Lewis Ankeny McArthur

“ MILL CREEK , Wasco County . The neighborhood of Mill Creek , which flows into the Columbia River at The Dalles , was called Quenett by the local Indians , which was a name for salmon trout . When the government decided to establish Fort Dalles , an officer was sent to build a sawmill to be operated by mule power . Upon his arrival he found a small waterpower site and built a mill on this stream , now known as Mill Creek , just north of the present site of the bridge on Ninth street . ”

“ Irrigon is near the site of Grande Ronde Landing, a former rival of Umatilla. For information about these places see under Umatilla. Later the place was called Stokes, and it was a station on the railroad under that name even after Irrigon post office was established. Irrigon post office was estab lished December 19, 1903, with Addison Bennett first postmaster. He served until 1908. After various ventures in the newspaper business, he served for many years as a staff writer on The Oregonian and died in Portland, September 30, 1924 . He made up the name Irrigon from Irrigation and Oregon. ”

“ For the origin of the name Malheur , see under MALHEUR RIVER . The county has a land area of 9883 square miles , according to the Bureau of the Census . It is the second largest county in Oregon . MALHEUR LAKE , Harney County. Maps of Oregon show two large lakes in the northern part of Harney County . Malheur Lake and Harney Lake are connected by the Narrows . These lakes have achieved considerable prominence because of the controversies that have developed over them between the proponents of bird refuges and champions of the development of reclaimed lands for agricultural enterprises . ”

“ Versions of the story ascribing the name to a visit of General Grant appear erroneous, because there is no evidence that General Grant was ever in that part of Oregon. He was stationed at Fort Vancouver from September, 1852, to September, 1853. The death of Colonel Bliss, of the adjutant-general's department, on August 5, 1853, caused the promotion of Grant to the rank of captain of a company then stationed at Humboldt Bay, California. Grant made the journey from Fort Vancouver to Humboldt Bay by sea to San Francisco, and thence north to the place of his destination. ”

“ It was named for William Bradley , a pioneer trapper and mountain stockman , who is said to have been born near Oakland , and to have worked his way into the headwaters of the North Umpqua River as early as 1875 , when he was a young man . He traded deer meat and hides with Indians , taking ponies in return , which he sold in Eugene and other points . This trade opened up a trail across the Cascade Range , which has ever since been known as the Bradley Trail , and much of it has been put on modern standards by the Forest Service . ”

“ NEWBERRY CRATER , Deschutes County . Nature narrowly missed giving Oregon two crater lakes almost equal in size and beauty , but like many other second attempts to improve upon a masterpiece , this one failed . Twenty -five miles south of Bend lies Newberry Crater , a result of vulcanism much more recent than the caldera that is occupied by Crater Lake . Newberry Crater is situated in the summit of the isolated Paulina Mountains and in this crater are two lakes , Paulina Lake and East Lake , at an elevation of about 6500 feet or several hundred feet higher than Crater Lake . ”

“ EOLA HILLS , Polk and Yamhill Counties . These hills , which have an extreme altitude of 1170 feet, extend from Eola on the south to a point near Amity on the north , a total distance of about 15 miles . They constitute one of the important groups of isolated hills in the Willamette Valley . They have had various names , including Bethel Hills and Yamhill Mountains , but Eola Hills seems firmly established , except for the northern extension , which is separated from the main ridge by the pass east of Amity . ”

“ KELLEY POINT , Multnomah County . On January 6 , 1926 , the U. S. Geographic Board , at the request of several citizens of Portland , bestowed the name Kelley Point on the projection of land between the Columbia River and the Willamette River . This projection is the north point of Pearcy Island , and up to 1926 had had no name . It is the site of a small lighthouse . This action on the part of the Geo graphic Board was taken in honor of Hall J. Kelley , a prominent character in the early exploration of Oregon . ”

“ There is a rail road station, John Day, in Clatsop County near the mouth of John Day River that takes its name from the stream, and also a point east of the river known as John Day Point. Lewis and Clark mention the stream in their journals for November 27, 1805, and give the Indian name Kekemarke.
John Day River, Gilliam, Grant, Jefferson, Sherman, Umatilla, Wasco and Wheeler Counties. John Day River is one of the import ant rivers of Oregon, but due to the fact that it drains an area with little rainfall, the stream does not deliver a great deal of water. ”

“ FREMONT , Lake County . For some years , beginning about 1913 , Fremont was a post office . It was located about six miles west of Fort Rock . The name was prob ably suggested by the name of Fremont National Forest, which was named for Captain John C. Fremont, who explored central Oregon in 1843. Regardless of the fact that Fremont made an accurate and valuable record of his trip through Oregon , he is generally spoken of
lightly , as a general who never commanded an army and an explorer who never made a discovery . ”

“ Linn County was the first county to be taken from the original Champooick District and comprised all of Oregon between the Willamette River and the Rocky Mountains , and between Santiam River and North Santiam River and the northern boundary of California . It was subsequently much reduced in size , but is still a large county . Lewis Fields Linn was born near the site of the city of Louisville , Kentucky , November 5 , 1795 . He was author of the donation land law , which gave free land to settlers in the West , and which was the forerunner of the homestead law . ”

“ In 1892 ambitious schemes were put on foot to build a railroad from Salem to Flavel, and the town site concern , the Flavel Land and Development Company , laid plans for a big terminal to rival Astoria . In 1897 a fine hotel was built , which enjoyed a short season of social gaiety , but Astoria was too strongly entrenched for the rival community , which so far has not made the expected development . Silas B. Smith states that the name of the Clatsop Indian village at what is now Flavel was Konapee . FLORA , Wallowa County . Flora is a post office in the extreme north part of Wallowa County . ”

“ BRIDAL VEIL FALLS , Multnomah County . The romantically inclined never fail to name at least one import ant water fall in a state Bridal Veil. The falls in Oregon bearing this name are quite attractive during the higher stages of water , even though they are to a certain extent obscured by the bridge of the Columbia River Highway . They have borne this name since pioneer days . There is a good sized community nearby named Bridal Veil . ”

“ MOUSE ISLAND LAKE , Columbia and Multnomah Counties . This lake is on Sauvie Island . It received its peculiar name because there is an island in the lake infested with field mice . MOWICH PARK , Douglas County . Mowich is a Chinook jargon word meaning deer . It is used in a number of places in the Cascade Range and in western Oregon where deer congregated . MUDDY CREEK , Lane and Linn counties . This stream drains the eastern floor of the Willamette Valley . It rises in the hills east of Coburg and flows generally parallel to the Willamette River , finally joining it east of Corvallis . ”

“ For information for movement of glaciers on Mount Hood , see under Eliot GLACIER . MOUNT HOWARD , Wallowa County . This was formerly Signal Peak , and lies southeast of Wallowa Lake . The name was changed in 1925 by the U. S. Geographic Board at the suggestion of J. Neilson Barry , of Portland , to honor Major -General Oliver Otis Howard ( 1830-1909 ) , who graduated from West Point in 1850 and served with great distinction in the Civil War and throughout the Indian uprisings . ”

“ HAMILTON, Grant County. Hamilton is named for J. M . Hamil ton, a pioneer stockman of the neighborhood and also the first settler where the town is now situated. Mr. Hamilton located there some time in 1874 and lived there until his death in 1909. The first store was built by Anson C. Frink who was the first postmaster. The Hamilton ranch was headquarters where settlers met to try the speed of their favorite horse as Mr. Hamilton was a fancier of horse flesh.
HAMLET, Clatsop County. Hamlet post office was established about 1906, with Albert Hill first postmaster. ”

“ GRASS VALLEY, Sherman County. Pioneer settlers, without ever changing countenance, tell newcomers that in early days the rye grass was so tall in this part of Oregon that it was well over a man's head. They even state that this was so when the man was on horse back. This accounts for the name. Grass Valley was incorporated as a result of a popular vote held September 10, 1900.
GRASS VALLEY CANYON, Sherman County. Grass Valley Canyon heads in Grass Valley, hence the name. The canyon wanders northward through Sherman County, and finally joins the canyon of John Day River. ”

“ Empire City was formerly county seat of Coos County . A custom house was estab ished at Empire City in 1853 for the southern collection district of Oregon , with David Bushing first collector . EOLA , Polk County . The village of Eola was formerly known as Cincinnati , and so appears on the post office list of 1853. It is said to have been named by A. C. R. Shaw
> because of the fancied resemblance of the site to that of Cincinnati. ”

“ GARDEN HOME, Washington County. This name is mildly sentimental, and may be classified with Sweet Home, Pleasant Valley and others of that class. The community of Garden Home has existed for many years, and became prominent when the Oregon Electric Railway was built. The site of the present Garden Home station is somewhat east of the older settlement. ”

“ MUNRA POINT , Multnomah County . Munra Point was named in 1915 in honor of “ Grandma Munra , ” who for many years kept a railroad eating house at Bonneville , and later Meacham . She was a widely known pioneer woman , and her name was attached to the point in question by a committee representing various Oregon his torical organizations . Munra Point is just south of Bonneville , be tween Tanner Creek and Moffett Creek . The name has been approved by the U. S. Geographic Board . MUNSEL LAKE , Lane County . This lake is about two miles north of Florence . ”

“ Much gold has been taken from the placers during the past three-quarters of a century.
GALES CREEK, Washington County. Gales Creek and Gales Peak nearby were named for Joseph Gale who came to Oregon in 1934, with Ewing Young, from California. He was born in 1800 near Washington, D. C. He settled on East Tualatin Plain and afterwards at the foot of Gale's Peak, on a tributary of Tualatin River, and later in Eagle Valley, Union County. Gale, in his younger days, followed the sea; afterwards, he became a trapper in the Rocky Mountains. ”

“ Crosby and Smith ran advertisements in The Oregonian in 1851 offering to give two lots to each married man and one lot to each single man who would make his home there and build a house . A district school ad vertisement for the town appears in The Oregonian September 3 , 1851. About 1890 efforts were made to secure a post office and it was necessary to change the name of the community because there was already a post office in Umatilla County named Milton . ”

“ On April 30 , 1803 , the treaty concluding the Louisiana pur chase was signed at Paris , and in the summer of that year the party under the joint command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out for the Pacific Ocean . The expedition was successful , and the leaders were in Washington again in February , 1807. Lewis was re warded by being made governor of Louisiana . His death occurred on October 11 , 1809 , in the exact center of what is now Lewis County , Tennessee , this county having been created in his honor . The man ner of his end is a mystery . ”

“ The paper mill at Oregon City was projected in 1889 ( The Oregonian , October 11 , 1889 ) . The first name of the locality was Willamette , or Willamette Falls . It is referred to by that name in correspondence of the Methodist mission , established there in 1840 on the arrival of the "great reinforcement ” in the Lausanne. After 1840 the place grew as a political and trade center . ”

“ The stream has borne the name of Elk Creek since the period of the fur - traders . The writer does not know when the stream was first named , but John Work mentions it under the name of Elk River in his diary on June 7 , 1834. See Oregon His torical Society Quarterly , September, 1923. Elk appear to have been plentiful in the Willamette Valley and in the Umpqua country , and there are many features named for them in those parts of the state . ELK LAKE , Deschutes County . Elk Lake is a fine body of water southwest of Bend , and Elk Lake post office is nearby . ”