Historic
Union County, Oregon Towns
- Cabin Creek*
- Camp Carson.
Camp Carson was a mining camp on the
upper reaches of the Grande Ronde River
but the source of its name is a mystery.
Perhaps
the early gold seekers gave it the
title from the Carson City area of
Nevada. It is noted on war Department
Maps of 1877 as an abandoned place the
implication being that it was a military
establishment. However no record of its
existence as a military
post
can he found on war
Department records. The fact that it was
well known as a mining camp in the
early 1860's would seem to
indicate
that it gained its name during the gold
rush and prior to the military
activities in the Union County area.
- Camp Elkanah*
- Cromwell the
exact location of this post office
sometimes also called Antelope Valley.
cannot be determined but it was at some
point between North Powder and Telocasct
probably near the present
railroad siding of Sago. It was in
operation from 1882 to 1886.
-
Crooks. This is
the
name of a railroad siding
located near Telocaset
and named after William Crooks, a
son of Ramsay Crooks of the
Astor Overland expedition. William Crooks
was an official of the Union Pacific
railroad in the early days of the
railroad the siding was given the name
Bacon, the story being that an old-time
engineer had smashed into a
carload of bacon on that siding
spreading the commodity over the
hillside.
- Dan this post
office is known at present as Hilgard.
Dan had a very short life as its name
was changed to Hilgard in August of 1883
after
its establishment in July of that
same year.
- Elk Flat*
- Hilgard. This
post office, near the junction of Grande
Ronde River and Five Points Creek in the
Blue Mountains was named in honor of
Henry Villard. Hilgard being his
original name. Villard, as herein before
noted built the railroad over the Blue
Mountains. Hilgard was at one time the
scene of a great deal of activity in the
logging industry.
- Indian Valley*
- Jamestown the
post office was in existence from 1882
to 1886 and was located
in the north part of what
is now Baker County,
northeast of Baker, but at that time a
part of Union County. Jamestown also was
known as Big Creek, from the stream of
that name in the region.
- Kamela The
origin of this name is not definitely
known but it probably is from an Indian
word meaning "tree" in several forms.
During the stagecoach days Kamela was
known as Summit Station, a
name not acceptable to the railroad
company which for many years operated a
helper station at that point. The
official interpreter of the Umatilla
Indian Agency stated in 1927 that Kamela
was a Nez Percé word meaning "tamarack."
There is a tradition that Kamela was a
compiled word made from the
initials of civil engineers
employed
in laying out the railroad
grade. This however, is probably not
correct. There was a station name so
compiled called Mickecha, located at or
near the present site of Gibbon, located
further down the mountain on
the Umatilla County side.
- Looking Glass*
- Nibley. This
community was founded by members of the
Mormon Church near the point where the
present La
Grande-Cove Highway crosses the Grande
Ronde River about 10
miles
east of La Grande. At its
height the town had about fifty
families. All that remains today to mark
the location is the small cemetery
just to the
right of the high-way at the
crest of the hill before one descends to
the river.
- Oro Dell,
located at the point where the Grande
Ronde River enters the valley, is today
marked and there is an
evidence that it once threatened to
become a more important community than
La Grande. At the time Mr. Fox set his
mill there the locality was known
as
"Stealeasy" and by
other frivolous
names. Captain Harlow one of
the men working at the mill and
evidently a man of some education and
familiar with the classics, originated
the name "Oro Dell." It
is a combination of the Greek word
"ores" meaning mountain, and the English
word "dell" the entire phrase
meaning "nook in the mountain,"
certainly an appropriate name for such a beautiful
spot In the early days the peak on
the south side of the river was known as
"Oro Dell Peak." In more recent times
the name "Rooster Peak" has been
applied, in imitation of Rooster Rock on the
Columbia River. It would seem that Ora
Dell Peak is
a more, apt and
descriptive name and one which should be
used instead of the meaningless modern
appellation.
The town of Oro
Dell maintained a post
office for many years. Its leading
citizen was W. J. Snodgrass who
maintained a large," merchandising
establishment there.
-
Sand
Ridge. A post office was established
on 6 April 1875 and
existed
until 9 July 1877, at this point
on the stage route from Union to
Summerville. It was in the center of
Grande Ronde Valley, probably east of
Alicel a few miles, although the exact
location cannot now he determined.
-
Slater.
Undoubtedly named in honor of United States
Senator James H.
Slater, of La Grande
this
post office was probably near to
or at the site of the older
post office of Sand Ridge. It had but
brief existence being established in
June of 1881 and
discontinued the fallowing January the
business being turned over to
Summerville.
-
Starkey.
This locality is on the upper Grande
Ronde River about fifteen miles from La
Grande. It was an important lumbering
community in the '80's and '90's and
was named for John and William Starkey
brothers and pioneer
homesteaders in that region.
-
Thief
Valley This little valley is located
east of
North
Powder and
was named after John
Wetherly was hanged there by
vigilantes in December 1864.
Wetherly was accused of stealing four
mules from an emigrant at Boise.
-
Woodley
A post office was established
at this point in 1896
It
was a
mining
community located on the upper
reaches of the Grande Ronde river not
far from Camp Carson. A few buildings
at the site of Woodley were still
standing in recent years.
Towns
of Union County, Oregon
There are
several other Union county communities
and locations which deserve mention in
any brief summary of the county's
history. Some of them had but a brief
existence and little or nothing remains
to mark the
spot where they stood. Others
are flourishing communities settled
later than the towns previously
mentioned. But all of them have
made their contributions to the history
of the county. These locations include:
Historic Towns
Alicel
This small community on the Sand Ridge in
Grande Ronde Valley was named by Charles
Ladd, a local resident about 1890 in honor
of his wife Alice Ladd.
Imbler.
Jesse Imbler was a farmer in the
valley in the 1890's, and it was
on
his land that the town was platted in
1891. The Kerr Gifford Company elevator
in Imbler stands on the site of
the
first flour mill
built
in that town by Jesse
Hindman and John McKinnis in
1903.
Meacham.
Although not in Union County this location
has been very closely
connected with Union
County history. It was first
known as Lee's Encampment. H.A.G. Lee
having established a camp there in the
1840's. Meacham is named for
Alfred and Harvey Meacham, brothers who operated
the Meacham stage station in the
60"s and 70's.
Perry.
located five miles west of La Grande on
the Grande Ronde River. Perry was first
known as Slumptown but the name was later
changed to Perry in honor of an early
railroad dispatcher in La
Grande. Perry was for many years the site
of the Grande Ronde Lumber Company's
large mill.
Telocaset.
The word, pronounced by the Indiana as
''Taulekaset." is one of New Percé origin
and means “on the top"
it is appropriate as it marks the
crest on the railroad grade
between
the Grande Rondo and Baker
valleys. In early stagecoach days this
place was called Antelope Station. The
Telocaset post office was established in
1883.
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