucky to get and had their first good beef meal at Umatilla. They reported a small trad­ing post at The Dalles in 1851 but went on down to Milwaukee where Mr. Rice worked in a sawmill and Mrs. Rice took in boarders. They later located on a Donation Land Claim in Lane Co. where they stayed l2 years, coming to Rice in 1863 where they homesteaded and bought land until they acquired 1000 acres.

    The History of Central Oregon credits Horace Rice with, "Being the first man in Wasco county to plant wheat on the uplands of 15 Mile creek. His neighbors laughed at him and ridiculed his attempts to successfully grow wheat on the uplands until they saw the excellent crops he grew, then they commenced to raise wheat! Horace Rice is therefore credited with being the leader in wheat raising in Wasco county. We are therefore classifying him among the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco county.

    Horace Rice was born in Ohio the son of Wm. K. and Mary (Pettinggill) Rice. He married (1849) Eliza Bolton the daughter of George and Margaret (Duncan) Bolton of Virgins, George being the brother of Daniel Bolton, mentioned below and Absalom D. Bolton, sons of Jacob, the 1812 War Veteran of Virginia. The Rice children were:

    1. George W. Rice, born in 1850, came west by ox-team with his parents to Oregon, as an infant (1851), worked with his father on the home place at Rice, which was the old original Peter Rudio Donation Land Claim of 1854; homesteaded at 27 on adjoining land; bought the home place from his  father (Horace) in 1902 when retired to The Dalles and continued to operate it until he sold to the Fax Brothers in 1910 and retired to The Dalles. He married Ella Southern, daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Bolton) Southern of Boyd, who came to Oregon in 1871; and their only child was Naomi (Mrs. Lloyd Warman) who had a son George Warman killed in a motorcycle accident, and a daughter. By second marriage she is now Mrs. Leon Mohr of Ordance, Oregon where her husband is fire Chief and used to be Fire Chief at The Dalles.

    2. Austin C. Rice, born 1865, also farmed with his father at Rice station and at 24 bought railroad land. Later he went into the grocery business at Ashland but in 1895 returned to The Dalles and bought his brother George Rice’s place and farmed at Rice until his retirement in 1900. He married Ada Waller, the daughter of George and Mary (Doty) Waller and their children were: Darrel L. Rice of Los Angeles; Verl W. in California and Dale G. Rice last known to be in Portland. The Austin Rice place is now Geo. Boltons.

    3. Charles Wesley Rice is mentioned in the history of Wapinitia from 1885 to 1895 where he was a stock man and later operated a butcher shop in The Dalles. He went to California for his health which contin­ued to get worse and he died in Riverside in 1899. He had married Anna Evangeline Barnett, daughter of George Barnett and their children were: 1. Hallie Rice, clothing merchant of The Dalles and World War I veteran who married Ella McCoy, daughter of E.O. McCoy, manager of the Wasco Warehouse Milling Co. and their only child Christine (Mrs. Bert Keith) is a director of the school board of district 12 in The Dalles. 2. George Rice married Lillie Seufert, daughter of Arthur Seufert of The Dalles and their son Francis lives in Portland. George had an adopted son Hallie, an officer in the U.S.  Navy and George died in Juneau, Alaska. 3. Hazel Rice (Mrs. Jess Wright) operated a dairy on Chenowith creek, a few years ago, and their son George is a mortician and Insurance man of Salem.

4. Anna Rice (Mrs. C.H. Southern) lived at Boyd where the biography is to be found.

5. Nellie Rice (Mrs. Dan Mann) lived at Collins Landing, Wash.

6. Etta Rice (Mrs. M.M. Waterman) of The Dalles.

7. Amanda Rice (Mrs. Lamuel Gassaway) of Dufur died in 1885.

Biography by Mrs. R.D. Maxon; Nellie Butler; History of Central Oregon).

Absalom D. Bolton (1821-1903)

    Absalom D. Bolton & brother Daniel Bolton and the Horace Rice family all came west together in the same ox-team train of 1851, all nearly starved to death together when they ran out of provisions and had to eat fish skins, rose buds, roots, suffering great privations; went on down into the Willam­ette valley together and returned to Rice where Absalom Bolton settled in Bolton Canyon, near the Bolton school, just east of Rice station (1863). Absalom Bolton was born in Va. (1821) son of Jacob, an 1812 War veteran and Elizabeth (Inksell) Bolton. He married a cousin Oliva Bolton daughter of Wm. and Sallie (Southern) Bolton and their children were:

1. J. Park Bolton, farmer of Jamison and Wrentham canyons who married. l. Minnie Heisler, daughter of Monroe Heisler of Dufur and their children were: Vern, who farms the Wrentham canyon place and Lois (Mrs. Leon Crawford) Prosser, Wash. Park married 2. Bertha Rebheim and they had Louise of Long Beach, Calif.; Anna (Mrs. Harold Hansen) Pleasant Grove, Utah and Betty, nurse of The Dalles.

2. Dee Lee Bolton, farmer at Wrentham who married Margaret Pratt, daughter of James Pratt the operator of the 12 Mile House on The Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight line (see under Wasco)  and their child­ren were: Lloyd L. Bolton of The Dalles who married Margaret Hastings and had Enid, Hazel and Veda of The Dalles; Nora (Mrs. Ed. Charles) of Vale; Guy who farmed at Wrentham for a time and married Violet Benedict and had Elnora and Hollis of Dufur; Arden Bolton of Bishop, Calif.

3. Grant Bolton, farmer of Rice, married Cora Terry daughter of Wm. Walton and their children were: Linn of Boyd who married Wilma Gardner and had Patricia and Susan; Grant Jr. of The Dalles who married Janet Hastings and had Judith and Carol; Bethel (Mrs. Robert Cinniyotei) of The Dalles who has son Stephan.

4. George Bolton, druggist of Lebanon, Oregon, has no children.

5. Dean Bolton, of Rice and The Dalles married Sylby Allen of Neabeck and their children were Arol Grants Pass; Eunice (Mrs. Jess Burson) Paso Robles, Calif.; Nedra and Urada of Calif. Dean died in Calif.

6. Addie Bolton married Lewis P. Bolton of Boyd, son of Chas. H. and Louisa (Bolton) Bolton of Macedonia, Iowa. Their children were: Roy of Centerville, Wash.; Esta of Calif.; Clyde of Glenwood, Wash.; Erma (Mrs. Howard Selleck) The Dalles; Gail of Boyd, single; Elma (Mrs. Ray N. Kortge) The Dalles; George of Boyd who married Ruth Cole and have Caroline; Clair on 8 Mile, The Dalles, married Hazel Thomas and have Lavelle (Mrs. Dick Avimore) The Dalles.

    The Absalom Bolton place at Rice is occupied by Claude Terry. Biography by Vern Bolton, Mrs. Grant Bolton, Mrs. Clair Bolton and the History of Central Oregon.

Daniel Bolton

    Daniel Bolton came west with his brother Absalom and settled about half way between Rice and Boyd, on the west side of 15 Mile creek and on the place now occupied by Clayton Ward and operated jointly with his father Eldon Ward. He married Elizabeth Fullweilder and their children were:

1. Wilbur Daniel Bolton, born at Boyd 1880, married Jennie Gilmore of The Dalles and moved to Antelope where he ran the Antelope Mercantile Co. with his brother Virgil. Their children were; (A) D.V. Bolton, Wasco County Clerk who married Edna Rooper and had Verna (Mrs. Jim Carson) The Dalles. (B) Gatch Bolton of The Dalles who married Margaret Rooper of Antelope and had Valarie of Portland; Maxine (Mrs. Dorman Phillips) Tumalto and Bessie (Mrs. Blake Johnson) Vancouver.

2. Virgil Bolton, partner of his brother Wilbur in the Antelope Mercantile Co. from 1887 to 1891 when he died at Antelope. He had married Nellie French, daughter of Joshua of The Dalles.

3. Zenas Bolton, farmer of Yakima, Wash.

4. Simeon Bolton, Wasco County Clerk, Klickitat County Clerk, Wasco County Abstract owner, postmaster of The Dalles 1921 to 1929, married Rose O'Donnell and had a son Herb, Dalles photographer.

5. Mitchel Bolton, single, deceased before 1905.

6. Ella Bolton (Mrs. W.A. McFarland) Seattle, Wash.

Biography by D.V. Bolton, Mrs. Grant Bolton. and History of Central Oregon.

Rice Station

    The Rice Station on the Great Southern railroad consisted of a warehouse and a large 60,000 bushel grain elevator which testified to the large volume of wheat raised in and around Rice station. Horace Rice was a Justice of the Peace at Rice, with power to marry people, try horse thieves, trigger happy cow and sheepmen or Indians, and levy fines or other sentences to maintain justice. Rice was not a post office nor did it ever have a store located there. It does boast of a school in its history and a pioneer cemetery. The platt for the town of Rice was filed in Wasco County Clerk's office July 29, 1905 by George and Ella Rice, which testifies to the high hopes of the settlement when the railroad was built up

15 Mile in 1905.

The Fax Brothers

    The Fax Brothers, Nick, John and Mathew of Luxemburg were sons of John Sr. John Jr. (1872-1952) was single as was Mathew, who returned to Luxemburg in 1905. Nick Fax married Gertrude Peterson of Sweden and came to the U.S. with his brothers and wife in 1892, first working for the railroad in The Dalles. In 1897 they went to the gold fields of Alaska with John Penny, Dalles stone cutter. They mined for gold around Tannaua and Dawson City. The soil on an island in the Yukon river, near Dawson City, seemed rich in fish bones and waste parts, after hundreds of years use by the Indians for cleaning fish on, and looked like good garden ground. The season was short but they spaded a fraction of an acre and planted some seed "to see what would happen" as no one had ever tried to raise a garden in Alaska before! That first year the crop was very poor. That winter they mined around Dawson.

    Next spring they hired the ground plowed by the only horse in that part of Alaska. Horse feed was a dollar a pound but they got a horse anyhow and the next crop was better. The vitamin-hungry miners were only too glad to have a few vegetables to add to their meat and sour dough-bread menu and paid good prices for them. The Fax brothers couldn't begin to supply the demand. But the third crop and those after that were "good" for Alaskan conditions. The Fax brothers mined in the long winter months for gold and "gardened for gold" in the short summer season. Some winters they worked in the mines at Nome. They operated a scow-boat between Dawson City and Circle City in 1900. In 1909 their vegetables were the only ones on display at the Alaska-Yukon Exposition in Seattle, grown in Alaska! It was amazing to fair visitors to even know that vegetables could be grown in Alaska! For their outstanding efforts in pioneering the first garden grown commercially in Alaska, we are listing Nick and John Fax among the most outstanding men in the history of Wasco County! Very few people know that these Wasco County men from The Dalles grew the first gardens of vegetables in Alaska, paving the way for a better life for people up north. In those days the boats, both river and ocean were the means of  transportation, in favorable weather, and it was a long, cold, hard journey, demanding that only the bare necessities of life be imported, and that excluded vegetables. With the modern plane transportation they have all these better things, but they were not available until about 1920.

    John and Nick Fax returned to The Dalles in 1910 and bought the George Rice holdings at Rice Station on the Great Southern. Nick Fax recently sold the place to his sons Fred and George, single, who live on and operate the ranch at Rice. Their brother John Fax, lives in Milwaukee (son of Nick).

    Carson C. Masiker said, "Peter Rudio sold to Horace Rice. Then came the Daniel Bolton place and Absalom Bolton place, between which was the Bolton school of 1863 taught by Wm. Long."

    The Masquart Brothers, Joe, John were early settlers of Rice. All of these families are listed in our histories as residents of Boyd because Rice had no post office.

BOYD

    The post office of Boyd, on the Great Southern railroad and Dalles to Prineville stage road, was 4 miles below Dufur, on 15 Mile creek. It was established March 8, 1884 with J.E. Barnett as the first postmaster followed by C.H. Southern, Roy D. Butler, Louis Grenlee (1906-10), James Selleck (1910-18); John T. Harvey, Arthur A. Marvel (1920-40) and James Selleck since 1940. In the old stage coach days, Boyd was known as the 11 Mile House, as it was 11 Miles from The Dalles.

Collard and Brennan Flat.

    Our old friend Carson C. Masiker says, "The Collard place on Collard Flat was later occupied by Ed  Brennan and known as Brennan Flat (1864). He sold to Newton Gilliam and it was later owned by Wm. Snod­grass. The town of Boyd was built on that flat."

    Besides being a platted town, Boyd always had a store and post office, a blacksmith shop, school, church, wheat receiving warehouse, a flour mill, a sawmill. It was named after the T.P. Boyd family, 1883 settlers who operated the flour mill and store.

R.F.D. 1

    R. 1, Boyd, was established in 1906, with the comming of the Great Southern railroad. James Selleck, the present postmaster of Boyd, was the first Rural Carrier. The route went up Easton Canyon, across Center Ridge, down Jamison Canyon (later down Center Ridge) back to Boyd. The 2nd carrier was Bernard Selleck, brother of James above); then Charlie McCafferty, George Marvel and the present carrier Albert Harader, transferee from Woodburn.

R.F.D. 2, Boyd Becomes R.1, The Dalles

    R.2, Boyd, was established in 1907 with George Walston, son of Dr. M.C. Walston, veterinary doctor after whom Walston Grade on upper 8 Mile was named, as first carrier. George had been a school teachar at Endersby in 1900. The route went west from Boyd, down Ward Hill to 8 Mile creek, up 8 Mile valley and the Walston Grade (a rise of 1000 feet in 1¼ miles); across Pleasant Ridge; down Jap Hollow and back to Boyd. The second carrier was Frank Moreing, then Chas. Dams, Chas. McCafferty and Blake Gallaher (1917-30). In 1930, R.2, Boyd, was consolidated by the post office department as an economy measure, with R.1, The Dalles, and Wm. H. McNeal, writer of this history, carried that route from,1930 to 1948 when he was reassigned to R.3, The Dalles; his place being taken by Dan Kindred, City Carrier trans­feree from The Dalles, the present carrier. – R.F.D. data by Geo. Marvel and Blake Galleher.

Transportation History

    Boyd was on both the old Dalles to Canyon City and Dalles to Prineville-Burns and Lakeview stage and freight routes. However the Canyon City run was discontinued by 1894, when Boyd became a post office, as mail and most of the freight was hauled from Baker, as that route was shorter. The run to Prineville continued to 1901, through Boyd; after 1901 Shaniko became the stage and freight terminal. The stage contract continued, according to Jess M. Gray, to about 1910, serving Nansene, which was discontinued in 1904, Sherars Bridge, Flanagan and Bakeoven with Shaniko the terminal with tri-weekly trips (over one day and back the next).

    The building of the Great Southern railroad into Boyd and Dufur (1904) made Boyd very important transportation point. This importance continued until the construction of The Dalles-California highway (1922), after which both the importance of Boyd as a city and terminal, and the importance of the railroad, gradually declined and yielded to the automobile and truck, until today Boyd has no church, no school, no store, no mill and only a small cluster of houses. Trading is done at Dufur, The Dalles or from catalogue houses or Portland. The high point in Boyd's history was during the railroad construction days  up the Deschutes (1909-10) when Tohey Bros. handled lots of freight, by wagons, from Boyd to Sherars Bridge and other points along the Deschutes for their crews. The completion of that railroad eliminated  stage and freight wagon traffic.

    The Great Southern railroad handled the mail from 1906 to 1928 when panel light truck delivery was established between The Dalles and Maupin with Mr. Hartman the first contractor, then Phil Starr (1930-34); Johnny Williams (1934-58); Mrs. George Cotty (1838-42); Phil Starr, again (1942-48); Joe Hall since 1949, on which date the contract was extended from Maupin to Bend, via Prineville and  return each day, a run of over 300 miles which included a stop at Boyd both ways. -- Data by Phil Starr.

Early Settlers

    The directory of 1863 lists the following families in the Boyd district:

    A. Glison, J.O. Warner, Tom Ward, P. Ward, James Southwell, G.H. and C.L. Barnett, C.W. Denton, J.B. Havley, W.H. Williams, (8 Mile); W.H. VanBibber (later of Chenowith creek); Tom Woodfin, R.J. Young, Wm. King, R.L. Kirkham, John Maddock, J.W. and H.E. Moor, Lester Peter Pratt, keeper of the 12 Mile Stage Station (formerly the post office of WASCO); Jno. Quirt, Matt Randall, Horace and George Rice, C.H. Southern, J. Stephens, G.W. Strothwell, Jim Underhill and Perry Watkins.

    The Dalles directory of 1898 listed the following families of Boyd:

    J.W. and W.C. Adams, J.T. Atkisson; R.R. Allard, teacher; Albert Allen, Hattie Allen, Marion Allen, J.H. Baker, Sherman Baker, S.P. Baker, James Bandy, Mary Bartlett, Antone Bauer, G. H. Bauer, L.L. Bell and Ada Bell, teachers; J.D. Bell, W.M. Bennett, Alsolm Bolton, A.G. Bolton, Grant Bolton, John Bolton, Louis Bolton, Olive Bolton, Park Bolton, O.M. Bourland, J.E. and T.M. Bradley, A. Can­field, L.  Clayton, Fredric Clausen, M.J. Cocherline, flour mill; Jacob Craft, James Darnielle, John Darnielle, John Decker, A.J. Douglas, L.K. Evans, J.C. Evans, J.A. Faucett, A.C. Flick, M.W. Freeman; W. Gilhousen, C. Grazier, Edw. A. Griffin, J.B. Hanna, J.R. Harris, Bessie Hastings, teacher; Wm. Hastings, J.B, and Ada Harvey, Henry Hudson, J.L. Kennedy, C.L. Kirkham, Dennis McCoy, H. McCoy, James McGahan, Geo. McIntosh, S.V. Mason, S.W. Mason, F.M. Maus, John and George Montgommery, A. and C. Mowery, J.A. Nickelson, Voctor Norby, E. and W.H. Odell; D.F. Osburn, G.W. Otley F.M. Potter, W.H. Pugh, blacksmith, John Phipps, T. Ramus, Manley Rann, Geo. Rice,  Wm. Robertson, B.M. Rothery, E. Rothery, Geo. Rothery.

    M.C. Selleck, C.S. Smith, L.M. Smith, Wm. Smith, Wm. & Robert Snodgrass, C.H. Southern, general merchandise store and post office; Hattie Sternweis, teacher; M.A., John and Wm. Sternweis; Wm., Willard and J.W. Taylor, Wm. Thompson, E.W. Trout, Mrs. Joe Turner, James and Art Underhill, P.P. Underwood, teacher; Samuel, Victor, Wm., Fred and John Ward, sawmill owners and farmers; James Welsh, Maria Whipple, G.A. Willard, W.W. Willard, druggist; P.C. Williams and Ben Walston, teacher.

Biographies

Joshua T. Adkisson

    Farmer of Boyd on the J.A. Gulliford place, was born in Virginia (1861) son of Thomas, a Confederate War veteran and Cynthia (Richardson) Adkisson of Va. The family went to Mo. where J.T. was educated and came to Washington Co. Oregon (1882) where he homesteaded and after 12 years was only able to clear 35 acres so he let the mortgage take the place and came to The Dalles by boat with 5 head of horses, $10 and 5 children in 1894. He went to Boyd and rented the J.A. Gulliford place and eventually bought 623 acres where he became a mule and wheat raiser. He married (1882) Martha Snider, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Stevens) Snider and their children were:

l. Willard of Prineville, a stock farmer who married Agnes Hastings, daughter of Wm. and had:

1. Neva (Mrs. Mel Larson) Kirkland; 2. Loran, a Prineville stockman; 3. Verona (Mrs. Stanley Coats) whose husband is assistant county agent at San Larenzo, Cal.; 4. Glenn of The Dalles who married Charlotte Richard and has Linda; 5. Verla (Mrs. James Evans)Hood River.

2. Elwood Adkisson of The Dalles married Charlotte Marvel, daughter of George and sister of A.A. Marvel of Boyd and Dufur and who furnished this biography. Their children were: 1. Lora (Mrs. Walt Morast) 3 Mile farmers of The Dalles; 2. Dale, single of The Dalles; 3. Merril of Boyd who married Thelma Kincheloe and have Panela and Rae; 4. Beverly Re (Mrs. Richard Corothers) R.4, The Dalles who have Steven Elwood.

3. Dr. Raymond Adkisson of Prineville married Erva Dunton and have: 1. Welles (Mrs. Jerald Henderson) Longview, Cal.; 8. Gerald, single, Prineville; 3. LaRae, single, Prineville.

4. Dr. Alva Adkisson of Milton, Oregon married Ruth Cooper, daughter of George of The Dalles and their children are: l. Patricia, single; 2. Bobbie, single; 3. Marjorie, single; 4. Dorothy, single. 5. Flossie (Mrs. Chas. Vogel) of The Dalles have: 1. Glenn Vogel who married Fay Chandler and have Glenda; 2. Audrey (Mrs. A.A. Underhill) 3 Mile farmers who have: Jerold (Mrs. Jesse Berger); 3. Leonard who married Zoe Hall and have Mike and Stanley; 4. Dorothy (Mrs. Chas. Cooper) have son Chas.

6. Elsie(Mrs. Hershell Allison) Portland who have: 1. Linn of Euguene and Stanley of Prineville.

7. Agnes (Mrs. Hans Blaser) The Dalles who have Lola (Mrs. Dale Dixon) of The Dalles.

Roy Butler

Roy Butler the postmaster of Boyd (1904) was born in Illnois (1874) son of Polk Butler of Nansene. Roy bought into the store with C.H. Southern and married his daughter Ethel and their ohildren were Agnes, Melva and Dale.

Venz Bauer

    Venz Bauer, 720 acre stock and wheat farmer of Boyd and later real estate dealer (1910) in The Dalles was born in Austria (1873) the son of Jacob and Johanna (Schandal) Bauer emigrants of 1889. Venz was unable to speak English when he arrived in Boyd to work for his brother Antone in 1889, but he mastered English and finally bought his brother's place. He married Annie Neabeck (1898) daughter of Wm. Neabeck (see page 282) of Germany an orphan of 9 when he came to America with an uncle who was a sea Captain, but Wm. didn't like the sea, ran away and lived all over the country including Calif., Arizona, where he fought Indians and carried mail and came to Oregon and married Emma Haddicks. Mrs. Bauer's brothers were: Edw., Wm., Ben, Geo., and Effie Craft.

    The Bauer family, including their son Fred moved to Portland. Leo Hammel occupies the Bauer place.

Jacob Gulliford

    Jacob Gulliford, Rogue River Indian War Veteran, farmed closer to Rice than Boyd, across from the Dave Nelson place R.3, The Dalles. He was born in Springfield, Ill. (1834) son of Wm. & Elizabeth (Shoup) Gulliford. He farmed in Klickitat Co. (1859) at Wapinitia (1864) at Prineville (1867) Rice (1884), owned the flour mill at Boyd (1899); married (1872) Martha Vanderpool and had son Wm. and owned a Dufur home.

Paul Limeroth

    Paul Limeroth was born in Germany (1843) son of John and Martha (Voland) Limeroth graduating from German schools as an agriculturalist. He came to N.Y. in 1863 was a N.Y. city gardener; he did beautification work in San Francisco (1870); he beautified the Portland post office grounds in 1875 and in 1876 moved to his Christman Hollow (Dry Creek) place 6 miles south of Boyd where he accumulated a 1740 acre wheat and stock ranch. He landscaped the local courthouse grounds in 1893. He married in 1871 Eliza Feld of Germany, daughter of Helvig and Alice (Siechner) Dott of Germany. They had:

1. Edward Limeroth, single, Boyd farmer and historian who had furnished the Dufur Library with 4 scrapbooks full of material about the Dufur-Boyd country; helped with the Wasco section of this history on the 12 Mile House operated by Lester Peter Pratt (see under Wasco).

2. Albert Limeroth, farmer of Boyd where he was born 1877. His children were: Mrs. Andrew Ward of Dufur; Mrs. Wilbur Mallery, Yamhill; Mrs. John Heffley, Dayton; Mrs. Willard Crawford, Evansville, Ind.; Mrs. Luis Girod, Tigard; Albert Limeroth Jr., Boyd farmer.

3. Lizzie (Mrs. John Easton) of Boyd.

4. Frances (Mrs. Ben Pratt) of Boyd whose husband was the son of Lester Peter Pratt, the operator of the old 12 Mile Rouse and stage and freight station, at the foot of Long Hollow, one mile above Boyd and 2 miles below Dufur and called WASCO post office (1868-1872) when Wm. Gilliam ran it (1864-1872) and vas the postmaster from 1868 to 1872. (For more data see under WASCO). The Pratts farm on Center Ridge above Boyd.

Arthur A. Marvel

    Arthur A. Marvel, farmer, warehouseman, miller and merchant of Boyd was born in Illinois (1870) son of George W. and Samantha (Lever) Marvel; was educated in Kansas; came to Gilliam Co. (1887) and worked on farms. In 1898 he owned 1000 acres at Morgan, in Morrow county. At Heppner (1900) he married Millie D. Wilson and came to Boyd in 1902 and now lives in Dufur. The Marvel children were: George A. Marvel, Rural Mail Carrier at Dufur who married Frances Burtner and have George and Frances; Lester Marvel who farms the A.A. Marvel home place at Boyd and Archie Marvel of Portland. A.A. Marvel sold his flour mill at Boyd in 1911 and managed the Boyd Union Elevator Co. from 1916 to 1921; and he was retired by the government in 1940, as postmaster, because he reached the age of 70.

Sylvester W. Mason

    Sylvester W. Mason, Boyd Homesteader, was born in N.Y. (1844) and came west on the Union Pacific railroad, on one of its first trains in 1839, to San Francisco; then came by boat to Portland and The Dalles. He filed on his Boyd homestead in 1870. His brother John Mason came west with him. Sylvester W. Mason married Lydia Keith and their children were:

1. Earnest Mason, farmer of Wrentham, married Mable Turner, the daughter of Joe Turner of upper Wrentham Canyon and their children were: Cliff of Wrentham; Gerald of Oakland and Glenola.

2. Harry Mason of Boyd married Gertrude Stanley and later became a Dalles City employee.

3. Glenn of Boyd; 4. Arthur of Boyd; 5. John, single of Boyd; 6. Harvey of Portland; 7. Merle of Boyd; 8. Grace (Mrs. Floyd Woolery) of Portland.

9. Sylvester J. Mason married Nettie Ramus and had daughter Vira (Mrs. Gerhard Remple) Dalles P.O. Clerk.

John Mason

    John Mason came west from N.Y. with his brother Sylvester W. Mason and homesteaded at Boyd and had an only son Sylvester W. Mason of Boyd, who married Mary Masquert of Rice, and their children were: Charles, died single; John of California and Nick Mason who farms his father's place at Wrentham and who married Elsie Huteson. The Nick Mason children are l. Bonny (Mrs. Jim McFee) Portland; 2. Merlyn of The Dalles and 3. Larry, single.

Henson McCoy (1833-1898)

    Henson McCoy an 1878 pioneer farmer of Boyd was born in Illinois (1833) son of James and Mary (Moore) McCoy of Ky. They came to Mo. (1837) then went to Texas and in 1858 to California by ox-team. In 1878 he homesteaded and bought 560 acres at Boyd, now known as the Ned Underhill place. In 1853 he married Clarissa Rusher, daughter of Wm. And Mary (Sportsman) Rusher. Their children were:

1. Tom, barber of Seattle; 2. Wm, a physician of Salt Lake City; 3. John, miner at Cripple Creek, Colo.

4. Joseph McCoy, wheat and stock farmer of Boyd, was born in  Cal. (1871) and married (1895) Lillian Phipps daughter of John of Boyd and Amanda (Davidson) Phipps. Their children were 1. Frances; 2. Ernest; 3. Dora; 4. Joseph. The family lived on the John Godgneck place at Boyd. Whereabouts is unknown:

5. Dennis R. McCoy, Boyd farmer and county road supervisor, was born in Tulare Co. Calif. (1873) and later became a banker of The Dalles with his brother Tom in the O.K. Shop (1896). He married Myrtle Markman, daughter of James and Minnie   (Page) Markman of Dufur. There were no children. Elmer Swett thought they may have went to High Prairie, Wash. and that Joseph may have went there also.

6. Mary (Mrs. John Sternweis )Portland; 7. Ellen (Mrs. Abraham Mowery) Portland; 8. Sarah (Mrs. Issac Fowler) Portland; 9. Nancy (Mrs. Herbert Powell) Dallesport, Wn.; 10. Zoodie (Mrs. Albert Connelly).

James Nicholson

    Was born in Pa. (1847) son of John and Nancy (Frew) Nicholson. He went to California (1875) and came to Salem (1878) and to Boyd (1879). During his homestead period he worked for the railroad at The Dalles 4 years, He retired to his place at Boyd in 1899. His son Nick Nicholson farmed the Ned Underhill place at Boyd; and was last known to be living in the Bend area in 1918.

Charles J. Nicholson

    Brother of James (above) was born in Penn (1853) and homesteaded at Boyd in 1896. He  married Lizzie Johnson, daughter of Tom and Mary (Allen) Johnson of Penn. Their daughter Mary was last known to be in Seattle; John C. Nicholson of Boyd was killed in the military service during World W I. Russel Nicholson was an electrical engineer in Seattle and his sister Romaine was last known to be in Seattle.

Wm. Odell

    Was born in Mo. (1864) son Griffith and Jessie (Harriott) Odell who worked on the railroad in The Dalles in 1882 and homesteaded at Boyd in 1884. Ho married (1893) Emma Deckert and their children were Hattie and Ada of Boyd; Albert, who farms the Wm. Odell place; Minnie (Mrs. D. McCartney) The Dalles and Elmer who was accidently killed on the ranch.

Charles H. Swett

    Was born in Douglas Co. (1867) son of James & Julia (Potter) Swett of Ill. and Ellensburg, Wash. The Potters were 1849 emigrants to Oregon City. Chas homesteaded at Boyd in 1888 and Mrs. Swett owned ½ section in her right -- she was Alice Potter, daughter of John and Lucinda (Moore) Hanna, 1852 emigrants who came to Boyd in 1870. Their children were:

1. Elmer Swett of The Dalles who married Minnie Hogue and have Eleanor (Mrs. Bernard Landreth) Euguene and Charles, now in the Navy. Elmer works at The Dalles post office and supplied this biography.

2. Earnest Swett, single, farmer of Dufur.

3. Annie (Mrs. John Godknecht) of Boyd whose children were: 1. Margaret (Mrs. Dick McGregor) Tigard; 2. Dorothy (Mrs. Jim McGongal) Seattle; 3. Anna, single.

4. Thomas L. Swett who married Bertha Spickerman and have Jacqulin (Mrs. Budd Orr)  The Dalles.

5. Ada (Mrs. Edra Tidwell) occupants of the 12 Mile Ranch, formerly the post office of WASCO, at the foot of Long Hollow, 1 mile above Boyd (see under Wasco); their children are: Ted, Phyllis, Dennis, Christine and William, minors at home.

6. Stanley Swett, farmer of Sherman county has sons Carl and Donald, minors at home.

7. Archie Swett, construction worker married Anna Peterson and has Juanita and Roselyn at home.

Menzo C. Selleck

    Menzo C. Selleck, farmer of Boyd, was born in N.Y. (1848) son of Hinman and Lucy (Philbrick) Selleck. He went to Iowa (1878) as a carpenter and homesteaded at Boyd in 1881 and was also a carpenter on the railroad at The Dalles, in their shops, building bridges, warehouses, stations etc. for 9 years. He married Nettie Parker of N.Y. and their children were: 1. Royal, died single; 2. James, postmaster of Boyd who was born at The Dalles (1885) and married Pearl Hayworth and have son James Reese of Calif. James Selleck served as postmaster of Boyd (1910-18), Rural Carrier at Boyd (1906-10) and postmaster since 1910. 3. Howard Selleck, Dalles City employee who married Gene Green and had a son Lyle who died in Texas; 4. Marcia Yak of Hood River; 5. Myrtle (Mrs. Clyde Bolton) Boyd; 6. Ruby McLeod, Maupin; 7. Roy of Indiana and 8. Bernard Selleck who was born in N.Y. (1876) attended Dalles schools and became a printer on the Times-Mountaineer and Wasco Sun, then farmed at Boyd and was killed in an automobile accident at Vancouver, Wash. (1951) where he went in 1917. He had been a Rural Mail Carrier at Boyd and had a son Donald and a daughter Mrs. W. J. Nicholson of Vancouver. His wife was Maud Bethune.

John N. Stirnweis

    Boyd farmer was born in Germany (1837) son of Fredrick & Kunigunda (Walters) Sternweis who came to Baltimore (1851) and learned the shoemaker trade. He came by boat to Calif. in 1863 and raised sheep in Tulare Co. for 20 years. He came to Boyd in 1886 and bought 240 acres. He married Mary McCoy, daughter of Henson and Clarissa (Rusher) McCoy of Boyd. Their children were: Wm. of Grants Pass; Geo., Washington and Omer of Portland; Annie (Mrs. Frank Hathaway) Portland; Maggie (James Underhill) Tygh and Hattie (Marshall Poppleton) Portland.

Charles H. Southern

    Chas H. Southern was born in Iowa (1855) and came to Boyd (1871) and married (1878) Emma Rice, daughter of Horace Rice (see under Rice station). He laid out the Boyd townsite in 1895 and went into the mercantile business there in 1899. He had a son Harry Southern and a daughter Ethel who married Roy Butler who became a partner with Mr. Southern in the Boyd store and later bought the store. Mrs. Roy Butler lives in The Dalles at this writing.

William L. Ward (1826-1897)

    Wm. L. Ward, wheat and stock farmer of Ward Hill at Boyd and sawmill owner at Dufur was born in Ohio and married Hanna Potts of Pottsville, Penn. -- which place was named for her father who was a blacksmith for Gen. George Washington at Valley Forge, and it was on the Potts homestead that the first coal of Penn. was discovered. They came across the plains to Dufur in 1859; were the first settlers on 8 Mile in 1860 building the first school house there. They then went to Vancouver and back to Hood River where they lived 7 years. They settled on Ward Hill, at Boyd, in 1873 where Mr. Ward continued to live until his death in 1897, Their children were:

1. Joseph W. Ward, born in Ohio (1852); came across the plains by ox-team with his parents in 1859 to Dufur where he attended his first school and went to school in the first school house on 8 Mile, later going to school at Vancouver and Hood River. In 1870 he worked on the telegraph line between Umatilla and Walla Walla. In 1873 he homesteaded on Ward Hill with his brothers and father and they all jointly became owners of the Ward sawmill above Dufur. He married          Josephene Starkey & had:

(A) Joseph Wm. Ward Jr., farmer of Boyd who married Gladys Scott and had Doris (Mrs. Richard Gerthula).

(B) Edward L. Ward; farmer of Boyd and retired to Portland, married Clara Thomppon and had: Josephene (Mrs. John Kerege) Boyd; Edw. who died single and Nancy of Stanford University. (C) John, died single; (D) Violet (Mrs. D.J. Meets) Ft. Madison, Wisconsin who have Ward, Robert and Victoria.

2. Margaret Ward (Mrs. Milton Neal) farmers of Hood River; born in Ohio 1852; and had:

(A) Chancey, died single;

(B) Clara "Anne" (Mrs. Sam Johnson) of Johnson Brothers of Dufur who had: _.Kate (Mrs. Sam McClintic) of Portland and George, single, of

 Portland,         

(C) Clementine "Maude" (Mrs. Chas. Acker) Portland who had: Earl of Portland who married Marie Cooper.

(D) Oliver Milton Neal. "Dick" married Lucy Douglas and were Dufur farmers and they had: Milton, a Dufur farmer who married Neva Smith and had Beverly and Richard.

(E) Lentiona, died single.

(F) Dorothy (Mrs. George Ober) The Dalles and have Kenneth.                                                                   

(G) Wm. Neal, farmer of Dufur.

3. Frederick Harmon Ward, farmer of Boyd and sawmill owner; born Ohio 1857; married Emma Baker and had:

(A) Marie (Mrs. Frank Wheelon); no children.

(B) Frederick, died single in the Naval Hospital during World War 1.

(C) Vera, died single.

4. John Clayton Ward, born Ohio 1859, Boyd farmer and sawmill owner; married Monta Darnielle and had:

(A) Vangie (Mrs. Chas. Broder) Portland who have son Dale.                                                                     

(B) Eldon Ward, farmer of Ward Hill at Rice married Violet (Proult) and have son Clayton who married Mary Anne Slusher and farm the Daniel Bolton place above Rice on 15 Mile.

5. Samuel Platner Ward was born at Vancouver, Wn. in 1865, was a farmer of Ward Hill of Boyd and Dufur sawmill owner, jointly with his father and brothers; he married Mary Anne McHaley and had: 

            (A) Ida Jean Ward, single, of The Dalles who furnished this very fine Ward family biography.            

            (B) Louis C. Ward, government employee at Rig Eddy, married Ruby May and have Donna (Mrs. L. Gardner).

(C) Andrew Jackson Ward, farmer of Dufur married Bessie Limeroth and have Andrew of Dufur.

(D) Margaret (Mrs. James Johnson) Portland; no children.

(E) George of Portland married Alice Beal.

(F) Delmar of Portland married Betty Lou Basset.

(G) Ruth Pauline (Mrs. Geo. Truman) San Francisco.

6. Victor Ward, Boyd farmer was born at Hood River (1867) and married Lottie Baker Koontz; no children.

7. Alice Frances (Mrs. Vincent James Kelley) farmers of Wrentham and part owner of the Ward sawmill which they eventually acquired full ownership of. Their children were: Wm. Nichols and Vincent James Kelley, both of whom died single. -- Biography by Miss Ida Jean Ward of The Dalles.

Joseph Haynes.

    Joseph Haynes, Civil War Veteran farmer of Boyd and Dufur, was born in Worchester; Mass. (1826) son of Joseph and Sally (Chapin) Haynes. He was educated and apprenticed a shoemaker at Worchester and went to Milan, Ill. (1862) enlisting in Co. A. 93 Ill. Infantry and served in several campaigns to 1865. He came to Oregon in 1879 where he farmed in the Boyd area and retired to Dufur in 1898. Their stock, and wheat ranch was on Center Ridge. He married (1853) Lucinda Freeman and their children were:

1. Wm. R. Haynes, Boyd farmer who was born in Michigan (1853); went to Garnet, Kan. at 16 becoming a teamster and hunting buffalo, in the winter. He homesteaded at Boyd, on Center Ridge, in 1882 and married Mary Craft at Nevada, Mo., the daughter of "Grandpa" Jacob Craft, emigrant of 1883 to the Center Ridge country. Mr. Haynes   acquired a 600 acre wheat, stock, horse and hog ranch. Their children were: 1. Lee of Boyd; 2. Lloyd of Boyd; 3. Hattie of Klamath Falls; 4. Paul of Portland; 5. Rosanna (Mrs. Washington Sternweis) Portland; Gladys (Mrs. Harold Heisler) Dufur; 7. Edith of Portland.

2. Austin. F. Haynes, carpenter of Dufur whose children were: Grace; Merle; Ray; Roy; Frank, and Ted.

3. Ellsworth Haynes, Boyd sheep and wheat farmer, was born in Ill. (1862) and homesteaded at Boyd in 1882 where he was an expert sheep shearer for 20 years with a daily average of 125 and a top record of 156 hand sheared sheep in one approximate 8 hour day! This marvelous feat of human endurance called for one sheep every 15 minutes to be hand sheared! Sheep to those days  were somewhat smaller than those of modern times, but 200 is considered a top record for machine-sheared sheep for 1952. He married (1886) Emily Craft, daughter of Grandpa Jacob Craft of Boyd and their children were: Albert of The Dalles; Omar Kenneth of The Dalles; Pearl, died single; Ruby (Mrs. Joe Fleck) The Dalles and Thomas of The Dalles.

4. Burt H. Haynes was born in Illinois (1868) and came to the Boyd-Dufur area in 1898 becoming a sheep, wheat and stock farmer of Center Ridge, 12 miles south of Boyd on 200 acres. Like his brother Ellsworth (above) he too became an expert sheep shearer and for 20 years served with his brother with equal skill and ability of around 125 sheep per day with a top record of 156 hand-sheared sheep in an 8 hour day! To appreciate the amount of endurance required, take a pair of “sheep shearer” grass clippers and operate them for an hour, by hand, on the lawn grass and see how much muscle grip it requires and remember grass is easier to cut than wool on a nervous sheep. Mr. Haynes married (1895) Effie Wilson, daughter of David and Susan (Hixon) Wilson and their children were:

1. Joe Haynes who married Florence Page and have Virginia; and live in Santa Anna, Calif.

2. Alice (Mrs. Jasper Bourland) The Dalles and their chlldren are:                                               

    (A) Floyd, married Elisa Jones and have Judy, Rody and Bobbie, all of The Dalles.                 

    (B) Harold who lives in The Dalles and have Bevy and Janet.                                                 

    (C) Shella (Mrs. Earl Finkle) Portland who have Erline.                                                           

    (D) Darrol, married Jean Gibson and have Sandra, all of The Dalles.                 

    (E) Rodger of The Dalles and (f) Carol of The Dalles.

3. Ivan Haynes of San Francisco.

4. Daisy (Mrs. Pearl Wright) Portland who has Elden and Glenn.

5. Elma (Mrs. Paul Benediot) Dufur who have Nelda, Stella and Susan. -- Biography by Mrs. B.H. Haynes.

Jacob Craft

    Grandpa Jacob Craft, Mexican War Veteran farmer of Boyd was born in Virginia (1819) son of Daniel of Germany who was a bugler in the War of 1812 and Mary (Hamilton) Craft of Va. In 1838 he went to Ohio and learned the molder's trade where he worked 7 years at Springfield and 17 years in Cincinnati. He then enlisted in Co. I Ohio Volunteers under Col. Harney in the Mexican War of 1846 and served in seven engagements through to Mexico City. During the Civil War he drilled recruits and then became a con­tractor. He came to Boyd in 1883 homesteading on Center Ridge and acquired 400 acres and retired on his Mexican War pension.  In 1852 he married Rosanna Decker and their children were:

1. Wm. of Dufur, single. 2. Edwin, married Nora Hill and had: (A) Percy of Boyd; (B) George of Honolulu; (C) Ray of Boyd; (D) Tom of Pendleton; (E) Frances of Pendleton. 3. Joe of Boyd married Effie Neabeck and had: Vernon of The Dalles; Wm. who was killed in Italy, during World War 2; Dewey, died single; Alfred; Bud, Alice, Rose, Julia, Fred and Garnet all live near their mother at Stockton, Calif.

4. Walter Craft, blacksmith of Mitchell. 5. Alice (Mrs. Edmonds) Nevada, Mo. 6. Kate (Mrs. Wm. Haynes) Boyd.

7. Eurma (Mrs. Ellsworth Haynes) Boyd. 8. Edith (Mrs. Tom Harris) Payette, Ida. -- Biography by Mrs. B.H. Haynes.

David C. Wilson

    Farmer of Center Ridge at Boyd was born in Ill. (1844) son of David & Amanda (Hiler) Wilson; came to The Dalles as a carpenter in 1888 and homesteaded on Center Ridge in 1900. He married Susan Hinkson:

1. Elmer Wilson married Ina Phipps, farmed at Boyd to 1917 when he went to Portland. Their children were: Harold; Hazel; Wanda Anderson; Roberta; Arlene; Glenn; Dave and Belda.

2. Thomas Wm. Wilson married Lottie Butler, daughter of Jonathan of Nansene; farmed at Chicken Springs, near Nansene and had Helen of Portland and Dorothy (Mrs. Tom Farger) Portland.

3. T "Floyd" Wilson married Clara Moore; farmed at Dufur and had Dr. Harry Wilson, Portland.

4. Everett Wilson married Edna Grossmiller; had Adeline and lives in Portland; 5. Charlie of Bend;

6. Alice (Mrs. Eban Butler) Nansene; 7. Effie (Mrs. Burt Haynes) - see above; 8. Hattie (Mrs. David Reardon) The Dalles; 9. Rosie (Mrs. Harry Southorn) Boyd; 10. Minnie (Mrs. Clyde Butler) The Dalles; 11. Nellie (Mrs. Oscar Powers) Cottage Grove; 12. Ethel, died single and 13. Everett, married Edna Grossmiller and lives in Portland. -- Biography by Mrs. B. H. Haynes of The Dalles.

ENDERSBY

    The post office of Endersby was established August 20, l892 with George W. Fligg, postmaster and closed October 13, 1908. It was located in the Fligg store about 4 miles above the junction of The Dalles-California highway and the 8 Mile creek market road. It was served by The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line. It was named for "Capt" W. E. Endersby a pioneer settler of 8 Mile valley. It was first located about a mile up the Fligg canyon, east toward Dufur, and later moved down to the house now occupied by Louis Omeg, near the, 8 Mile Grange hall. In addition to being postmaster and store oper­ator Mr. Fligg was county road surveyor and Justice of the Peace, with power to marry people, try horse thieves and gun toters and other violators of the law in his court.

EIGHT MILE

    Eight Mlle was a stage and freight wagon stop where the Old Dufur Road crosses 8 Mile creek, back in the 1880’s. It was the first stop out of The Dalles on the old Dalles to Canyon City and Dalles to Prineville stage and freight wagon roads. Before that it a stop for emigrants on the road to Tygh to connect with the old Barlow road to Oregon City. It was never a post office nor did it ever have a store, but it did have an Inn, where meals could be bought or a bed obtained for the night, a livery barn to put horses up in, a blacksmith shop to repair wagons at and a "gallon house" operated by Frank Nuett and later by Mr. Wall. These “gallon houses” were not supposed to sell liquor in less than gallon containers, but it was seldom that a witness could be found who would "testify" that he had bought the potent “fire water” in less than gallon lots. Daisy Butler remembers, "how the Indians would commence to feel the firewater by the time they got over Yard Hill into Boyd and utter their blood curdling yells that made little children run and hide and mothers bolt the doors."

Early Settlers

    Two of the earliest settlers were the Wm. L. Ward and John Doyle families of 1880 who built the first school house, near the 8 Mile cemetery. John Doyle was the first teacher. They were followed by the Henry Williams and Louis Klinger families in 1863 then the Andrew McHaley family in 1664 and the Thomas Angell family about 1865; Riley Drake 1879; Albert Doyle 1868; Alfred Ferguson 1876; John and Amos Darnielle 1878; Ed and Wm. Harriman in 1882; James Dickson 1884.

    The Dalles directory of 1883 listed J.B. Hanna, Frank and Jane Houett, Annia Ayres, John Doyle, Wm. Endersby, G.W. Patterson, HenryWilliams and J.C. Wingfield.

1898 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1898 listed F.B. Adams, Oscar Angell, J.H. Baker, Wm. Boettcher, A. J. Brown, W.E. Campbell, county surveyor; O.B. Connally, Geo. W. Covert, C.H. Commings, J. E. Darnielle, John M. Darnielle, W. J. Davidson, J. W. Dickson, Arthur Disbrow, Wm. Doak, C.D. Doyle, Dan S. Doyle, Edwin Doyle, J. R. Doyle, W. A. Doyle, Riley Drake, Fred Drake, C.R. Egbert, Wm. Endersby, George W. Fligg, general merchandise and postmaster of Endersby; A.C. Fallinger, J. Foster, S. Foster, Edw. M. and Wm. J. Harriman, J.H. Westley, G.W. Harris, R. Hayes, O.F. Hibbard, F.E. Houtt, G.D. Hyre, J.F. Jones, O.H. Kerns, August Longren, Thomas Leabo, Wm. Leininger, B.C. Love, J.N. Lower, J. & A. McCabe, J.E. McCormick, Harry Mahear, gardner; Frank Mursh, E.R. Mathis, J.M., W.J. & Joseph Means, Oscar Neal, N. Nelson, Dave, J.W., Wm., & B. Patterson; L. Perkins, L. Rice, H. Ryan, L.A. Sears, D.C. Smith, B.C. Simons, Henry Simons, George Smith, Ben Southwell, G.B. Teel, C.M. Thompson, Chas. and F.C. Wagonblast, I.A. Wagner, F.H., G., & W.H. Williams, J.C., Alice and Orville Wingfield.

1910 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1910 shows Venz Bauer, W.F. Doak, Fred Drake, Dan S. Doyle, Geo. and Allen Fligg, Joe Evans, Wm. Endersby, Alfred Ferguson, G.A. Fisher, W.J. Harriman, Biron Hazen, Thomas and E.L. Leabo, August Longren, W.J. Means, Sam A. Meeker, R. & Chas. Neal, S. Nishizaki (Jap Hollow); Louis Peter Omeg, Abnet St. Ores, M.C. Walston, Harry and W. H. Williams. We know there were more 1910 settlers than these, which shows haw incomplete directories sometimes are.

Thomas Angell

    Carson C. Masiker, in his history of 15 Mile creek valley, lists the Thomas Angell family as pioneer residents of the Dufur vacinity in 1880 and their removal to the 8 Mile country by 1864. Thomas Angell's son was Oscar, who was so well known by later residents of the creek and his children were: Frank of Portland; Orville of Portland; Amy of Portland; Ray, who still lives on 8 Mile and married Grace Bauer and has son Vern, single of 8 Mile and daughter Eva of Portland. Congressman Homer Angell of Portland was a brother of Oscar and son of Thomas, head of this well known family.

W.A. Campbell

    W.A. Campbell settled on 8 Mile about 1880, on the Miles Leabo place. His children were: 1. Bert Campbell, well known Dalles Taxidermist; 2. Roy Campbell, Wasco county surveyor; 3. Chas of Spokane; Rex of Yakima and Fred of The Dalles. -- Biography by Miles Leabo.

John Doyle

    John Doyle, the 1860 school teacher and farmer of 8 Mile had an only son Dan who married Carrie Drummond, farmed on 8 Mile they had son Dick who married Lynn Gerking and farmed with his father Dan. The children of Dick Doyle were: 1. Gene (Mrs. Wes DePrist) Seattle; 2. Jack of Portland and Delmar, who married Betty Lillard and lives in Eugene. Dan Doyle had a daughter Eunice who married Wm. Gerking and lives at Taft, Oregon. -- Biography by Miles Leabo.

Riley Drake

    Riley Drake the 1858 Yakima Indian War veteran farmer of 8 Mile and freighter from The Dalles to Prineville and Burns, was born in N.Y. (1833) son of Riley and Betsy (Matteson) Drake; came to Oregon in 1853 by ox-team, took the “Meek Cut-off route” through Central Oregon, got lost and nearly starved to death before being  rescued by missionaries from The Dalles and friendly Warm Springs Indians and guided down The Dalles-California route to Sherars Bridge, where they calked up their wagon beds and "ferried" across the Deschutes. They went on down to Marion county where they stayed until 1879 when they came to 8 Mile. He served in the Yakima Indian War of 1858 with Volunteers from Marion county at Jefferson. He married (1880) Sarah Johnson, daughter of George and Emily (Dyer) Johnson. Their children were:

1. Linus Drake, married Frankie Campbell. He was a miner and carpenter of The Dalles and had son Ray.

2. Ettie (Mrs. James Ferguson) whose husband was a Dalles expressman and they had: (A) Jimmy, single of The Dalles; (B) Clara (Mrs. George Smith) The Dalles whose husband was a Spanish War veteran, (C) Harry, single, of The Dalles.

3. Mary Drake, burned to death at Jefferson in 1888.

4. May (Mrs. John Ferguson) Wasco Mill employee and Dalles expressman (biography under Fergusons, below).

5. Fred Drake married Ethel Rider, farmed on 8 Mile and had the following children:                                           

    1. Bertha (Mrs. Willard Ober) who has son Fred Burrup in the army.                                                  

    2. Hazel (Mrs. Harry Brace) The Dalles where Mr. Brace operates Brace Bros. Auto Towing service.

    3. Dorothy (Mrs. Harry Darnielle) 8 Mile farmers who have Ronnie, Jimmie and Carol.                             

    4. Elma (Mrs. Al Duvall) Mr. Duvall being a Dalles carpenter and they have Michael.

6. Alzora Anne (Mrs. Charlie Thompson) Alturus, Calif. Mr. Thompson was an R.F.D. Carrier, R.1, The Dalles.

    1. Riley J. Thompson, Los Angeles

    2. Venus (Mrs. Frank Tindall) Portland.

    3. Laurel (Mrs. Gresder) Bend. 4. Dale of Portland. 5. Loren of Los Angeles. 6. Polly (Mrs. Geo. Gurley) Wamic who have Billy; Polly; Sally and George.

7. Monroe "Bud" Drake married Minnie O'Connor and farmed on 8 Mile and 5 Mile and their only daughter Della married Sharman Gardner and had Earnest, Roy and Thomas; married 2 Mel Baker, lives in Dalles.

8. Arlie (Mrs. Otis Teal) farmed on 8 Mile and Center Ridge. Their daughter Willema (Mrs. Irvaig Hayworth) had Nancy White of Portland; m2 Carl (Schaefer) Hermiston and have Gene and Carl. Their son Earnest Teel married Nelene Pendal, live in Sp0kane and have Nesis Diane and Chanly.

9. George Drake died single; 10. Joe Drake died single. -- Biography by Mrs. Otto Teal last of the Drakes.

Amos Darnielle

    Amos Darnielle, son of Archibald of Missouri came to Portland, Oregon in 1882. His children were:

1. John Darnielle who married Eva Ogle and settled on 8 Mile in 1878. Their children were:                                 

    1. Willis Darnielle, Dalles real estate merchant and cafe owner, formerly an 8 Mile farmer who married Bertha Coon and have daughters Dora, Verna and Thelma of The Dalles. Bertha   Darnialle is Dalles postmaster.                                                                                                                       

    2. Ray Darnielle married Bulah Doyle and lives at Gresham where he operates a beer parlor.             

    3. Paul Darnielle married Margaret McCullough, was an 8 Mile farmer, now a Dalles merchant.                      Children:                                                                                                                                                                    

        (A) Bert, married Eunice Erwin;

        (B) May (Mrs. Don Lantis) Hood River;

        (C) Jean (Mrs. Ed. Belzer) in Wisc.; (D) Dorothy (Mrs. Hobert Davis) New York, (E) Robert who  married Betty Burleson.

    4. Dick Darnielle a government engineer of Portland, Ore.                                                                          

    5. John Darnielle of Eugene.                                                                                                                              

    6. Glenn Darnielle, 8 Mile farmer who married Aver Black and have son Roy of The Dalles.                       

    7. Leona (Mrs. Belva Patison) deceased.

2. Archie Darnielle, son of Amos married Minnie Bell and lived in Yakima, Wn.

3. Charlie Darnielle of The Dalles has Rodney and Pat of Portland.

4. James Darnielle of The Dalles married Myrtle Adams and their only son Harry married Dorothy Drake, farms on 8 Mile and have Ronnie, Jimmie and Carol.

5. Emma (Mrs. Newton Patterson) 8 Mile farmers had Harold of Portland and Minnie (Mrs. Harold Bell) Astoria.

6. Arthelle (Mrs. Thomas Leabo) 8 Mile farmers whose biography is listed under the Leabos.

7. Eliza (Mrs. Harrison Johnson) Wamic farmers who had: John of Wamic; Roy of Spokane, Wn. of Wamic; Amos of Wamic; Anna (Mrs. Frank Wing) Wamic; Emma (Mrs. Emmett Zumwalt) Wamic and The Dalles and Maggie (Mrs. Joe Wing) Wamic.

8. Henry Darnielle, 5 Mile farmer married Anna Ryan and their adopted daughters were:                                     

    1. Ida (Mrs. John Robartson) lower 3 Mile farmer who have Bob and Jack at home and Margaret at Salem.

    2. Ruby (Mrs. Euguene Wright) 8 Mile farmers who has son Euguene Jr. who works in The Dalles post office and who married Phillis Kinslow; and their daughter Anna (Mrs. Melvin Miller) lives in The Dalles with her daughter Thressa.

9. Frank Darnielle lived in Missouri and never came west.

10. Elizabeth (Mrs. Ed Laughlin) were stockmen of Prineville and had Lyle; Glee; Earl and Lela all of Prineville, Oregon.

11. Louise (Mrs. Ralph Senie) Portland where Mr. Senie was one of the early draymen of Portland who   prided himself with the very fine express horses and harness and wagon of pioneer days. Their     children were: Effie (Mrs. Archie Leonard) whose husband was a noted Portland detective; and Nettie, single, of Portland.

--- This very fine Darnielle biography was supplied by Paul Darnielle of The Dalles who is now manager of the Grange Oil Co. and an active member of Cherry Park Grange. Very few people know as much about their family and close relatives as Mr. Darnielle has shown he knows.

George W. Fligg

    George W. Fligg, postmaster, store owner and operator and Justice of the Peace at Endersby was born in Ill. (1833) son of John and Martha Fligg of England. Mr. Fligg’s father died when he was 4 years old and he started out in the world for himself at the tender age of 10. In 1855 he married Mary Gregory, daughter of Jackson and Parthemia (Merrill) Gregory and lived in Fairfield, Iowa 40 years where he worked as a carpenter. He came to Endersby where he farmed in 1895 and in 1899 he started his store in Fligg Canyon, about 1 mile south of Endersby Grange toward Dufur and later moved it down near the present location of the 8 Mile Grange hall. Their children were:

1. Charlie Fligg who lived in Fairfield, Iowa, and never came west.

2. Allen Fligg, farmer of 8 Mile, married Lizzie Davis, daughter of Silas Wm. Davis, operator of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line (l885-1898). Their adopted son Claude made the U.S. Navy his career.

3. Sarah (Mrs. George W. Covert) 8 Mile farmers whose children were: 1. Raymond of Wisconsin; 2. Chas. of Lakeview; 3. Alpha (Mrs. Art Herriman) of Idaho; 4. Ruby (Mrs. Louis Omeg) 8 Mile farmers who had: (A) Ruby (Mrs. Earnest Winkle) in California; (B) Mildred, died single; (C) Claude, married Hazel Rankin and live in The Dalles with son Mel; (D) Ron of The Dalles who has son Ron; (E) Kenneth of The Dalles and (F) Dorothy of Portland.                                                                                                          

Gertie (M. Carl Ober) and had Fred of Pendleton; Floyd of Forest Grove; Willard, single and George who married Dorothy Neal and have Kenneth and Bob. Gertie is now Mrs. Floyd Vanderpool of Dufur. 6. Gladys (Mrs. Andrew Johnson) The Dalles who have Ida; Norma; Lavern; Patsy and Howard.                                                                                     

7. Rollin Covert of The Dalles married Isabel Denslinger and their daughter Harriett (Mrs. L.L. Lewis) has Rollin; Wallace; Dennis; Donald and Rodger. Mr. Lewis is an REA electrician.

8. Harvey Covert married Marie Doyle, daughter of Charlie Doyle and had Betty (Mrs. Bob Walkins) of Portland; and Genevive, single of The Dalles; and Rosemary, single.                  

9. Edith (Mrs. Ed. Stevens) lives in Spokane. -- Covert biography by Rollin Covert.

4. Louisa (Mrs. Frank Sill) farmed for a time on 8 Mile and had George; Clarence, Roy; Bertha & Ethel.

5. Bell (Mrs. J.C. Bailey) lived in Fairfield, Iowa and never came west.

6. Cora (Mrs. Wm. Endersby) 8 Mile farmers had Wm.; Mable and Alice, single and Pearl (Mrs. Don Herberline) of The Dalles. The post office of Endersby was named for this family who still live there.

7. Mary (Mrs. James Dickson) 8 Mile Farmers whose children were:                                                      

    1. Wilbur Dickson, married Harriett Coons and have Leland of The Dalles who married Gene Fleck and they have John and Jane of The Dalles. Wilbur is a Wasco County Road Department mechanic.

    2. Earnest Dickson, died single. -- Biography by Wilbur Dickson.

    3. Ruth (Mrs. Delmar McGovney) Phoenix, Arizona.

    4. George Delbert Dickson married Montana Young. Their son Dr. Delbert Roger Dickson   practices medicine in Los Angeles. He married Phillis Webster and they have Tamile and Debra. Their son Kenneth Gordon Dickson is a telephone employee of The Dalles and     married Cecllia LaMarche and have Kenneth Jr. and Terisa Diane, both of The Dalles. -- Biography by Delbert Dickson.

8. Edwin; 9. Wm. 10. Minnie; 11. Martha -- all 4 died single.

    James W. Dickson was born in England (1856) and on the voyage over to America his father was lost overboard and his mother died shortly thereafter leaving him an orphan boy in a strange country. At 13 he started out for himself and eventually worked his way across the U.S. to Oregon and homesteaded in the 8 Mile district in the late 1880's and freighted to Prineville.

Albert Doyle

    Albert Doyle was born in Virginia (1832) son of Dan and married Sarah Hines in 1857, and came to Oregon by covered wagon in 1865. In 1868 they bought the Louis Klinger place on upper 8 Mile on which he lived to his death in 1880. Their children were: 1. Mary (Mrs. Ben Southwell) Dufur; 2. Joe, died single; 3. Bessie (Mrs. Chas. Wagonblast) biography under Wagonblasts; 4. Edwin, died single and 5. Wm. Doyle who farmed the old home place and also died single. Roy Wagonblast occupies the place.

Alfred Ferguson

    Alfred Ferguson was born in N.Y. (1842) son of Elijah and Clarinda (Blair) Ferguson and came to Calif­ornia by boat in 1851 where he mined and farmed until he came to 8 Mile in 1876. In 1869 he married Martha Robertson, daughter of John and Emily (Pinnill) Robertson 1862 emigrants from Mo. Their children: 1. John E. Ferguson, Wasco miller, married May Drake, daughter of Riley of 8 Mile and their children:                                                                             

1. Alfred married Della Head and lives at Clarkston, Wash. and has: Wm. died single; Wilbur of Calif. and Helen (Mrs. Alfred Shunke) The Dalles.                                                         

2. Frank, died single.

3. Joe., died single.                                                                                     

4. Alvira married Bertha Olney and was drowned at Newport, Ore. and they had: Salva and May of San Francisco; Marvin of The Dalles; Erma of Portland; Robert of The Dalles; Wayne and Euguene.

5. John married Harel Wisner and live at Paradise, Calif. where they have Eleanor (Mrs. Floyd Fowler) and Martha of Paradise.            

6. Pearl (Mrs. Elmer Johnson) The Dalles who have Betty (Mrs. John Hix) San Lois Obispo, Calif.

2. Ashford Ferguson married Effie Adams of 3 Mile and had Ralph of Vancouver; 2. Ellis of Gerhard who married Lois Kindred and had Keith and Elden; 3. Nina (Mrs. John Niohols) Seattle who have John and Robert and 4. Ada (Z. Louassac) mayor of   Anchorage, Alaska.

3. Miles Ferguson, 8 Mile farmer married Bessie Simons and had Rose and Florence (Mrs. John Ball) Boyd.

James Ferguson

    James Ferguson, brother of Alfred, married Ettie Drake, daughter of Riley of 8 Mile and had Jimmy of The Dalles and Clara Smith of Hood River. James was a familiar dray-expressman of pioneer days. --- This Alfred and James Ferguson biography was supplied by Mrs. Elmer Johnson of The Dalles.

Edward M. Harriman

    Edward M. Harriman 500 acre stock farmer of Endersby was born in England (1855) son of John and Elizabeth (Hanford) Harriman and came to the U.S. (1873); to Marysville California (1874) to Portland (1879) to The Dalles (1880) with the railroad construction crews. In 1882 he bought on 8 Mile. In 1886 he married Ada Woodcock,, daughter of Williston  and Alazama (Cornelius) Woodcock and their children were Nellie and Edna who died single; Arthur a minister of Florida; Fred and Dickson, whereabouts unknown. -- History Central Oregon.

Wm. J. Harriman

    Wm. J. Harriman was a brother of. Ed and Art, was a 600 acre farmer of 8 Mile, Wasco County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace around 1900; was born in England (1854) came to   8 Mile in 1882 where he homesteaded and bought the J.H. Harris place. In 1888 he married Jane Nelson, daughter of James and Elizabeth (McKeand) Nelson – who died at Endersy in l902 and was a "good road advocate" of that early period and raised many prize-winning horses. The Wm. Harriman children were: 1. Wm. T. Harriman, died single; 2. Charlie Harriman married Mildred Wild and had Chas. of Salem and Betty (Mrs. Ray Darnielle) Portland; 3. George Harriman died single; 4. John Harriman lived at Soda Springs, Idaho and had Barbara; 5. Florence (Mrs. Fred  Hennis) Santa Anna, Cal. 6. Lizzie (Mrs. Charles Bruns) Yakima, Wash. who have George and Jack; 7. Jane (Mrs. Leabo) Kelso, Wash. -- Biography by Mrs. Harriman.

Arthur Harriman

    Arthur Harriman, brother of Ed and Wm. farmed on 5 Mile, was born in England (1857) came to the U.S. in 1875 and to The Dalles in 1898 where he bought 380 acres of the old Steel road in the 5 Mile area. He married Helen Morris (1880) and had Constance (Mrs. Oscar Johnson) and Arthur of The Dalles. His second wife was Emma Fuller, daughter of Sylvester and Frances (Caton) Fuller and their children were:

1. Homer Harriman, grocery merchant of The Dalles, married La Verne Martin and have Gene of Vancouver and Janet (Mrs. Truman Osborne) Estacada.

2. Herbert Harriman of Omak, Wash. married Edna Goit and have Willis of Estacada and Marian (Mrs. Warner Leonardo) Gerhard, Oregon.

3. Glenn Harriman of Omak, Wash. married Winifred Beal and had Muriel, Stanley and Glenda of Omak.

4. Rose (Mrs. Herman Stoneman) Walla Walla where Mr. Stoneman is district manager of the Railway Express Co. and used to live in The Dalles. Their children are Lester, Flora and Phyllis.

5. Forest Harriman of Okanagan, Wash. has a son Don of Okanagan.

6. Arthur Harriman lives in Upland, Calif. and has 5 children. -- Biography by Homer Harriman.

Louis Klinger

    Louis Klinger was one of the earliest 8 Mile farmers; was born in Mo. (1837) son of John and Mary Klinger of Germany. He first passed through The Dalles by emigrant train in 1847 among the first to use the old Barlow road over the Cascade mountains which was completed that summer for first travel. They ran out of food, coming across the plains, and had to live on rice and bread. Only the one log house of Nathan Olney was to be seen in The Dalles (besides the Methodist Mission buildings) in 1847. Some 7000 emigrants started for Oregon that year but thousands died reroute from Cholera and starva­tion. Louis Klinger arrived in Oregon City with 25¢ in his pocket and wheat was worth $8 a bushel! Dr. John McLaughlin took his note for enough wheat for the family to live on that winter on their Donation Land Claim at Molalla. In 1861 he married Melissa Woodoock, daughter of Wilson D. and Keziah (Bunton) Woodcock and settled on 8 Mile in 1883. IN FREIGHTING BETWEEN THE DALLES AND BOISE, IDAHO MR. KLINGER CROSSED 8 MILE CREEK 119 TIMES! Note: It took a month to go to Boise and return in good weather so Mr. Klinger must have freighted from The Dalles to Boise steady for 10 years! -- and possibly 20 years from 1863 to the building of the railroad into Boise in 1883. Who, in 1952, is man enough to ride a freight wagon 20 years?)

    Louis Klinger and John Doyle bought the first (wheat) separator to Wasco county and operated it with his neighbors John Doyle, Jack McHaley and Robert Clark until his retirement to Dufur in 1889. He is quoted in the History of Central Oregon as saying he had a lot of fishing and hunting to do, which was the main reason for his retirement (not because of old age or riding freight wagons 20 years!).

Thomas Leabo

    Thomas Leabo was an 1890 farmer of 8 Mile was born in Nebraska (1855) son of Josiah and Nancy (Stone) Leabo 1862 emigrants to La Grande and Yaquina Bay. After the parents death in the Willamette Valley Thomas Leabo came to 8 Mile and homesteaded (1890) and married Arthel Darnielle, daughter of Amos, whose biography is listed on page 293; and their children were:

1. E. L. Leabo, 8 Mile farmer who married Ethel Doyle, daughter of C.R. Doyle and their children were Blanche (Mrs. Ira Hull) in California and Vera (Mrs. Fred LaDuc) Salem who have Jaqulin.

2. Iva (Mrs. J.A. Davidson) 8 Mile farmers whose children are: l. Daisy (Mrs. Victor Thompson) Hood River who have son Bob; 2. Melvin Davidson, mayor of The Dalles (1952) married Catherine Crooks and have James, Ed and Cathy; 3. Tom Davidson, single, 8 Mile          farmer; 4. Ted Davidson 8 Mile farmer who married Barbara Clark; 5. June (Mrs. Dave Roundtree) The Dalles.

3. Miles C. Leabo, retired 8 Mile farmer and Dalles Insurance agent, married Ethel Corking and have:

1. Darrel Leabo, appliance dealer of The Dalles who married Edith Kiedsroeki and have son Don.

2. Donald Leabo, World War 2 veteran lost in the naval typhoon of December 18, 1944 off the Philippine islands engulfing the destroyer Hull with total loss of every sailor aboard!

3. Zona (Mrs. Jack Athanas) 8 Mile farmers who have Linda, Phil, Bob and Susie.

August Longran

    August Longran was born in Sweden (1853) son of Gus and Margrete (Peterson) Longren who came to the U.S. in 1873; to The Dalles in 1877 with the Oregon Steam Navagation Co. river boats and was a Columbia river scow captain to 1882 when he homesteaded on 8 Mile. He married (1883) Madama Fleming and they had Matilda (Lena) of The Dalles; Minna Foreman of Damascus, Oregon and Charlie who died single.

Andrew Jackson McHaley

    The. Andrew Jackson McHaley family who settled on 8 Mile in 1864 is the oldest emigrant-pioneer in the history of Wasco County! They came west with Dr. Marcus Whitman and General John C. Freemont to The Dalles in 1843 - 109 years ago! This family, led by Dr. Whitman, brought the FIRST WAGONS TO OREGON OVER THE OLD OREGON TRAIL! (Read details on pages 3 - 150 to 158, 187, on the experiences of this and other families^-on the blazing of the Old Oregon Trail and the first emigrants over it to The Dalles). It was a lonesome 2000 miles between the Walla Walla mission and St. Joseph, Mo. in  1843 with Jim Bridger's cabin, in the Rookies, the only white man's home in all that distance! When they got to The Dalles there was no more road for the wagons, no white people to help them, no boats on the river, except Indian canoes. They had to leave their wagons at The Dalles, drive their cattle over the Indian trail via Lost Lake and Bull Run to Oregon City; make rafts to put their belongings on and float down the Columbia river, portage at the Cascades and go on to Vancouver where Dr. McLaughlin helped them get to Oregon City. We have lots of admiration and respect for all our emigrant families that pioneered over the Old Oregon Trail, but top admiration just has to go to the first trail-blazing families which included the Andrew Jackson McHaley family of 8 Mile and The Dalles, our No. 1 Pioneer Family. John McHaley returned to Indiana and was killed for the pouches of gold he carried, after he and his wife Sarah Ellen (Frazier) had came west with their children who were:

1. James McHaley of Heppner who had no family.

2. Henry McHaley of John Day who had 4 daughters of the John Day country.

3. George McHaley of John Day married Mary Jackson and had:                                                                            

    (A) Volney McHaley of John Day who married Veda Cole and had Frank and George of John Day; Fred died.

    (B) Rodney McHaley of Prairie City married Elizabeth Hubbard and had Kenneth, Rice, Jim, Eileen, Elizabeth and Avis all of Prairie City.   

    (C) Nettie (Mrs. Earl Bleim) John Day.

    (D) Clara (Dr. G.C. Belknap) Prairie City

    (E) Inetz (Dr. J.H. Bell) Prairie City    

    (F)Anne (Mrs. Judd Wood)

4. ANDREW JACKSON MC HALEY was 12 years old when he came across the plains with his parents in 1843 and they were helped down the Columbia river from The Dalles by the Hudson Bay Co. trappers. He moved from Champoeg to Hood River with his wife in 1881 where their son Wm. Henry McHaley, who still is living at the Walt Ryan place on R.2, says he was born. They homesteaded on 8 Mile in 1864 when the bunch grass on the hills was belly high on the horses from 8 Mile to The Dalles and through which Wm. Henry McHaley, a lifelong Wasco County resident of 91 years, rode his horse. Andrew Jackson McHaley freighted from The Dalles to Prairie City, Canyon City and Boise, intermittently for 20 years or until the railroads were built into Baker (1884). The first roads were so bad out of the Sherars Bridge crossing that teamsters used to have to double up, on each other's wagons, and spend a week getting them to the top of the mountains on either side of the river! The McHaleys, John Doyle and the Wards of Ward Hill (Boyd) built the lower 8 Mile school near the 8 Mile cemetery. The children of Andrew Jackson McHaley and his wife Mary Anne (Woodcock) McHaley were:

1. Wm. Henry McHaley (91) of The Dalles who ran cattle and horses for his father on the 8 Mile farm;    worked in his father's butcher shop in The Dalles; was a good carpenter who could hang 8 doors in an 8 hour day and did it for $3! He married Lydia Koontz and their children were: 1. Nellie (Mrs. Dick Butler) Dufur who had Grayson Butler and Portia (Mrs. Sorral) The Dalles; 2. Laura (Mrs. John French) of Alaska who had Adrain of Alaska; Kathleen (Mrs. Ivan Compton)    of Iowa who has Donna, Virginia, Norma Lee and Sandra; and Virginia (Mrs. George Esh) Portland who have Steven.

2. Frank McHalay, died single.

3. Mary Anne (Mrs. Sam Ward) farmer of Ward hill, between 8 Mile and Boyd and Dufur sawmill owner.

1. Ida Jean Ward of The Dalles who furnished the Ward family biography and also furnished this  very fine McHalay family biography on this first pioneer family of Wasco County.       

2. Louis C. Ward, government canal employee who married Ruby May and have Donna.                         

3. Andrew Jackson Ward of Dufur who married Bessie Limeroth and have Andrew Jr. of Dufur.    

4. Margaret (Mrs. James Johnson) Portland.

5. George Ward of Portland.

6. Delmar Ward of Portland.

7. Ruth (Mrs. George Truman) San Francisco.          

4. Mallisa Jana (Mrs. Edmundson) (Mrs. Luther Huston) Keppner

1. Frank Edmundson, Madras.

2. Alonzo Edmundson, Heppner.      

3. Morris Edmondson, Portland.

5. Ida Elizabeth, died single.

5. Frank McHaley (1885-1887).

6. Jane McHaley (Mrs. Kier Porter) Condon who had: Josephene; Rina; Lillian (Mrs. Bryant) who had     Chas. and Jack Bryant of Condon.

William L. Ward

    The Wm. L. Ward biography appears under Boyd where the Ward family settled to permanently remain in 1873, on Ward Hill, up which The Dalles-California highway follows, out of 8 Mile valley and over Ward Hill into Boyd. The old Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight wagon road cut a more direct and straight route from the top of Ward Hill, into Boyd. However the Wards settled for a time on 8 Mile in 1860 and helped build the lower 8 Mile school at the 8 Mile cemetery and are therefore pioneers of both 8 Mile and Boyd districts, as well as Dufur, Vancouver and Hood River.

William Henry Williams

    Henry Williams, the old Yakima Indian War veteran of 1858, settled on 8 Mile creek 89 years ago and the place is still in the Williams family, a remarkable record of stability which showed they had the spirit to weather droughts, depressions, floods, blizzards, sickness, wars and all the battles of life for 5 generations! Most of our residents are "fly-by-night professional transients" here today and gone tomorrow, but the Williams family was like the anchor chain on which the boat depended, nothing could move it!

    Henry Williams was born in Terre Haute, Indiana (1838) son of Washington and Hester (Stevens) Williams. He came west by covered wagon ox-team with his parents at the age of 12 (1850) arriving in The Dalles in November from Attumwa, Iowa. The Samuel Brooks family was in the same party and reference is made in the History of Central Oregon where Henry Williams, helped his father and Samuel Brooks work for a short time that fall, helping to construct the old "Log Fort Dalles" for the military expedition which arrived almost destitute that same fall and barefooted and with starving horses and mules. It seemed to be a drought year and everyone suffered, including the livestock, coming across the plains. His father took a Donation Land Claim in the valley, but sold out in 1858, returned to Chicago where he died in 1860. His mother died in The Dalles in 1868. During the Indian uprising Henry Williams enlisted in Co. C. with Capt. Strafford under Col. J.W. Nesmith and served with the mounted volunteers during the Yakima Indian War of 1855-56. He then mined at Yreka, Calif. until 1858 when he went with a party to the Fraser river and the Okanagan where they fought a 12 hour battle with the Indians. In 1859 he married Amanda Abbott of Oregon City the daughter of John and Catherine Abbott. He came with his wife and mother to 8 Mile in 1863 where he homesteaded and bought. For the next 20 years he was among the intermittent old time freighters between The Dalles and Canyon City, Prairie City, Boise and Prineville. Children were:

1. Richard Williams of Goldendale who married Catherine Vogel.

2. Chas. Fred Williams, who was born at Oregon City (1861) and freighted for 15 years with his father    from The Dalles to Canyon City, Boise and Prineville. He had to remain in Canyon City one whole summer on account of Indian trouble on Murder creek where his brother Richard Herbert Williams scouted for Nathan Olney's volunteers who went out after the Indians when they killed Mr. Aldridge and the troops retaliated by killing several Snake Indians. At 21 Fred worked for   the John's Lumber Mill in The Dalles and ran a dray in 1899 in The Dalles and finally moved to Springfield, Oregon. He married Katherine Teague the daughter of Elias, a Confederate Veteran of Goldendale and Elizabeth (Burton) Teague and their children were: 1. Lloyd of Springfield who married May Tibbetts and had Howard, Le Roy, Merril and Thelma. 2. Harold of Klamath Falls. 3. Carl of Eugene.

3. Frank Williams of The Dalles was a stock and horse raiser who married Eleanor Fuller and had: 1. Alden, died single; 2. Kenneth of Los Angeles; 3. Merl of Baker; 4. Gertrude of Walla Walla and 5. Frances (Mrs. Lawrence Dennis) The Dalles.

4. Jerry (Jay) of The Dalles was Wasco County Roadmaster and crewman married Myrtle Thompson.

5. Harry Williams married Veva Johnson, daughter of George of The Dalles and they had Leighton, a truck driver who has Harry, Ellen and Dana. Harry farmed the Williams ranch for a time on 6   Mile.

6. Lewis Williams married Josie Shortridge and had Vance of Medford.

7. Clyde Williams of Yakima married Ella Davidson, sister of John of 8 Mile and^-their children were: Nettie; Goldie; Violet; Forest; Howard, all of Yakima and Cecil of Los Angeles.

8. Kate (Mrs. Clarence Garrison) St. Helens who has Dorr Garrison of Richland, Wash.

9. Hester (Mrs. John Harris) Ontario. Mr. Harris was born in Mo. (1849) son of Wm. and Sarah (Beaver) Harris 1865 emigrants of The Dalles who farmed the W.J. Harriman place on 8 Mile in 1895,  sold to Harriman and went to Macy, Wash. The John Harris children of 8 Mile were: Fred and John Harris who were killed while working on The Dalles-Celilo canal; Cora, Willard, Letha and Martha of Ontario, Oregon and Barley who died single.

10. Hazel (Mrs. Charlie Creighton) The Dalles who have sons Hugh and Clair of The Dalles.

11. Iva (Mrs. Andrew Dufur) Santa Rosa, Calif. who has Mildred Moon of Santa Rosa and Elizabeth Rich of San Mateo, Calif.

12. Clara Williams of The Dalles who furnished this very fine Williams biography.

13. Nellie (Mrs. Wes Harris) of The Dalles who had Willard; Beatrice; Frances and Bud Harris of The Dalles.

14. Ida (Mrs. John Bradley) Boyd and Leavenworth, Wash. who had Nellie; Jay; Veva; Jesse; Ava and Vera all of Leavenworth, Washington.

Joseph C. Wingfield

    J. C. Wingfield was born at Molalla (1848) son of Joseph and Hannah (Knapp) Wingfield, 1846 covered wagon pioneers from Virginia. They came to The Dalles in 1865 where he operated a pack train from from there and from Umatilla to the Bear Gulch mines in Montana. The moved to 8 Mile in 1883 on what we now call the J.A. Davidson place above Endersby where they stayed until retirement to the McNeal place in Thompson Addition to The Dalles. Mrs. Wingfield was Alice Ramsby the daughter of Maxwell and Eliza (Smith) Ramsby, 1846 pack train emigrants and Mr. Ramsby was an 1848 Cayuse Indian War veteran under Nathan Olney, who took retaliation measures against the Cayuse Indians at Walla Walla for the massacre of Dr. Marcus Whitman and 9 other members of his mission in 1847. The Wingfield children are listed on page 223 under Thompson Addition. Iva Wingfield (Mrs. Arthur Smith) of The Dalles is the only remaining member of the family in Wasco county. Mr. Smith works on the Port of The Dalles docks.

Schools

    The educational area of 8 Mile was divided into the lower 8 Mile area, the Endersby or center district and the upper 8 Mile district, all of whom transport to Dalles schools now. The Endersby Sunday School Union and 8 Mile Grange were the only organizations, neither very strongly supported.

WASCO

    The old post office of Wasco, better known in pioneer days as the 12 Mile House, just below Dufur, at the foot of Long Hollow on The Dalles to Canyon City stage road; was listed in postal records as being established August 26, 1868 with William Gilliam the only postmaster. The office operated only 8 years and was closed June 3, 1872. The Portland directory, in the Portland library for 1873 lists the office of Wasco as being 12 miles southeast of The Dalles and postal records say the office was 2 miles north of Dufur. These two descriptions place it at the 12 Mile Ranch (House) at the foot of Long Hollow on The Dalles to Canyon City stage and freight line.

    We have been unable to locate a witness with "personal knowledge" about this old post office which existed 80 years ago for such a short period. However Carson C. Masiker, in his History of 15 Mile Creek Valley of 1927 wrote, "Next above Boyd was the Frank Asbury place (1860), later occupied by William Gilliam and still later known as the Tom Angell place, until the Angells moved to 8 Mile. It was also known as the Lester Peter Pratt place and Pratt kept the 12 Mile House there on The Dalles to Canyon City road up Long Hollow."

    The 12 Mile House was widely known as an important stage and freight wagon stop between 1860 and the death of Mr. Pratt in 1884 or more than 20 years. It was the first stage stop out of The Dalles where a meal could be bought, a bed had for the night and horses could be fed and cared for or wagons repaired at the blacksmith shop.

    Edward Limmeroth, Dufur Historian whose scrapbooks in the Dufur Library are liberally quoted in this history, has the following interesting account about the old 12 Mile House:

    "Lester Peter Pratt died in the blizzard of 1884 when there was 5 feet of snow on the ground. They couldn't take the body to the cemetery so they temporarily buried it in the snow, where it froze in perfect preservation and where it remained until spring until they could get to the cemetery for pro­per burial. The old Pratt stage station had an Inn or house where meals and a bed could be had, a livery barn for the horses and a blacksmith shop where wagons could be repaired or horses shod. The Pratts came to the Pratt stage station in 1878. His son Benjamin Franklin Pratt was born in 1863 and died in 1928 as a cattleman of Nansene; his son Earnest, born at Nansene in 1896, now lives on the old Pratt ranch above Nansene. Mae Pratt (Mrs.  Henry Hooper) lives in Portland. Martha Pratt, daughter of Lester Peter Pratt, married Lee Bolton (1877) and died in The Dalles (1946) at 87.

     I (Ed. Limmeroth) was born (1874) in Portland and came to Wasco county in 1876. I am the son of Paul Limmeroth of Nansene. Ben Pratt's brother was killed by the Indians in the 1870's. They changed horses on the stages at Pratt's Stage Station and kept and fed stage horses there. He also fed freight horses and kept teams for travelers and made repairs on wagons and shod horses."

Edna Swett (Mrs. E.R. Tidwell) whose family occupies and farms the 12 Mile Ranch now (1953) says: "I am the daughter of Charles Swett of Boyd and we have been on the 12 Mile Ranch for 16 years. The old corrals for the stage and freight wagon horses used to be just above the ranch house here and next to the old Inn which was a big house with many rooms. The old Inn and post office of Wasco was destroyed by fire about 1929 and old timers say the fire was caused by the explosion of a still which was operated under the old post office in prohibition days and before we came on the ranch. I am very much interested in the history of this old post office and stage station and will examine our abstracts for further names and dates of owners. It pleases me very much to know that someone is interested in these important historical matters and I will do all I can to help."

    Jess M. Gray, the last known and sole surviving stage coach driver still living in Wasco County at Mosier and who drove intermittently from The Dalles to Shaniko between 1898 and the completion of the Shaniko railroad says, "I have heard old timers mention the old post office of Wasco but I did not know exactly where it was located and never connected it with the 12 Mile House and stage station at which we used to stop at when I drove The Dalles to Bakeoven and Dalles to Shaniko sections of The Dalles to Prineville, Shaniko, Antelope and Mitchell stages. By 1896 Boyd was the main stage stop and post office. Dufur was served by The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line which I later drove or after the Shaniko line was discontinued."

    Mrs. B.H. Haynes (see biography on page 291) says, "While I did not know where the old post office of Wasco was located I have heard my family (the Wilsons) speak of it. We were very familiar with the old 12 Mile House stage and freight wagon station."

Dufur Established in 1878

    Since the old post office of Wasco was discontinued in 1872 and the Dufur office was not opened until 1878 we had wondered how the people got their mail during that 6 year period between 1872 and 1878? A close examination of the Edward Limmeroth scrapbooks, in the Dufur Library, as we have quoted on page 308, revealed, "that in 1878 when Chauncey A. Williams established his store in Dufur there was no post office, -- the mail being brought out to the 15 Mile House from The Dalles where it was distributed to neighbors."

    The above quotation meant it was brought out to the 12 Mile House by The Dalles to Canyon City stage and from there the 2 miles to the 15 Mile House where neighbors of the upper creek called for it. Those on the  lower creek called at the 12 Mile House. In reality BOTH of those pioneer Inns or early hotels were "unofficial post offices!" The 12 Mile House was an "unofficial post office after it was officially closed in 1872"; and Dufur's 15 Mile House "was an unofficial post office for several years" until Mr. Williams was officially appointed postmaster in 1878 and the office for­mally established as Dufur that same year.

    The charter of the Ramsay Grange shows the first members claimed The Dalles as their postal address, before Dufur was established, according to Harvey Slusher who examined the charter. We thirst for more information about this old post office of Wasco and 12 Mile Stage station.

NANSENE

    The post office of Nansene was established May 17, 1880, 5 miles up Long Hollow from the old post office of Wasco or the 12 Mile House, and closed October 14, 1904. The post office department records show Wm. O. Adams was the first postmaster and this is confirmed by Edward Limmeroth who settled on the Dry Creek fork of Long Hollow with his father Paul in 1876. He said, "Hewett Ring may have officially been credited with being the second postmaster but his wife Cora always handled the mail. The next postmaster was Annie Brannan. "Pretty Dick" Braden drove for years on The Dalles to Prineville stage and we kids at the Nansene school had great admiration for his good looks. He married (about 1880) Josephene Howett, the daughter of Frank Houett the keeper of the 8 Mile saloon and stage stop where the old freighters used to put up for the night. His other daughter Ollie married Tom Fargher. We always got our mail at Nansene."

    The Nansene or Butler school has since been torn down. The Nansene Farmers Union Hall is about 3 miles, south of the old Nansene post office and stage station which is now owned by George and Frank Bourland of Dufur and Henry Bush, secretary of the Wasco County Farmers Union operates the ranch for the Bourlands. NANSENE is the Indian word for 15 Mile creek. The Long Hollow grade is an "easy water grade" all the way from 15 Mile creek to the top of Tygh Ridge, a distance of 13 miles. The 5 mile drop from the ridge down to Sherars Bridge was steep.

Hewett Ring

    The biography of the Hewett Ring family in the History of Central Oregon says, "Hewatt Ring, in 1875 operated the well known stage station at Nansene where he demonstrated himself as a genial and capable host to the travelling public and his place was well known and greatly appreciated. In addition he owns a fine farm. He was born in Mo. (1850) son of Thomas and Margaret (Hewett) Ring and came across the plains in 1852 settling in the Willamette Valley. At 16 he went to the gold mines at Canyon City and married (1877) Amanda Montgomery. In 1875 he filed on his Homestead at Nansene post office and later (1882) he bought the John Adams estate. Nansene has been a stage station and post office since 1874. Mrs. Ring was the postmaster. Five children ware born to the Rings: Winifred; Cora (Mrs. George Sternweis) Nansene; Caledonia (Mrs. Wm. Taylor) Dufur; Lela (Mrs. Paul Maxwell) of Yamhill county and Maude. The Taylor children are Helen, and Malcolm (1904)."

Thomas A. Ward

    The biography of Thomas Ward, in the History of Central Oregon says, "Thomas A. Ward was born in Wisconsin (1846) son of John H. - a. California and Virginia City, Nev. miner. In 1864 Thomas A. Ward took land at Cross Hollow (Shaniko) where he became the stage station operator for Henry H. Wheeler, owner of The Dalles to Canyon City stage line. Jim Clark of Burnt Ranch stage station built the 16 room Inn or hotel at Cross Hollows for Tom Ward. They operated the Cross Hollows post office and a small store in one of the rooms of that Inn. Tom Ward turned the management of the store and stage station over to his wife and drove stage for 12 years between The Dalles and Cross Hollows! (1884-1876)! Then he be­came the operator of the Long Hollow (Nansene) Stage station from 1878 to 1884 when he came to The Dalles and went into the hotel business and the Ward & Robertson Livery stable, located where the auditorium is now at 4th and Federal. He married at Spanish Gulch Mines in Grant County (1876) Mary L. Kerns the daughter of Wm. Kerns, an 1852 pioneer emigrant to the Mt. Tabor district (Kern Park area). Their children were: Elmer and Lulu Ward, single of The Dalles and Rex Ward, popular Dalles accountant for the Wasco Mill and Great Southern railroad who married Maude Coleman and has son Tom of The Dalles who was Company Clerk for The Dalles Co. H. during the 4 year south sea island campaign against the Japs. Rex Ward of The Dalles was born at Nansene while his father operated the Inn and stage station.

    The Ward biography shows Tom Ward the operator of Nansene stage station and Inn from 1876 to 1884, a period of 8 years. The post office department records show Wm. O. Adams  as the first postmaster, which indicate the post office was kept in the Adams hone. There appears to be several errors in the Hewett Ring biography," the date 1875 should probably read, "in 1885 he operated the well known stage station of Nansene." Nansene was not a post office until May 17, 1880 although it was a stage station before that. Tom Ward was never the postmaster as he had his hands full operating the station and black­smith shop and other business of that kind without bothering with a post office that offered no pay.

Early Settlers

    The Dalles, directory of 1898 lists the following settlers at Nansene:

W.O. Adams, John Anderson, D., W.F. & Sherman Baker, Tim Brownhill, Melissa Broyles, Eban P. Butler, M. Butler, Omar Butler, Polk Butler, Roy Butler, W.H. Butler, J.A. Campbell, Fritz Clausen, C.E. Conk­ling, C. Cooper, E.L. Craft, C.H. & A.M. Crain, W.D. Cunningham, John Decker, J.L. Easton, John Elliott, Horatio Fargher, H. Gardner, C.A.S. Grazer, W.E. Gilhousen, C.H. & John Hadley, W.L. Harrington, A.W. Harris, Tom Harris, R. Harris, Wm. Hastings, Frank Hathaway, Bert, Joe and W.R. Haynes, A. Holt, M.W. Houser, A. Hyre, Elmer James, U.S. & O. Jones, F.G. Keller, James L. Kelley, Joe D. Kelley, F.F. Kirk­ham, Paulis, Edward and Albert Limmeroth, A.R. Logan, Dennis McCauley, J.W. McConnell, H. & J.H. McCoy, P.J. McGrail, Scott McKellar, J.W. Mae, A.F. Martin, J.C. Marven, H.E., H.P., James and Elvira Moore, J. Murray, Wm. H. Neabeck, Chas. Nicholson, Antone Newtrey, Lewis Omeg, Hayden O'Neal, Joe & Tom Ramus, Alex Rees, Peter Reesch, George Rice, Albert S. Roberts, Bell Robertson, G.W. Robertson, Peter Stroller, Chas Swain, Henry Thomas, Alfred Trudell, Martin Wahmann, F.M. Warner, Martin Waterman, Richard West­gard, George Willard, D.C. Wilson, Ed Wilson, J.J. Woolery, W.T. Wright, A.C. Younkin.

Chicken Springs

    Chicken Springs, named for the many Prairie Chickens in the vicinity, was a freight wagon stop 5 miles above Nansene, operated by Mr. Earhart for a time and then by Bully Bolleau, according to John Conroy of Tygh. It was on the Tom Jones place and is now owned by the George Hillgen family. It had an Inn where freighters could eat and sleep and put up their horses. It was a long hard pull up over the ridge from Sherars and that was the first water for horses, which made it so popular, on the ridge.

KEEN

    The official records of the post office department show that the post office of Keen operated from April 14, 1911 to March 31, 1912 with Owen Jones, postmaster. It was located on the Owen Jones ranch 7 miles south (up Long Hollow) from Nansene. We interviewed Mrs. George Hillgen, closest neighbor of the Jones family and she said, "Owen Jones may have been authorized to operate a post office at his ranch in 1911 and 12, but if so, he handled no mail and to my knowledge he or Mrs. Jones never sold a stamps We were the closest neighbors to the Jones and Mrs. Jones and I were as intimate as sisters, and if anyone would have ever got mail from the post office of Keen or bought stamps from such an office, it would have been me and I never did."

    This statement by Mrs. Hillgen clearly indicates that the post office of Keen was never active. Many small rural post offices, in the history of Wasco county and the state of Oregon, never became active post offices. Some, like Keen, never opened, and for that reason their locations have never been established. Others only operated for a year or so and were closed so long ago that no one remembers where they were. Mrs. Hillgen suggested the reason for the selection of the name Keen was "because it was a Keen place for a post office” and remembered Mrs. Jones saying so at one time.

Owen Jones

    The History of Central Oregon says, "Owen Jones was a 2200 acre farmer of Tygh Ridge; was born in Wales (1869) son of Robert and Sarah Jones and came to the U.S. in 1888, later settling at Keen where he married Sophia Roth. There were no children."

Polk Butler

    Polk Butler, farmer ½ mile south of Nansene, was born in Indiana (1845) son of Isaac and Anna L. (Jones) Butler. Issac died in Illinois in 1875 and his mother was living there in 1905. Polk was a brother of Daniel and Jonathan of Tygh. He was educated in Indiana and worked on his fathers farm and went to Ill. At 18. He married (1863) Dell Coy, daughter of Hiram and Phoebe (Mundenhall) Coy and came to Nansene in 1879 where he homesteaded and bought. Their children were:

1. Maude (Mrs. Ed Griffin) The Dalles who had sons Pete and Forest of Portland and daughters Lois and Maud

2. Omar Butler, a minister.

3. Roy Butler, postmaster and store merchant of Boyd who married Ethel Southern and had Agnes.

4. Dick Butler of Boyd chose children are all in California.

Isiah Butler

    Was born in Ohio (1855), brother of Polk, Dan and Jonathan, son of Issac and Anna L. (Jones) Butler farmed at Kingsley where he settled in 1877. He married Emeline Riggs the daughter of David and Elizabeth (Smith) Riggs of Mo. and their children were Clyde of Portland who married Minnie Wilson and Stella.

Jonathan Butler

    Jonathan Butler of Tygh and Nansene, son of Issac and Anna L. (Jones) Butler came west to the gold mines of California in 1849 by ox-team with his brother Daniel W. Butler of The Dalles, Dufur and Tygh where they mined together, later mining on the Rogue river in southern Oregon. In 1879 he moved to his place in Jonathan Butler canyon at Tygh, down which The Dalles-California highway follows; later moving to Nansene where he died. He married Mary Foster, 1849 emigrant to the Rogue River Valley. Children:

1. Ralph Butler, single, Nansene farmer on the home place.

2. Wm. H. Butler of Baker, Oregon.

3. Robert L. Butler, single.

4. Ebon P. Butler of Nansene who married Alice Wilson.

5. Myron Butler of Nansene married Vene Moore and had: Chas of Calif.; Hazel (Mrs. Clarence Gardner) The Dalles; and Ivan Butler married Magdalena Wolfe, live at North Bend, Ore. and whose only son Shirley was killed in Germany in 1946.

6. Lenore (Mrs. Avisson Haynes) Dufur who had: Grace Ostrange of The Dalles; Merl married Grace Taylor; Ray married Maud Allen and lived in Dufur; Frank of Dufur; Ted of   Corvallis and Mildred.

7. Nellie (Mrs. Walter Jones) Rogue River, Oregon.

William Hastings

    William Hastings of Center Ridge was a stock and wheat farmer of that area and a pioneer freighter between The Dalles and Prineville. He was born in Scotland (1851) and migrated to San Francisco in 1879. He first settled in Jap Hollow in 1891 later moving to Center Ridge. He married Agnes Nelson, daughter of James and Elizabeth (McCan) Nelson and they had the following 6 children:

1. Bessie (Mrs. Logan Harter) of California.

2. Wm. Hastings, farmer of Boyd, married Grace Greenlee and have Robert of Yakima and Bernice of Portland.

3. Margaret (Mrs. Lloyd Bolon) The Dalles has: Enid of The Dalles; 2. Hazel (Mrs. Fred Miller) Boyd; 3. Veda (Mrs. Everett Sexton)

Coeur de Alene, Idaho.

4. Agnes (Mrs. Willard Adkisson) Prineville.

5. George Hastings of The Dalles married Edith Myers and have 1. Earl of Boyd and Dale of Boyd.

6. Norman Hastings married Helen Toby, daughter of Walter Toby of Dufur and their children are:

1. Janet (Mrs. Grant Bolton) The Dalles.       

2. Ruth (Mrs. Jess Willette) Granger, Wash.

3. Wallace Hastings married Cleo Bedington and lives at Fullerton, Calif.

4. Elsie, single, lives in Seattle.

    The Walter Toby family came to Dufur in 1908 from Yakima where they migrated to in 1891. He married Elsie Stayton of Wisconsin and besides Helen (Mrs. Norman Hastings) they had 2. Otis Toby; single of Wyoming; 3. Lawrence Toby who married Dorothy Taylor and lived at Dufur; 4. Rex Toby of Portland. The Lawrence Toby family of Dufur have a daughter Jane and a son Verlyn.

    It is always a pleasure to record the history of our pioneer families and especially those who faced the weather as freighters, pack trainmen, stage coach drivers or covered wagon "builders of the west."

KINGSLEY

    The post office of Kingsley, 7 miles south of Dufur on the old Dalles to Wapinitia stage and freight road, was established January 24, 1878, as one of the 4 original post offices on that stage line, which was established that spring to serve Dufur, Kingsley, Tygh and Wapinitia. The first postmaster was Robert Kelley who operated the post office in his store at Kingsley. At the time the petition for the post office and mail service was submitted to Elizabeth Wilson, postmaster at The Dalles and mother of Judge Fred W. Wilson, no name had yet been selected for the office and she was asked what name she would suggest? She had just finished reading the book Westward Ho, by Chas. Kingsley the British author, and she suggested the name KINGSLEY, which was agreeable to everyone and which received the approval of the post office department.

    The next postmaster was George Baxter and he operated the office in his store at Kingsley. He was followed by James Ward, who had the office in his store and when he sold to Theodore Buskuhl the latter gentleman became postmaster in 1902 and remained in charge of the office to 1912 when his brother Otto Buskuhl held the postmastership to 1917, when the store was sold to Ralph Robinson. Mr. Robinson only had the store about 2 years when it burned to the ground and destroyed the post office. He designated Anna (Mrs. Adolph Nys) to act as postmaster in his place and to handle the mail in the Kingsley Hotel. The report of the post office inspector recommended the office be discontinued and it was closed November 30, 1920. The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line had been suspended, when their contract ran out in 1914. The Kingsley post office was served by a locked pouch handled by Route 1, Dufur, from 1914 to 1920.

    The extension of the Great Southern railroad into Friend in 1913 and the abandonment of The Dalles to Wapinitia stage line in 1914 were the two blows that "staggered" Kingsley. The "knock-out punch" came when The Dalles-California highway by-passed the little town in 1924. At its height from 1900 to 1910 Kingsley boasted the Kingsley Hotel, a blacksmith shop, a town meeting and dance hall, a Farmers Union, a church, the Jim Ward and Emerson Williams stores on the west side of the road and the Earnest Mayhew-Adolph Nye hotel on the east side of the road or main street. A livery stable, gallon house and school completed the picture, which, together with the dwellings, barns and outbuildings made up the little town of Kingsley. Kingsley, Dufur, Nansene, Boyd, Mosier, Tygh, Shaniko and Antelope were all about the same size little towns in those pre-automobile days. A Platt of the town was filed May 18,1893.

Otto Buskuhl

    This history of Kingsley was furnished by Otto Buskuhl, postmaster and merchant of both Kingsley and Friend. He was born at Buckskin, Indiana (1881) son of Herman and Mary (Fritz) Buskuhl. He came to the Kingsley-Friend area in 1902 where he lived until 1948 when he moved to Portland. He married Adeline Strauss and has Elmer Buskuhl of The Dalles and Evelyn, William, Paul and Carl of Portland.

    Clyde Butler of Portland, son of Isiah of Kingsley says, "I came to Kingsley in 1877 and my father got their mail at the Hugh Gourley ranch before Robert Kelley built the post office and store at Kingsley. I am 62 years old." if they got their mail at the Hugh Gourley ranch in 1877, how was the mail delivered to that ranch? or did Nr. Gorley go to The Dalles for the mail for himself and neighbors?

    Harry Whitten, who came to Kingsley in 1884, thought Emerson Williams and W.L. Smith were postmasters along with those mentioned above.

    Jim Thrall, the old auctioneer, is listed in The Dalles directory of 1898 as a grocer of Kingsley. He was also widely known as a good gambler at cards, ran the gallon house and was an auctioneer of Wasco county for more than 40 years.

Early Settlers - 1883.

    The Dalles directory of 1883 lists the following pioneer settlers of Kingsley area:

Tom Adams, F.M. Amen, U.N. Baxter, Pat Bolton, E.L. Boynton, Sam Brockhouse, John Brown, John Cary, J.W. Cox, George Couter, S.H. Emerson, Chas. Davis, James Fitzgerald, Hugh Gourlay, P. Gorman, Charles Green, J.H. Hagan, Henry Hillgen, J.A. Hinkle, John Marks, Alexander McLeod, M.K. McLeod, W.R. Menefee, W.R. Morris, Isaac Patenaude, H. Raster, T.J. Richardson, J.M. Roth, R. Rondeau, Alex Scott, Harvey Smith, Mary Weigand, J.W. Wooden, G.R. Frank, Tom Haskins, D. Haskins.

1898 Settlers

    The Dalles directory of 1898 lists the following pioneer settlers of the Kingsley area:

Enoch Anderson, James Ball, Acte Barrett, Ed Barton, L. Battig, George Baxter and Mrs. Hugh Baxter, general merchandise; John Bolton, Pat Bolton, J.D. & M.H. Bowman, Charlie and E.L. Boynton, hotel and livery stable; B.C. Brown, Chas. Bulley, Fred Buskuhl, Daniel Clyde Butler, D. Caldwell, Mike Callahan, Clark, Jude and M. Campbell, John Carey, Walt and Bill Clark, J.S. Corson, Wm., John and James Cox, Hesekeah Davis, Lafe and Polly Davis, Joe Denny, J.W. Dixon, James and John Donaldson, Pat Dorris, Jasper Ensley, James Fitzgerald, Chas. Fraley, George J. Friend, blacksmith and founder of the town of Friend; Frank Gillespie, Jack, M.M., and Tom W. Glavey, J.L. Gordon, Pat Gorman, Chas. Green, Ezra Hanson, J.W. Hayek, Walt Henderson, R. Henson, Henry and Fred Hillgen, John Hix, Robert & G.W. Jordan, James Kelley, Adolph Kober, carpenter; Lottie Koontz, Mary Lewis, Frank Leibline, John Lowe, J.H. Mc Cowan, John McDonnell, George, M.K. and Alex McLeod; Nick and John Marx, Henry, Joe, Tim, J. & E Mat­thews, Frank Mitchell, Hugh Morehead, T.F. Morris, R.D. Morrison, Seraphine Mace, Wm. H. Neabeck, Joe and Mike Neely, Isaac Patenaud, Oliver Potwein, A.L. Pugh, Herman Raster, Tom Riddell, Leon and Remi Rondeau, John Roth, O.H. Russel, Matthew Thorburn, made famous by Benj. A. Gifford in the photograph, "The Shepherd of the Hills"; J.C. Thrall, grocer, Trudell & Dennis; Emma Ward, teacher; Frank Ward, J.C. Ward, general merchandise; Pat Ward, Susie Ward, teacher; John Whitten, E.P. Williams, Tom Williams, J.K. Wood.

    The Dalles directory of 1910 merely says the population of Kingsley was 50; that it was settled in 1870; sustains a Catholic church with Rev. Father Cantral, pastor; Theodore Buskuhl, postmaster; George Friend, blacksmith; N.H. Goetjen, saloon and Adolph Nys, hotel; Buskuhl Brothers, general merchandise; 23 miles south of The Dalles; 8 miles south of Dufur its banking and express point.

Patrick Bolton

    Patrick Bolton, stockman of Kingsley and brother of John, was born in Ireland and came to Kingsley about 1879. He married Bregetta O'Niell and their children were:

1. Henry Bolton married Lana Buskuhl, farmed at Kingsley; and their children were:

          1. Maurice Bolton, Dalles car salesman who married Georgia Merrifield.

2. Mildred Bolton became a Sister of Marylhurst.

3. Raymond Bolton, died single.

4. Leonard Bolton lives at Denver, Colo.

2. Nellie (Mrs. Athel V. Fraley) Kingsleyfarmers; have                                                                         

        1. Grace (Mrs. Stanley Fargher) Vancouver, Wash. farmers; have Wm., Buddy and   Patricia.         

        2. Buluah (Mrs. Allen McLain) Dufur farmers who have Mary.

        3. Helen (Mrs. Tom Ward) Dalles Feed Store; have Karen.   

        4. Maxine (Mrs. Fred Ashley) Tygh farmers.

3. Annie A. Bolton (Mrs. Michael Glavey) Kingsley farmers; biography under Glaveys.

4. Wm. Bolton went to Sunnyside, Wash.

5. John Bolton, single, Kingsley.

6. Edward Bolton married Margaret Cramer and went to Portland. -- Biography by Tom Glavey, The Dalles.

Charles Fraley

    Charles Fraley, farmer of Kingsley, was born (1849) in Iowa the son of Dan and Jincey (Goslin) Fraley. He was left an orphan at 8 and educated in Indiana. In 1889 he came to Kingsley and bought ½ section. He married (1871) Margaret Pugh, daughter of Andrew and Christina (Wolf) Pugh and sister of James, Jacob, and Archibald of Kingsley. Their children were:

1. Athel V. Fraley, Dufur farmer, married Nellle Bolton and had:

1. Grace (Mrs. Stanley Fargher)Vancouver who have Wm., Buddy and Patrica.

2. Buluah (Mrs. Allen McLain) Dufur farmars who have Mary.

3. Helen (Mrs. Bob Sanders) The Dalles cherry orchardist who have Helen and Marietta.   

4. Ethel (Mrs.Tom Ward) Hughes Feed store The Dalles who have Karen.

5. Maxine (Mrs. Fred Ashley) Tygh farmers.

2. John Fraley, The Dalles married Lillie Norval and have:

1. Athel Elden Fraley of The Dalles who has Clarice and Eldene.

2. Verl Fraley, surveyor of The Dalles.

3. Lyle Fraley, The Dalles Tie plant who married Ruth Elton and have Lylene and Larry.

4. John Fraley, veteran of World War 1, died at Fort Lewis in 1917.

3. Nellie (Mrs. Earnest Mayhew) Woodburn, Oregon.

4. Nannie (Mrs. Frank French) Portland, Oregon.

5. Ellen (Mrs. Emery Longmire) Sacramento, Calif.

6. May (Mrs. Frank Seufert) Portland has son Robert of Portland.

7. Stella, died single. --- Biography by John Fraley of The Dalles.

Michael M. Glavey

    The Glavey Brothers, Michael, John and Tom, wera stockmen on a 1500 acre ranch 5 miles south of Dufur, in the Kingsley area. John of Dufur was single but Michael married Anna Bolton, daughter of Patrick and Briget (O'Neil) Bolton (see biography above). Michael was born in St. Louis (1863) son of Tom and Honor (Welch) Glavey. He came to Portland in 1875 and to Kingsley in 1878. Their children were:

1. Irene (Mrs. L.T. Chambers) The Dalles.

2. William Glavey, died single.

3. Thomas Glavey, single, The Dalles.

4. Marle Glavey, The Dalles.

5. James married Edna Howell and have Frances and Aileen, all of The Dalles.

6. Delbert married Marie Kaser and have Nadine and Michael, all of Portland. - Biography by_. Tom Glavey.

Wilbur Hendricks

    Wilbur Hendricks, farmer of Kingsley, married Nellie Bolton acid their children ware:

1. Leland Hendricks, Kingsley farmer married Anne Brookhouse and had Donna  Lee and Wilbur.

2. Lester Hendricks, Kingsley farmer married Mildred Haight and had Gerald, Hollis, Marietta, Arleen and James. Their place is at the head of Tygh grade on The Dalles-California highway.

3. Cecil (Mrs. Harry Hix) Friend have Harriett (Mrs. Lester DePriest) Friend.

4. Helen (Mrs. Angus McLeod) Dufur had Janett (Mrs. Wes Lindley) Tampa, Florida. - Biography by Olive McLeod.

Walter Henderson

    Walter Henderson, Kingsley farmer, was born in Washington Co. Oregon (1882) son Aaron and Sarah (Butts) Henderson 1854 emigrants to Portland. They homesteaded at Kingsley in 1880. He married Alice Brown the daughter of John and Catherine (Higgins) Brown. They lived on what is now the Jim McCown place. Their children were: Perry of Madras; John, Mary, Arthur, Rena, Lillie, Arlie, Louis, Wm. and Orville.

Wm. A. Hunter

    Wm. A. Hunter was a 1000 acre stock and wheat farmer of Kingsley; was born in Ontario, Canada 1869 son of Murdock and Ann (Finlayson) Hunter. He came to Kingsley about 1887 and married (1899) Gertrude Badger, daughter of George, a Portland architect and Sarah (Raymond) Badger. They had no children. Wm. A. Hunter was mayor of The Dalles during World War I and died in The Dalles. He was a brother of John, David, James, Margaret McLeod, Betsy McLeod and Catherine Longhurst.

Murdock K. McLeod

    Murdock K. McLeod was born (1856) son of Aleck and Jesse McLeod of Koncardine, Ontario, Canada and who came from Scotland to Canada. They came with Murdock to Kingsley in 1882 where they homesteaded and bought and became wheat and stock farmers. Aleck and George McLeod, brothers, were already at Kingsley when Murdock came west. The children of Aleck and Jesse were:

1. Aleck McLeod, Kingsley farmer who married Ella Bassoni and had:

1. Jesse (Mrs. Remi Rondeau) Kingsley farmers who had Remo Rondeau who farmed at   Kingsley.

2. Wm. McLeod married Ella Rhotts, farmed at Kingsley and had; 1. Alec of Sherman county; 2. Thodisa (Mrs. Joe Irby) Arlington; 3. Wm. McLeod, Salem.

2. George McLeod farmer of Kingsley, married Lillie Campbell and their children were:

1. Stewart McLeod, bartender of The Dalles who married Louise Russel.

2. Rena (Mrs. Harley Brown) Detroit, Michigan.

3. Floyd McLeod married Ruby Selliek, lived at Maupin and had: 1. Jack McLeod, merchant of   Maupin; 2. Marcia (Mrs. Steve Starcebich) Portland.

4. Grace (Mrs. James Chalmers) Maupin.

5. John McLeod, World War I veteran and graduate1921 from The Dalles high school, died single.

3. Murdock McLeod, farmer of Kingsley, married Elizabeth Hunter, daughter of Murdock and Anne (Finalyson) Hunter of Scotland and Ontario, Canada and sister of Wm. A. Hunter, Dalles Mayor. Children:

1. Jesse (Mrs. Claude Hendrix) Dufur farmers who had Veletha (Mrs. Walter Whitliff) The Dalles.

2. Murdina (Mrs. Lawrence Rutherford) Criterion farmers who have 1. Elizabeth (Mrs. Arthur Appling) Friend farmers and 2. Harry Rutherford, Detroit, Oregon.

3. Myrtle (Mrs. Walter Eklund) San Francisco.

4. Bessie (Mrs. Newell Resso) Detroit, Michigan.

5. Angus McLeod Dufur farmer and county commissioner married Helen Hendricks and had Janett (Mrs. Wes Lindley) Tampa, Florida.

8. Olive McLeod, school teacher of The Dalles who lives with her mother now past 90 and who   furnished this very fine biography on the McLeod family.

7. Margaret (Mrs. Fred Mority) San Francisco.

Henry Mayhew

    Henry Mayhew was a 400 acre grain and stock farmer 8 miles east or Kingsley who was born at Stony Point, Ontario, Canada (l863) son of Jacob and Lucy (Brunnett) Mayhew. He worked for the Canadian Pacific railroad at 19 as a contractor in British Columbia; then worked for the Northern Pacific railroad construction crews, logged and finally homesteaded at Kingsley where in 1895 he married Lulu Wildrick the daughter of Harvey and Jennie (Brown) Smith and had 1. Arthur, died single; 2. Wallace Mayhew who went to the Willamette valley and Shirley. -- History Central Oregon.

Patrick Gorman.

    Patrick Gorman Kingsley farmer came to Chicago from Ireland in l861 and homesteaded at Kingsley as early as 1876 with his wife Sarah (Brookhouse) Gorman until retirement to The Dalles in 1900. Children:

1. Mary (Mrs. Theodore J. Seufert) Canneryman and merchant of The Dalles (biography under Seufert).

2. Richard Gorman born at Kingsley 1878, went to school there and at Wasco Independent Academy of The Dalles and Mt. Angel; became a lawyer associated with Judge Bennett of The Dalles and was editor of both the Times-Mountaineer and The Dalles Chronicle; later went to Portland.

Wm. Morris

    Wm. Morris, veteran of the Mexican War of 1848 and his wife Catherine (Fox) Morris came to Kingsley (from California) where they homesteaded in 1889 and where Wm. Morris died in 1882, his wife following him in 1902. They farmed 600 acres with their son Thomas, single, which included a 14 acre orchard!

Elzard Rondeau

    Elzard Rondeau was a 1125 acre stock and wheat farmer of Kingsley, was born in Montreal, Canada and came to Kingsley in 1876 via train to San Francisco and steamer to Portland and The Dalles. Ch:

1. Leon Rondeau born at Montreal (1860) came to Kingsley with parents in 1878 and was credited with being able to shear 155 head of sheep, per day by hand. He married (1889) Elizabeth (Trouzin) the daughter of Alexis and Amedile (Boucher) Trouzin of Montreal and their children were:          

1. Alexis of Longview, Wash. to married Teresa Schreiber.

2. Cordelia, single of The Dalles.       

3. Alfred Rondeau of Condon married Helen Cushing and had Leon; William; both of Condon.

4. Rosaline, single of The Dalles. 5. Donna, died single. 8. Justine (Sister Mariam Barbara) Marylhurst.

2. Remi Rondeau 440 acre Kingsley farmer of 1872 was born in Montreal (1850) and married Jesse  McLeod. In 1888 he suffered a stroke and was confined the rest of his life to a wheel chair; 20  years! Ch:

1. Remo farmer of Kingsley had Charlotte (Mrs. Cliff Jackson) Walla Walla and Delmond  Rondeau, an Oregon State policeman who was killed by the desperado Pinson near Hood River 2 years ago (1950). 

The rest of the children: Nellie, Minnie, Annie and Rose, died single of dyptheria.

3. Joe Rondeau, Gervais, Oregon farmer married Sallie Sequin and had: 1. Urban of Woodville, Wn.

2. Rose (Mrs. Ed Krauss) Aberdeen, Wash; 3. Earl of Gervais; 4. Lester of Toledo, Ore.

4. Edward Rondeau, Gervais farmer, married Eugenia Thibideau. Their children were:

1. Oliver Rondeau, farmer and salesman of The Dallee who married Maretta Anthony, daughter of E.J. Anthony of The Dalles and had Ruth and Robert; and they supplied this Rondeau biography.

2. Arthur Rondeau, Portland, married Anna Johnson and have Dolores.

3. Albert Rondeau, foundryman of Portland married Marie Burns and have Michael.

4. Delvina (Mrs.Vern Habert) Gervais; 5. Earnest died single; 8. Remi, died single.

            5. Delia Rondeau (Mrs. Issac Pattenaude) Kingsley farmers.

            6. Celia (Mrs. Tom Williams) Kingsley farmers had: 

1. Chancy of  White Salmon who has Linda; 2. Bertha Brown of Seattle; 3. Delia Calbreth of  Portland; 4. Frank Williams of California.

7. Louisa (Mrs. Adelord Perrault) Kingsley farmers who had: 1. Felix Perrault, Toppenish policeman; 2.   Sarah in California; 3. Fred of Toppenish 4. Remi of Toppenish and Bertha in California.

John M. Roth

    John M. Roth was a 1000 acre stock and wheat farmers of Kingsley who was born in Germany (1838) son of Johann, a blacksmith, and Sophia (Kleenfaller) Roth who came to Wisconsin (1856) and rented until 1861 when he enlisted in Co. C. 11 Wisconsin Volunteers for the Civil War. He married (1864) Margaret Unsel of Germany and settled at Kingsley in 1875. Their children were:

1. Emma (Mrs. Horatio Fargher) Flanagan stockmen (biography under Flanagen).

2. Sophia (Mrs. Owen Jones) – see under post office of KEEN.

3. John Roth, farmed the home place at Kingsley.

4. Ells Roth went to Sacramento; 5. Victor went to Chelan, Wash.; Lena and Wm. Carl last known in Wash.

Matthew Thorburn

    Mathew Thorburn, the internationally famous "Shepherd of the Hills" who posed with his dogs and herd for Benj. A. Gifford in one of the most outstanding photographs of his collection; was born in Scotland, lived in Australia and New Zealand and was a "Graduate of the University of Hard Knocks" which incuded some very practical experience, in the gold mines of California. He married Margaret Fay and they came to Kingsley in 1876 where they homesteaded and finally bought 1600 acres on which they raised sheep and wheat.

    Matt Thorburn would have been just another forgotten pioneer sheepman had it not been for Benj. A. Gifford, internationally famous photographer of The Dalles who snapped a photo of Matt showing his two faithful and ever watchful sheep dogs, the band of sheep he was herding on his Kingsley ranch with its rolling hills in the background. The picture shows Matt with his long hair and un­shaven beard reaching half way to his waist, his old slouch hat. He just couldn't have been dressed by a Hollywood expert to better partray his part as "The Shepherd of the Hills" with his grazing flock, a masterpiece in photography and posing perpetually preserved for our history as only those two masters of their art could do. The finest artist never produced a canvass equal to that pose.

    Sheep raising was a very important industry in the early history of Wasco county and was at its climax at the turn of the century when Matt posed for Gifford and to have that important agricultural activity recorded in such an accurate and outstanding manner by a man who followed the occupation and not a professional actor, was a combination seldom produced in our history. As we have said elsewhere and repeat here for emphasis, we look to Hollywood or some other far off place for art and actors. Seldom do we recognize nor appreciate outstanding people, art or acting by our own friends and neigh­bors right here at home. We have been trained by our newspapers, schools, magazines and educators to to look for "important events" somewhere just east of Timbuktu, and to forget that anything important ever has happened in our own back yard or ever could. This tendency on the part of our educators and publications is largely our own fault for not gathering these important things together, binding them in a  volume and making it available to our students, teachers, libraries, schools, publications and other sources which thirst for our history.

    We are proud of Matt Thorburn, the Shepherd of our Hills, graduate of the University of Hard Knocks, miner, seaman, farmer and one of the ourstanding men in the history of Wasco county. The photo of Matt Thorburn was obtained from Mrs. Ralph Gifford of Salem. His only son, Matt Thorburn was born at Kings­ley (1879) and educated in the St. James college of Vancouver and graduate of Mt. Angel in 1897 and in 1904 married Frances Easton the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Limeroth) Easton of Easton Canyon above Boyd and their daughter lives in The Dalles.

John D. Whitten

    John Whitten was born in Ireland (1845) son of John, and Jane (Douglas) Whitten. He migrated to Philadelphia (1871) where he became a salesman. In 1884 he came to Kingsley where he bought a 320 acre place. In 1876 at Philadelphia he married Isabella Whitten, daughter of Thomas and Emily (Geary) Whitten of  Ireland. Their children were:

1. Andrew Whitten who married Jewell Knight and lived in Portland.

2. John Whitten, single who farmed at Kingsley and died in 1925.

3. Edith (Mrs. Eric Hermanson) who lived in the Dufur area.

4. Harry Whitten, Dufur farmer, married Sula Fargher and they had:

1. Dorothy (Mrs. R.G. DePriest) who had Jane and John.

2. Kathleen (Mrs. D.C. Jones); Rev. Jones is a Christian minister.

-- Biography from History of Central Oregon corrected by Whitten family.

Frank Leiblein (1847-1918)

    Frank Leiblein homesteaded in the Kingsley-Friend area in 1877. He was born In Germany (1847) and migrated to California in 1869 before settling on his homestead and later operated a store at Dufur, after he retired from farm activities. In 1889 he married Clara Walton and they had a daughter Mrs. Conrad Ereckson of Dufur; a son Frank of Friend and a son Edward of Dufur and The Dalles.

-- History of Central Oregon with modern corrections.

FRIEND

    The platt of the town of Friend was filed December 19, 1912 by the Great Southern Land Co. and signed by John Helmrich, president and George Joseph, secretary and the next spring the Great Southern railroad was extended from Dufur to Friend. The Great Southern Land Co. constructed a sawmill at Friend which ran to capacity during World War I and provided good income for the railroad; and it was during World War I days that Friend was at its peak in growth and activity. It boasted a Chamber of Commerce, a Grange, a Farm Bureau, a Methodist church, 2 stores, a blacksmith shop, school, livery stable, post office, 2 sawmills, a nice railroad depot and shops.

    However Friend became a post office February 28, 1903 with Theodore Buskuhl the first postmaster and the mail was carried the 4 miles over from Kingsley by horse and buggy, saddle horse and some­times by bicycle. It now receives a daily call by The Dalles to Bend panel delivery contractor. It was served by the Great Southern railroad from 1913 to 1928.

    The town was named after George Friend, a farmer of that area who came to Kingsley with Fred Buskuhl about 1898. He was originally from Indiana and had went to Tacoma in 1889 where he operated a blacksmith shop. He moved to The Dalles^- as a blacksmith and one day some farmers from Kingsley was in his Dalles shop to get some work done and told him there was no blacksmith at Kingsley, that there was work enough there for a good blacksmith and would like for him to come out and start a shop. Mr. Friend thought the matter over a few days, then went out and had a look at Kingsley, decided he liked the place and the people and took steps to build a shop.

    He went over the the Fraley mill, near Friend, to get his lumber and some of the young men in Kingsley suggested to him that since he was actually going to build a right sizy little shop building, that they would all pitch in and help him build the building, provided, he would make it a 2-story building so they could have a meeting hall and dance hall above the shop? Mr. Friend was a public spirited man and immediately warmed up to the suggestion, got a little more lumber, which was cheap, and everybody in Kingsley pitched in and built the shop and meeting hall almost overnight! Kingsley got a right nice little "town hall" free for nothing and Mr. Friend got a nice large blacksmith shop for only the cost of a little lumber.

    Everybody was greatly pleased and the word soon passed around as to how George Friend had helped the town get a community hall and George always enjoyed all the blacksmith business he could handle and probably made more friends, in a shorter time, than anyone else has ever done before or since! The meeting hall was used as long as Kingsley existed. Kingsley, Nansene, Dufur, Boyd and Tygh were all about the same size little towns in those days.

    About 1902 George Friend and his wife Clara quit the blacksmith business in Kingsley and went over to Friend where they homesteaded, built a little house and farmed to his death in 1938. Mrs. Friend died in 1940. Theodore and Otto Buskuhl moved over to Friend with George Friend and his wife and they all operated a sawmill together at Friend. Gradually a few more farmers moved into the area and in the fall of 1902 they petitioned the post office department for mail service. They suggested 2 or 3 names, among them being Friend, which the post office department selected and the office opened Feb. 28, 1903.   

    Theodore Buskuhl was named first postmaster and the office was in the George Friend home from 1903 to 1907 with Mrs. Friend handling the mail. Then Mattie Walton, a school teacher and homesteader took the office over and handled it in her home. She was succeeded by Jack Price who transferred the office to his farm home. Then Theodore Buskuhl assumed the postmastership for the second time serving from 1912 to 1917, the office being in the Buskuhl store at Friend. He resigned on account of ill health and died not long thereafter.   

    T.C. Murray acquired the Buskuhl store in 1917 and served as postmaster until l921 with the office in the Murray store. Then Issac Courtwright, the Great Southern railroad agent became postmaster and operated the office in the Great Southern depot until he died; Mrs. Courtwright filling out his un­expired time. On Jan. 23, 1931 Otto Buskuhl assumed the postmaster duties and operated the office in his store until February 1946 when he sold his store and retired. Ethel Mayfield was the next postmaster and she was followed by Mrs. Mattheu Miller who acquired the store in 1947 and operated it until 1949 when they sold to Donald Thompson. Thompson only operated it 6 or 7 months when he sold to Vernon Sorenson who is now both the postmaster and store operator at Friend. -- Data by Otto Buskuhl, Portland.

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TAYLOR

    The post office of Taylor was established August 20, 1909 with Albert Taylor the only postmaster and located 9 miles above Dufur, on 15 Mile creek, where Dufur takes its water from 15 Mile. It was closed September 30, 1910. The platted townsite was filed August 30, 1909 by Albert and Ella Taylor. It was an important sawmill location and Mr. Taylor operated his mill there several years. There is a very nice small picnic grounds at that point, at the foot of the Taylor grade.

    The abstract to the place show that Joe Woodford homesteaded there in 1897 selling to Horace Farger (1899) and Farger to Taylor (1909). The townsite platt shows 9, 200 X 184 foot lots with the county road up the creek cutting them north and south and Water street intersecting east and west. Sales of lots were made to Chas. Hoffman.. W.S. Cotton, Emery "Windy" Allen, H.W. Graham, C.C. Cole, W.M. Pickering, C.F. Douglass, John Young, Grace Carry and the present owner Henry Munger. Albert Taylor operated a general merchandise store at Taylor and the post office was in his store. The saw­mill was just above the bridge, leading up Taylor grade. The park is called the Ramsay Grange park.

    The Dalles directory of 1910 said, "Taylor is a post office on 15 Mile creek, 8 miles above Dufur, the banking and shipping point; Albert Taylor, postmaster and general merchandise, Ella Taylor, his wife and Loie and Verna Taylor, Wm. and Lydia Cotton and Grace Dawson as residents." The post office was served by a locked pouch of mail by R.1, Dufur in the same manner Kingsley was served from 1914 to 1920. -- Data by the Oregon Historical Society and Mrs. Henry Munger. (The Taylor-Munger home was destroyed by fire Saturday evening December 6, 1952.)