# Oregon Geographic Names (1952)/S

​SACAJAWEA PEAK, Wallowa County. This mountain is one of the ​highest points in the Wallowa Mountains south of Enterprise. It bears the name of the famous Shoshone Indian woman who was with the Lewis and Clark party. It was once called Legion Mountain in compliment to the American Legion. There has been ample controversy about Sacajawea, about the value of her services, the place of her death and even about the spelling of her name, a matter which doubtless bothered her but little. Grace Raymond Hebard's Sacajawea gives a general account of her story. An editorial by Albert Hawkins in the Oregonian, October 13, 1929, ably discusses some of her problems. See also C. S. Kingston's article in Pacific Northwest Quarterly, January, 1944.
SADDLE CREEK, Wallowa County. Saddle Creek is so named because it heads near Freezeout Saddle, on the divide between the waters of Snake River and Imnaha River.
SaddLE MOUNTAIN, Clatsop County. Gustavus Hines, in Oregon and Its Institutions, says the Indian name of this prominent landmark was Swallalahoost. There was an Indian tradition that one of the great chiefs, after being killed by enemies, assumed the form of an eagle and became the creator of thunder and lightning at the top of this peak. Hines further says that the name Saddle Mountain was applied by Wilkes in 1841. The name is unusually descriptive. Saddle Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the north part of the Coast Range in Oregon, and has an elevation, according to the U. S. Engineers, of 3283 feet. Lewis and Clark mention the mountain but give it no name.
SADDLEBUTTE, Harney County. Saddlebutte post office was established September 26, 1916, with T. C. Albritton first postmaster, to serve the area near the physical feature Saddle Butte not far from the northeast shore of Malheur Lake. Saddle Butte is a prominent point a few miles west-southwest of Crane. Saddlebutte post office was closed May 15, 1920, and the business turned over to Crane. The butte was named for its shape.
SAGEHEN CREEK, Harney County. The sagehen or sage grouse, Centrocerus wophasianus, was formerly plentiful throughout the West, and its name has been applied to a number of geographic features, but as far as the compiler knows, the only place the name has been used in Oregon is in Harney County. We have a good description of the sagehen as it is found near the Oregon creek that bears its name in U. S. National Museum Special Bulletin No. 1, Life Histories of North American Birds, by Captain Charles Bendire, page 106. This bird is, next to the wild turkey, the largest game bird found in the United States. During the winter the sagehen feeds largely on the leaves of the sagebrush, but that is not its exclusive diet, and some authorities assert that sage leaves are only eaten when other food is not available. Captain Bendire spent several years studying the birds of Oregon, particularly in the Harney Valley.
SAGEVIEW, Harney County. Sageview post office served an area in the sage plains west of Catlow from February, 1916, until November, 1918. It would be difficult to suggest a better name for an office in such surroundings.
SAGINAW, Lane County. R. A. Booth, vice-president of the Booth-Kelly Lumber Co., informed the compiler that this place was named by J. I. Jones for Saginaw, Michigan. The community was established about a year before the lumber company began to operate there. Gannett says that Saginaw is an Ojibwa Indian word meaning Sauk place, refer ​ring to the Sauk or Sac Indians. Saginaw post office was established March 4, 1898, with Laura Weaver first postmaster.
SAHALE FALLS, Hood River County. These falls are on the Mount Hood Loop Highway not far from the crossing of White River. They bear the Chinook jargon word for high. The name was bestowed on the falls by George Holman of Portland, as a result of a prize competition conducted by the Portland Telegram, in which it was judged that Mr. Holman had suggested the best name. The word sahale is composed of three syllables with the accent on the first.
Saint BENEDICT, Marion County. In 1881, a Benedictine monk, the Rev. Adelhelm Odermatt, came to Oregon and soon established a Benedictine community, which is now known as St. Benedicts Abbey. This community was first started at Gervais, but in 1884 it was moved to the town of Mount Angel. Since it was less than a mile from the Mount Angel post office, the authorities would not establish a new post office for the abbey. In 1903 a new abbey was completed on the butte southeast of Mount Angel town and in 1914 the post office of Saint Benedict was established at the abbey. The first postmaster was Wendel Neiderprum. Father Odermatt came from Engelberg, Switzerland. He translated this name into Mount Angel, thus naming the town and the butte. Saint Benedict was named for the founder of the Benedictine Order, who was born in Nursia, Italy, in the year 180, and died at Monte Cassino, Italy, in 543. For additional information see under the name MOUNT ANGEL. The butte on which St. Benedicts Abbey is built has an elevation of 485 feet.
Saint HELENS, Columbia County. The town of Saint Helens was founded by Captain H. M. Knighton, a pioneer of 1845. Available records seem to indicate that Knighton, who was a mariner, was born in New England, which may have been the reason he first applied the name Plymouth to the new townsite. There is a tradition that this name was suggested by a prominent rock which Knighton found on the river, bank. It made a natural wharf. The name Plymouth appears in an advertisement in the Oregon Spectator, July 22, 1847. The Rev. George H. Atkinson mentions the little Plymouth community on June 18, 1848, and says there were but two people there. See OHQ, volume XL, page 180. Theodore Talbot calls the place New Plymouth in his Journals, page 88, on May 13, 1849, and mentions two houses. On August 25, 1849, Knighton signed a deed in which he refers to "Plymouth and now called Kasenau." This new name was in compliment to Chief Cassino, a prominent Indian who lived nearby. This name is spelled in many ways. For Omar C. Spencer's article about Chief Cassino, see OHQ, volume XXXIV, page 19. It is hard to determine the exact status of the name Kasenau mentioned by Knighton, because within a year he was using the name Plymouth for the post office. See below. Also on May 6, 1850, Knighton refers to "Casenau now called St. Helens" at the very time he was using the name Plymouth for his post office. In any event, the name of the place was changed to Saint Helens in the latter part of 1850, apparently because of the proximity of Mount Saint Helens, Washington. Saint Helens is advertised in the Oregon Spectator, November 28, 1850, as a terminus of a proposed railroad from Lafayette because of its deep water for ships. Vancouver named the mountain in honor of Baron Saint Helens (Alleyne Fitzherbert, 1753-1839), British ambassador to Spain in 1790-94, who negotiated the Nootka treaty in Madrid. For in​information about Baron Saint Helens see article by Professor Edmond S. Meany, Washington Historical Quarterly, volume XV, page 124. Saint Helens post office was established with the name Plymouth, April 9, 1850, with Henry M. Knighton postmaster. The name was changed to Saint Helen November 4, 1850, with William H. Tappan postmaster. Saint Helen was an error in spelling at Washington, D. C. The name was later changed to Saint Helens. Tappan, a native of Massachusetts, came to Oregon in 1849 with the Mounted Rifles. He may have had a hand in naming Saint Helens, as he became interested in the townsite, but he was not in Oregon when Plymouth was named.
SAINT JOHNS, Multnomah County. James John crossed the plains to California in 1841, with General John Bidwell, and came to Oregon in 1843. He settled first at Linnton, and several years later moved to the site of the town that bears his name. He operated a ferry there in 1852. He died May 28, 1886. For history of the town and of James John, see the Oregonian, August 29, 1907, page 11; March 29, 1903, page 40; May 29, 1886, page 5. The plat for Saint Johns was filed July 20, 1865, and of an addition thereto November 28, 1868. Efforts to change the name to Saint John have been unavailing, and the style Saint Johns has been approved by USBGN. The town was annexed to Portland in 1915.
SAINT JOSEPH, Yamhill County. This place was named by Ben Holladay, probably for Saint Joseph, Missouri, but Mrs. Harriet McArthur informed the compiler in 1926 that she was once told that Holladay selected the name on account of his brother, Joseph Holladay.
Saint Louis, Marion County. Saint Louis is a very old settlement in the Willamette Valley about three miles northwest of Gervais, In 1844 a Jesuit missionary, the Reverend Aloysius Verecuysee, visited the early settlers and in 1845 he built a log church at Saint Louis. In November, 1847, the parish was first organized with a resident priest, the Reverend B. Delorme. The parish was named for Saint Louis, King of France, and not for the metropolis of Missouri. The compiler has been to Saint Louis, Oregon, many times and has always been impressed by the quiet simplicity of the place. Saint Louis post office was established October 26, 1860, with S. C. Matthieu first postmaster. With a couple of intermissions this office remained in service until the summer of 1901 when it was closed to Gervais. The remains of Madam Marie Dorion, famous member of the Astor overland party, are buried at Saint Louis Church,
SAINT Marys, Washington County. Saint Marys is a locality a mile or so west of Beaverton close to the Tualatin Valley Highway and also to the Southern Pacific Company railroad. The locality is well known because of the girls school, Saint Marys of the Valley, and a little to the west of the girls school is Saint Marys Home for Boys. These institutions are in charge of the Sisters of Saint Mary, an order founded in 1886 at Sublimity. In 1891 thc Sisters assumed charge of the Saint Marys Home near Beaverton. That institution is no longer in its original location but has been moved westward toward Huber. On May 31, 1902, Saint Marys post office was established on the Washington County list with Dominic Faber first postmaster. However, this office was never completely organized and the appointment was rescinded in June, 1903.
SAINT PAUL, Marion County. Saint Paul was named by Archbishop Francis Norbert Blanchet, who came to Oregon in 1838, and established Saint Paul Mission in 1839 at the Catholic church on French Prairie. The mission was named for the Apostle Paul. The writer has been told C2 ​
that the first postmaster was John F. Theo. Brentano. The post office was established June 24, 1874.
SALADO, Lincoln County. The post office Salado was established in April, 1891. The compiler has been told that George Hodges named the place for Salado, Texas, where he had formerly lived. Salado is a Spanish word meaning salty or saline, or a plain encrusted with salt.
SALEM, Marion County. The Indian name for the locality of Salem was Chemeketa, which is said to have meant meeting place or resting place or possibly both, Chemeketa also may have been the name of one of the bands of the Calapooya Indians. In 1840-41 the Jason Lee Mission was moved from its old location near the Willamette River up stream about ten miles to the Chemeketa plain and extensive improvements were started. While the new establishment was called Chemeketa, it was probably better known as the Mill, on account of the installation on Mill Creek. In 1842 the missionaries established the Oregon Institute and a building was started. From that time the place was often spoken of as the Institute. There is argument as to who selected the name Salem. Bancroft, in History of Oregon, volume I, page 222, says that after the mission was dissolved in 1844, it was decided to lay out a townsite on the Institute lands. This was done and David Leslie, president of the trustees, named the place Salem. Leslie came to Oregon from Salem, Massachusetts. Leslie M. Scott, in History of the Oregon Country, volume II, page 298, says the place was named by W. H. Willson. The late R. J. Hendricks of Salem, a diligent student of the community, was strongly of the opinion that Leslie named the place. See articles in the Salem Statesman, March 8, 1931, and March 28, 1940. Salem post office was established November 8, 1849, with J. B. McClane postmaster. Three plats forming what is now the main part of Salem were filed in 1850-51. Salem is the anglicized form of the Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace. In December, 1853, efforts were made in the territorial legislature to change the name from Salem to Thurston or Valena. Chester N. Terry petitioned to have the name changed to Corvallis, but after spirited debate, the name Corvallis was given to the Benton County community then known as Marysville. The names Chemawa, Willamette and Bronson were also suggested. Pike and Victoria were mentioned, but by this time the members concluded they had wasted enough time over the matter and the various bills were postponed. The final vote was in January, 1854. The name Valena is said to have been suggested because it was the name of Velina Pauline Nesmith, later Mrs. Wm. Markland Molson, but she was not born until 1855. In 1907 a station on the Oregon Electric Railway north of Salem was named Chemeketa to perpetuate that name, but it was later changed to Hopmere because of local sentiment. The location of the Oregon capital caused a spirited contest that lasted for nearly fifteen years. The first legislative assembly of the provisional government met at Oregon City (Willamette Falls) in 1844. By an act of 1851 the capital was moved to Salem, and in 1855. it was moved to Corvallis, only to be moved back to Salem in the same year. Destruction of the Capitol at Salem, December 29, 1855, was considered as an incendiary part of this controversy. For history of this squabble, see article by Walter C. Winslow, OHQ, volume IX, page 173. For many references to the history of Salem and the capital controversy, see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, pages 298 and 312.
SALENE LAKE, Columbia County. This lake is near the west bank � ​
-T'I 531 El ver ܐܠ of Multnomah channel north of Scappoose. It was named for the Salene family, pioneer residents of the neighborhood.
SALERATUS CREEK, Lane County. Saleratus Creek is in the west part of the county. It drains south into Wolf Creek, a well known tributary to Siuslaw River southwest of Austa. The compiler has been told that the stream was named to commemorate the baking of a batch of biscuits by some accomplished surveyor. This information appears to be a little scant but it is all that is available.
SALINEVILLE, Morrow County. Salineville was thirteen miles northwest of Heppner and was undoubtedly named for the alkaline soil in the valley of Willow Creek. If early maps are to be relied on the place was a little to the northwest of the community now known as Lexington. Salineville post office was established January 9, 1884, with Mrs. Mary L. Benefiel postmaster. The office was discontinued April 2, 1886, and the records were turned over to Heppner. Lexington post office was established in November, 1885, and doubtless supplied the post office needs of the area.
SALISBURY, Baker County. Salisbury is a place on the Sumpter Valley Railway and near Powder River about ten miles southwest of Baker. The locality was once known as Bennett, probably for a local resident. A post office called Salisbury was established March 23, 1906, with Charles R. Foster postmaster. This office was closed May 31, 1907, but the locality still retains the name Salisbury, which came from Hiram Salisbury, who lived nearby.
SALISBURY, Umatilla County. Salisbury post office was established August 18, 1894, with Francis M. Salisbury postmaster. The office was closed January 24, 1896. It was named for the postmaster. A railroad map dated July, 1903, shows Salisbury on McKay Creek near the western boundary of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. It was about midway between Pendleton and Pilot Rock.
SALLAL SPRINGS, Curry County. These springs are about five miles east of Humbug Mountain. Sallal is an Indian name for the fruit of the Gaultheria shallon, called by white people the sallal bush or sallal berry. This shrub grows in dense thickets in the Coast Range, and in other parts of the state as well. The berry is a purplish black, and not particularly palatable. The name has been used in a number of places in Oregon and Washington to describe geographic features. Sallal is spelled in several ways but the style here given is that used by government map makers.
SALMON, Clackamas County. Salmon post office was established to serve the area at the mouth of Salmon River, where that stream flows into Sandy River on the Mount Hood Loop Highway. The office was named for the river, but the naming of Salmon River is a matter probably lost to history. Salmon post office was established April 2, 1891, with Winnie McIntyre first postmaster. The office was discontinued May 6, 1910. Salmon post office was moved and the name changed to Brightwood when it was discontinued. The two places are very close together,
SALMON RIVER, Lincoln, Polk and Tillamook counties. Considering the importance of the salmon in the history of Oregon, it is not surprising that a number of geographic features should be named for the fish. Salmon River mentioned in the heading rises in the Coast Range and flows into Pacific Ocean just south of Cascade Head. The Salmon River Highway traverses the stream for many miles. George Davidson, in : ​237
Coast Pilot, 1889, says the Indian name for this Salmon River was Nechesne. Another well-known Salmon River rises on the south slope of Mount Hood and flows into Sandy River. It is in Clackamas County. There are streams named for the salmon in other counties. A good deal has been written about the various varieties of salmon frequenting Pacific Coast waters. The opinions of some of the experts are highly controversial, and the compiler does not feel that he has the energy to join the battle. He knows but four sorts of salmon-fresh, salt, tinned and kippered, and if the reader requires information, he will have to look elsewhere.
SALMONBERRY, Tillamook County. There are several geographic features in Oregon named Salmonberry, the most important being Salmonberry River, in Tillamook and Washington counties, and the railroad station near its mouth. They are named for the Rubus spectabilis. The form Salmon Berry is wrong when used as a geographic name. Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856, gives Salmonberry Creek for the stream mentioned above. Salmonberry post office was established March 15, 1923, with Ernest B. Graham postmaster. The post office has been closed but the writer does not know when.
SALT CREEK, Lane County. This large tributary of Middle Fork Willamette River has been called Salt Creek since pioneer days because of the salt springs along the stream used as licks by deer.
SALT CREEK, Polk and Yamhill counties. Salt Creek rises in the foothills north of Dallas and flows northeast into South Yamhill River. John Ford of Dallas told the compiler that it was named in pioneer days because of the salt licks found on its banks. The advance of civilization has apparently obliterated the licks. Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856, shows Salt Creek post office six miles northwest of Dallas. This office was established July 6, 1852, with James B. Riggs first postmaster.
SALT CREEK Falls, Lane County. These falls are among the finest in the state. They are estimated to be 300 feet high, and were discovered by Frank S. Warner and Charles Tufti in March, 1887. See the Oregonian, section 4, page 5, July 3, 1927. The rock at the top of the falls is so shaped as to make the water form a letter "s" as it plunges over. Warner was a member of a pioneer family of the valley of the Middle Fork Willamette River, and Tufti was his Indian friend. Tufti Mountain was named for the Indian.
SAMPSON, Douglas County. Sampson post office was named for RearAdmiral William Thomas Sampson, famous American naval officer who made a remarkable record in the war with Spain. Sampson post office was established August 27, 1898, and was in service until September 15, 1912. George B. Balderree was the first postmaster. Admiral Sampson was at the height of his fame in the summer of 1898. Sampson post office was six or seven miles south of Gardiner. The town of Reedsport had not yet been founded.
SAMS VALLEY, Jackson County. Chief Sam of the Rogue River Indians formerly lived in this valley and it was named for him.
SAN ANTONIO CREEK, Lane County. This stream is tributary to Siuslaw River near Beecher. The form San Antone is not considered correct. Sand CREEK, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. This stream heads in the park and flows east toward Klamath Marsh. Captain (. C. Applegate wrote on July 21, 1911, as follows: "The old Indian trail and later the wagon road crossed Sand Creek in the valley of the Klam ​ath Marsh. The pumice and sand was a menace to travel and teams and saddle horses were mired there. Even until a bridge was constructed over the stream a couple of months ago, the crossing was treacherous on account of the quicksands. The danger from these uncertain sands gave the name to the stream and was a reminder of the need of vigilance." Sand Ridge, Union County. On April 6, 1875, a post office with the name Sand Ridge was established in the Grande Ronde Valley with Cyrus G. Enloe first postmaster. This office was in service only until July 9, 1877, and even at that there was a period of several months when it did not function. It was named for a local topographic feature. The post office was in the northeast part of section 16, township 2 south, range 39 east, at a station on the old stage route from Union to Summerville. See also under SLATER.
SANDLAKE, Tillamook County. Sandlake post office is not far from Sand Lake, which is near the shore of the Pacific Ocean. As is customary, many names of this type are telescoped into one word by postal authorities. The post office was established with the name Hembree on July 10, 1890, with A. J. Hembree first postmaster. The name was changed to Sandlake on January 18, 1898.
SANDY, Clackamas County. Sandy is near Sandy River and received its name on that account. See under that heading for the origin of the name of the stream. J. H. Revenue, of Boring, sent the compiler information about the history of the town. His father settled near the present site of Sandy in 1853, and in those days of pioneer influx over the Barlow Road, all that territory lying north and east of Eagle Creek was known as Sandy, and the particular place where the community now stands was called Revenue, About 1870 Richard Gerdes, who had been operating a store at Eagle Creek with Henry Wilbern, bought property near the Revenue farm and opened a store. He soon applied for a post office, which was established February 13, 1873, and it is generally believed Gerdes suggested the name Sandy, as he was more familiar with that name than with Revenue. On June 1, 1854, a post office named Sandy was established, apparently near the present site of Troutdale, with Emsley R. Scott postmaster. This post office was discontinued February 26, 1868.
SANDY CREEK, Coos County. This stream is a tributary of Middle Fork Coquille River just west of Remote. It was named for a pioneer settler, "Sandy" Brown.
SANDY RIVER, Clackamas and Multnomah counties. Sandy River was discovered by Lieutenant W. R. Broughton of Vancouver's expedition and was named Barings River on October 30, 1792. This was probably for the great English family of bankers and financiers. Francis Baring (1740-1810) was for many years a director of the East India Company, and his second son Alexander (1774-1848)) was better known as Lord Ashburton. Lewis and Clark passed the mouth of Sandy River on Sunday, November 3, 1805, and made the following notation in their journals: "we coasted and halted at the mouth of a large river on the Lard. Side, this river throws out emence quantitys of sand and is very shallow, the narrowest part 200 yards wide bold current, much resembling the river Plat." The presence of the two mouths of the river was noted, and the stream was called Quicksand River. This name continued nearly fifty years, in American and British maps and writings. The name ​
seems to have shortened to Sandy River on the tongues of Americans, between 1845 and 1850. Joel Palmer's Journals of Travel, written as of 1845, mentions Quicksand, Big Sandy, and Alexander Ross gives Quicksand River.
SANGER, Baker County. This place bears the name of one of the owners of the mining property nearby. The early name for this place was Hogum. See editorial page the Oregonian, October 7, 1927, and the Baker Morning Democrat, October 19, 1927. Dunham Wright of Medical Springs told the compiler that the place was named Hogum because of the greediness of some prospectors. The name was changed to Augusta in honor of Miss Augusta Parkwood. This change in name came about as the result of an agreement on the part of some of the miners to name the place for the first unmarried woman resident. The name Sanger has been established for many years, having displaced Augusta. Augusta post office was in operation for about a year in 1871-72. Sanger post office was established August 17, 1887, with William R. Aldersley first postmaster. Augusta and Sanger may not have been in exactly the same place. See also under AUGUSTA.
SANTIAM, Linn and Marion counties. The name Santiam, with varied spellings, has been used for several Oregon post offices. For the derivation of the word, see under SANTIAM RIVER. An office called Santyam Forks was established in Linn County, April 9, 1850, with Jacob Conser postmaster. John Crabtree became postmaster October 4, 1850, and the office was discontinued July 27, 1852. It is known that Jacob Conser was living near the present site of Scio early in 1850, and John Crabtree lived in the same general locality. It may be assumed that the office was in that neighborhood. Santyam post office was established in Linn County March 14, 1851, with Russel T. Hill postmaster. For the history of this office, see under LEBANON. An office named Syracuse was established in Marion County October 4, 1850. The place was about two miles downstream from the present site of Jefferson, but all available records show that it was really in Linn County and not Marion. See under JEFFERSON for details. On July 27, 1852, the name of the office was changed to Santiam City, and in the official records is a note that on October 16, 1852, the office was in Linn County, but here again, the record at Washington, D. C., does not fit early maps and records in Oregon, which show Santiam on the Miller claim and in Marion County. The office was later moved to Jefferson, with a change in name. The post route map for 1900 shows an office called Santiam near South Santiam River between Lebanon and Sweet Home. This office has been discontinued and the community has almost evaporated.
SANTIAM Pass, Jefferson and Linn counties. In earlier davs Santiam Pass was considered to be that used by the old South Santiam road which crossed the summit of the Cascade Range just east of Big Lake. Hogg Pass was about three miles to the north and was the point selected by Col. T. Egenton Hogg for his railroad location. As a result of the topographic mapping of this area by the U. S. Geological Survey in 1928-29, and also of the building of the Santiam Highway through the Cascade Range, the USBGN on April 3, 1929, adopted the name Santiam Pass for both of these routes of travel. This was done on the theory there was one wide pass and not two narrow ones, which is generally substantiated by the topographic map of the Three Sisters quadrangle. The name Hogg Pass, as applied to the location of Santiam Highway, is now ​
PD It 011 obsolete. For editorial on this change, see Salem Capital Journal for June 13, 1929. The name Santiam Pass appears to have been accepted very rapidly by the traveling public. The name of Colonel Hogg is perpetuated at Hogg Rock, a prominent point west of the pass and just north of Santiam Highway, which skirts its base. Andrew Wiley went through Santiam Pass as early as 1859. See under WILEY CREEK and Hogg Rock.
SANTIAM River, Linn and Marion counties. Santiam River and North Santiam River form in part the boundary between Linn and Marion counties. In addition to the two streams named, other important tributaries to the Santiam drainage are the South Santiam, Little North Santiam and Breitenbush rivers, and Crabtree, Thomas and Quartzville creeks, all heading in the western slope of the Cascade Range. The stream was named for the Santiam Indians, a Kalapooian tribe, living near the Santiam River. The remnants were moved to Grand Ronde Agency in 1906. Variant forms of the name are Ahalapam, Sandeam, Santiams, Santainas, Santian, Santians, Sandeham. A detailed map of the North Santiam River and some of its tributaries may be found in USGS Water-Supply Paper 349.
SARDINE CREEK, Jackson County. Sardine Creek flows into Rogue River west of Gold Hill. In a letter signed "Pioneer," published in the Oregonian for November 15, 1883, it is said that this stream was named by J. W. Haves of Rock Point. Hayes was a gold seeker, and his pack mule one morning kicked him into the creek. Hayes jumped up with the remark that he was no sardine. Some of the information contained in "Pioneer's" letter mentioned above is erroneous, and the data on Sardine Creek may be incorrect. Walling, in History of Southern Oregon, page 380, has another story of the origin of the name, to the effect that prospectors used sardines for food near the stream in the '50s. Possibly the name had its start in both events.
SARDINE CREEK, Marion County. This tributary of North Santiam River was named in 1867 by Thomas J. Henness because he found an empty sardine can in the stream while he was on a prospecting expedition from his home near the present site of Gates. Sardine tins were unusual in the Oregon mountains in those days. The name spread from the creek to Sardine Mountain nearby. For information about the Henness family, see the Capital Journal, Salem, June 18, 1927, page 1.
SAUNDERS CREEK, Curry County. This stream, which flows into Rogue River about four miles from Pacific Ocean, was named for John Saunders who, with a man named Hastings, settled there about 1860 and built a saw and grist mill on the creek. This information was furnished by F. S. Moore of Gold Beach, Oregon.
SAUVIE ISLAND, Columbia and Multnomah counties. This is the largest island in the Columbia River, and is for the most part low land and lakes. The highest point on the island is only about 50 feet above sea level. Lewis and Clark called it Wap-pa-to and Wap-pa-too in 180506, the Indian name for the arrowhead or sagittaria. This was the wild potato, a valuable article of Indian food. There have been several forms of this native word, now generally spelled wapato. N. J. Wyeth built Fort William on this island in 1834-35 and some early maps have the name Wyeth Island. Wilkes used the name Multnomah Island. The name Sauvie Island comes from a French-Canadian employee of the Hudson's Bay Company who worked at the dairy farm on the west side ​
Robvies islas, adopieds, Victo of the island. The lettering Sauvies Island appears on Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856. Bancroft's History of the Northwest Coast, volume II, page 599, is authority for the statement that the island was named for one Jean Baptiste Sauve, but information has transpired that indicates this statement is wrong. In the files of the Oregon Historical Society is a letter from George B. Roberts to Mrs. F. F. Victor, dated November 7, 1879, in which he says that Sauve Island bears the name of a Canadian, Laurent Sauve, also called LaPlante. Many of the French-Canadians were known by two names. Mrs. Victor was one of the authors of Bancroft's history. The parish register of Saint James Catholic Church, Vancouver, has the marriage of Laurent Sauve to Josephte (Indian) on bocne me prinde ve tanco February 11, 1839, and records that Sauve was from the district of Montreal. The burial of Laurent Sauve is entered in the parish register of Saint Paul Catholic Church on August 3, 1858. In these registers the name of Laurent Sauve occurs a number of times, as godfather or burial witness. The name of Jean Baptiste Sauve does not occur at all. George B. Roberts came to Fort Vancouver in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1831 and knew well the employees of the company. It may be inferred that Mrs. Victor erred in transcribing Roberts' letter. The
USBGN has adopted the style Sauvie Island rather than the possessive Sauvies Island. It is interesting to note the following in a letter from Roberts to Mrs. Victor on July 5, 1882: "We say Sauvie an old Canadian), not Sauvies-Puget, not Pugets, as we say Washington and not Washington's Territory." Sauvies, Multnomah County, A post office named Sauvies was established in the extreme northeast corner of Multnomah County on April 3, 1882, with J. L. Reeder postmaster. This office was on the west bank of Columbia River and on the east shore of Sauvie Island, at Reeder Point, and it was of course named for the island. Reeder ran the office until it was closed April 6, 1906. Omar C. Spencer has informed the compiler that mail was brought to this and other Columbia River post offices by boat.
SAVAGE CREEK, Jackson and Josephine counties. This creek, together with Little Savage Creek in Jackson County, and Savage Rapids in Rogue River in Josephine County, were named for a pioneer settler, and not for Indians. James Savage came to Oregon from Illinois in 1853, and took up a donation land claim near the geographic features that now bear his name.
SAVAGE SCHOOL, Benton County. This school, north of Corvallis near Soap Creek, was named for Morgan R. Savage who once owned a donation land claim nearby. See land office certificate 2326.
SCAPPOOSE, Columbia County. Scappoose post office was established April 25, 1872. The name is of Indian origin and is said to mean gravelly plain. In addition to being used for the post office the name is also used for a well-known stream nearby, which drains the southern part of Columbia County. This stream is composed of two main branches, the correct names of which are North Scappoose Creek and South Scappoose Creek. "The History of Scappoose" is the title of an article in the Rainier Review, October 23, 1931, which says among other things that the Scappoose post office of 1872 was at what is now known as Johnson Landing. It was moved to the present community about 1886. Samuel T. Gosa was the first postmaster of the Scappoose post office. Records of this office are confusing. It may have been in operation ​
GustaX HOLFIELD CREEK River at Reedsho came to the Um previously for a short time with the name Columbia. Gosa was also postmaster of the Columbia office.
SCHAFF, Marion County. This is a railroad station two miles south of Aumsville. It was named for Walter Schaff who owned the land on which the station was built.
SCOGGIN CREEK, Washington County. Scoggin Creek was named for Gustavus Scoggin, a pioneer settler.
SCHOLFIELD CREEK, Douglas County. This is an important tributtary of the Umpqua River at Reedsport. It was named for Socrates Scholfield, a member of the party that came to the Umpqua River in 1850 in the schooner Samuel Roberts, and founded Umpqua City. He was the son of Nathan Scholfield of Norwich, Conn. There is a discrepancy in the way the name is spelled by Bancroft in his History of Oregon, volume II, page 176, and in OHQ, volume XVII, page 341. Bancroft uses the form Schofield, but Scholfield himself uses the style with a second "l." Scholfield family papers and letters at the Oregon State Library all confirm the spelling here used. Nathan Scholfield was one of the leaders of the party, and it is not clear why the stream was named for the son rather than the father, although Bancroft says such was the case. Possibly some incident of the exploration connected the name of the younger man with the stream. Attention is called to the fact that there is a discrepancy in the name of the schooner, the form William Roberts sometimes being used. However, the contemporaneous newspaper accounts, marine records, and George Davidson of the U. S. Coast Survey all use the form Samuel Roberts, and it may be assumed that that style is correct.
SCHOLLS, Washington County. Scholls, Scholls Ferry and Scholls Ferry Road are all well-known geographic names in the Tualatin Valley. These features were named for Peter Scholls, a pioneer of 1847, who took up a donation claim nearby. In early days Scholls Ferry was one of the important crossings of the Tualatin River. Peter Scholl was born in Kentucky October 20, 1809. He was related to the family of Daniel Boone. He died in Portland in November, 1872. For information about Peter Scholl, see OPA Transactions, 1887, page 80. Scholls Ferry post office was established September 12, 1871, with J. R. Bennett first postmaster. The name was changed to Scholls on February 2, 1895, and the office was discontinued in November, 1905.
SCHOONER CREEK, Lincoln County. Schooner Creek is a well-known stream that flows into Siletz Bay just south of Taft. In 1945 Andrew L. Porter of Newport told the compiler that the stream was named for a schooner that came in over Siletz Bar about 1890 and ran aground on the rocks on the east side of the bay just south of the creek. Mr. Porter reported that some of the ship's ribs were still showing above the sand at low tide. Mr. Porter also said that he understood that about 1894 the ship's bell was taken to Grand Ronde and used at the Indian school.
SCHOONER CREEK, Lincoln County. This paragraph refers to a stream called Schooner Creek that flows into Pacific Ocean about a mile north of Yaquina Head. The stream was named for a small schooner that came ashore on the beach near the creek about 1890. The writer has not been able to identify this vessel and little is known of her except that she was about 50 feet long. The schooner was hauled above high tide by means of oxen and tackle and in 1944 it was reported that some of her remains ​
were on the ground. A small point of rocks about a quarter of a mile north of the mouth of the creek is called Schooner Point.
SCHOTT CANYON, Gilliam County. Schott Canyon is southwest of Condon. It was named for Conrad Schott, a pioneer settler.
SCHREINER PEAK, Clackamas County. Schreiner Peak, elevation 5678 feet, is a point in the Cascade Range near the headwaters of Collawash River. It was formerly called Pikes Peak, a name without local significance, but in 1935 the Forest Service recommended that the name be changed to Schreiner Peak in honor of the late Professor Fred J. Schreiner, a member of the faculty at Oregon State College. Beside being held in public esteem, Professor Schreiner had spent much time on the Mount Hood National Forest in the vicinity of the peak carrying on surveys for fire control. The USBGN adopted the name Schreiner Peak March 29, 1935. Scio, Linn County. Scio was named for Scio, Ohio, which was in turn named for Scio, or as it is also known, Chios, an island off the west coast of Turkey in Asia. Mrs. C. A. Davis of Turner told the writer that Henry L. Turner and William McKinney built the flour mill at Scio, and when the work was completed, Turner suggested that McKinney give the new community a name. McKinney chose the name of his former home in Ohio. Another version of the story is to the effect that Mrs. McKinney really chose the name. Having been married, the compiler inclines toward the latter tradition. Scio post office was established October 3, 1860, with Euphronius E. Wheeler first postmaster. See also under SANTIAM. Scissors CREEK, Crook County. The writer has had several requests for information about the origin of the name Scissors Creek for a stream east of Prineville, flowing into Ochoco Creek. So far no data about this odd name have come to light. A map of 1889 shows a place called Scissorsville near this stream, with the probability that it was a mining locality.
SCORPION MOUNTAIN, Marion County. According to Dee Wright of Eugene, this mountain received its name at the time the Forest Service trail was built nearby, because there were so many small wood scorpions in the rotting logs that were moved.
SCOTCH CREEK, Wallowa County, Scotch Creek is west of Joseph. It was named by Mat Inglehorn, who was a Scotchman, in the '70s. He and his brother had a homestead on the stream.
SCOTT MOUNTAIN, Douglas County, This peak was originally known as Scotts Point, but nearby settlers changed the name to Scott Mountain. It is about 4300 feet in elevation and is clearly seen from the neighborhood of Sutherlin. It was named for Captain Levi Scott the founder of Scottsburg. See under that name.
SCOTT MOUNTAIN, Lane County. This peak is in the Cascade Range west of McKenzie Pass. Scott Lake is near by. These two geographic features were named for Felix Scott, the younger, who was one of the promoters of the McKenzie toll road project. See Hodge's Mount Multnomah for information on the subject. Felix Scott was the brother of Mrs. John E. Lyle, a pioneer resident of Dallas. This Scott family was not related to that of Captain Levi Scott of Scottsburg. About a mile east of the summit of the Cascade Range is Scott Pass, in Deschutes County. It is a gap in the ridge between Black Crater and North Sister. ​
Scott Trail goes through Scott Pass. These two features were also named for Felix Scott.
SCOTTS MILLS, Marion County. Robert Hall Scott and Thomas Scott had a sawmill and a flour mill at this place in early days, and the settlement was named Scotts Mills about 1866. The post office was established November 1, 1887, with Thomas Scott first postmaster.
SCOTTSBURG, Douglas County. Scottsburg was founded in 1850 by Levi Scott, a pioneer of Oregon of 1844, from Iowa. Scott led the party that went into southern Oregon and thence to Fort Hall in 1846, locating the southern or Applegate route. Scottsburg became the metropolis of southern Oregon, but the establishment of Crescent City in California in 1852, and other diversions of transportation, caused the decline of the community. Scott was a member of the territorial council from 1852 to 1854, and of the constitutional convention in 1857. He died in Malheur County in 1890, aged 93 years. Mount Scott in Crater Lake National Park was named in his honor. For detailed information about the Scott family, see editorial page, Oregon Journal, November 25, 26, 27, 1926. Copies of Scott family records in the possession of the compiler do not substantiate the statement that Levi Scott died in Lane County in 1878. Historical information about Scottsburg is contained in an article in Oregon Journal, Portland, for May 21, 1939, compiled by Ben Maxwell. There appear to have been two parts to the community, separated by about a mile of river, and Lower Scottsburg was the port of entry. The big flood of 1861 is the important event in the history of the place, and is said to have obliterated Lower Scottsburg. The names Myrtle City and Scottsburg seem to have been applied to this locality at first, but whether they were for the separate places the compiler cannot determine. The early history of the post offices is confusing. Myrtle City post office was established June 30, 1851, with Levi Scott postmaster. It was discontinued July 27, 1852. In the meantime Scottsburg post office was established October 8, 1851, with Stephen F. Chadwick postmaster. Eugene R. Fisk became postmaster October 12, 1852. Preston's map of 1851 shows Myrtle City just east of and very close to Scottsburg. A place called Gagniersville is shown just east of Myrtle City, but Scottsburg is the only one of the three shown on Preston's map of 1856. The other two places did not persist. Postal records are not consistent about the name Scottsburg, and in a number of instances the spelling is Scottsburgh, but the public generally has used the style Scottsburg and that is the official spelling at present.
SCOTTY CREEK, Grant County. This creek, south of Mount Vernon, was named for a pioneer sheep man, Scotty Hay, who had a camp and cabin on the stream, Scotti is incorrect.
SEAFORTH, Curry County. Seaforth post office was established November 12, 1890, with Robert McKenzie postmaster. The office was closed March 8, 1892, and mail sent to Port Orford. According to Dodge in his Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, appendix page 66, McKenzie lived on a large farm near the mouth of Elk River and it may be assumed that was the site of the post office Seaforth. Dodge gives a short biography of McKenzie on the page indicated. Members of the Mackenzie family have at various times been the earls of Seaforth in Scotland and the Mackenzies and McKenzies have a strong sentimental interest in the Scotch name. ​
SEAL Rocks, Lincoln County. These form a ledge of partly submerged rocks extending parallel to the coast for about two miles and a half and a distance of half a mile from the beach. The highest rock rises about twenty feet above water. The Coast Pilot uses the name Seal Rocks, and that was the style used in pioneer days for the locality along the shore about ten miles south of Newport. There is one large rock at the shoreline and several smaller ones. The place was called Seal Illahe, Chinook jargon for seal place or seal home. The post office, which is on the Oregon Coast Highway, is named for the rocks, but is called Seal Rock. This form of name is not completely descriptive and seems to refer only to the large rock at the shoreline. The post office was established April 25, 1890, with J. W. Brasfield postmaster. In those days the rocks were well covered with seals and sealions.
SEASIDE, Clatsop County. Silas B. Smith, in OHQ, volume I, page 321, says that the Clatsop Indian village at the site of what is now Seaside was called Ve-co-tat. The name Seaside came from Ben Holladay's famous hostelry and resort, the Seaside House. The first post office in the locality seems to have been Summer House, established December 1, 1871, with A. J. Clontire first postmaster. The name was changed to Seaside House on July 23, 1873, with Charles H. Dexter postmaster. The name was changed to Seaside on March 29, 1882. The old Seaside House was about a mile south of the present business section of Seaside. Seaside was at one time divided into two municipalities, east and west of the Necanicum, but they are now consolidated. Lewis and Clark sent a detail of men who established a salt-making cairn at the present site of Seaside about January 1, 1806. This site is now in possession of the Oregon Historical Society. For a description of the cairn in 1899, see the Oregonian, August 19, 1899, page 8. For narrative of Lewis and Clark expedition to the salt cairn, by L. B. Cox, ibid., June 17, 1900, page 8.
SEATON, Lane County. Seaton was an early-day post office in western Lane County, a little to the north of what was later Mapleton. Seaton office was established November 13, 1885, with William W. Neely first postmaster. The name Seaton was suggested by a Mr. Anthony, in compliment to a place in England called Seaton. There are several places in England called Seaton and the compiler has no means of knowing which one Mr. Anthony had in mind in 1885. Mrs. Julia A. Bean was appointed postmaster at Seaton April 1, 1889, and the name of the office was changed to Mapleton on March 26, 1896. It is believed that the office was moved to the present site of Mapleton in 1889, seven years before the name was changed.
SECOND LAKE, Linn County. Second Lake is the name applied to the second of a series of four lakes on the east bank of Willamette River northeast of Albany, and it is so named because of the position it occupies.
SEEKSEEKWA CREEK, Jefferson County. Seekseekwa Creek is a tributary of Deschutes River and drains the south part of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Indians have informed the compiler that the word is from the Piute language and means a variety of coarse rye grass that grows near the stream. The spelling Psuc-see-que is used in Pacific Railroad Surveys Reports, volume VI, and there are several other forms. The USBGN has adopted Seekseekwa, which is probably the best of the lot. ​
SEGHERS, Washington County. Seghers is a station on the Southern Pacific line north of Gaston. It was named for the Most Rev. Charles Seghers, Catholic archbishop of Oregon in the early '80s, who was murdered in Alaska in 1886. See Catholic History of Oregon, page 152 et seq. Seghers post office was established June 21, 1898, with Augustine A. Roth postmaster. The office was closed June 14, 1924.
SELAH, Marion County. This station is on the Southern Pacific Company Springfield branch west of Silverton. Selah is a Hebrew term meaning to pause, and is used as a place name to indicate a place of rest.
SEELEY CREEK, Douglas County. Seeley Creek is a small stream flowing eastward under the Territorial road and into Pheasant Creek in section 19, township 21 south, range 4 west. This creek or brook flows through the ranch of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Martin, which lies a few miles north of Anlauf and south of Lorane. Seeley Creek was named to commemorate Seeley Douglas Martin, a young son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Seeley was a seaman first class in the United States navy, reported missing in action May 23, 1942, while on duty in the Pacific area in the Midway campaign. He was a graduate of the Navy Communications School at San Diego. The application of the name Seeley Creek was approved April 12, 1947, by the Douglas County court and shortly thereafter the USBGN approved the selection.
SELLWOOD, Multnomah County. This part of the city of Portland was named for the Rev. John Sellwood. The name was first applied about 1882, and the post office was established in October, 1883. Sellwood was taken into the city of Portland in 1893.
SELMA, Josephine County. Selma post office was established by change of name from Anderson on July 10, 1897. When the name of the Anderson office was changed to Selma the office was moved south a few miles. The first postmaster at the new office was Robert C. Churchill. Mrs. Churchill selected the name Selma in honor of the little town Selma, in Van Buren County, Iowa, near where she was raised.
SENECA, Grant County. This post office was named for Judge Seneca Smith, of Portland. The name was given by Minnie Southworth, the first postmaster. The office was established September 17, 1895. Postal authorities wanted a short name, and the word Seneca suggested itself to Mrs. Southworth because her sister-in-law was Mrs. Seneca Smith.
SENOJ LAKE, Deschutes County. Senoj Lake is near the summit of the Cascade Range and about four miles west of Lava Lake. The name is in compliment to some person called Jones, with the spelling reversed.
SEPANEK, Morrow County. Sepanek post office was established August 2, 1917, with Bertha Sepanek first and only postmaster. The office, which was obviously named with the postmaster's family name, was closed September 14, 1918. It was about six miles northeast of Lexington, in the southwest part of township 1 north, range 26 east.
SEPARATION CREEK, Lane County. Separation Creek heads west of the South Sister, and flows westward, its waters eventually reaching McKenzie River. The creek was so named because it flows between The Husband and The Wife, two lesser peaks, west of the summit of the Cascade Range and members of the Three Sisters group.
SERRANO Point, Harney County. Serrano Point is between Alvord Desert and Alvord Lake, on the west side of Alvord Valley. Serrano is Spanish for mountaineer or highlander. ​
SERVICE BUTTES, Umatilla County. Service Buttes, which lie about eight miles southwest of Echo, have an extreme elevation of 1685 feet. Service Canyon is southwest of the buttes, and Service Spring to the north. These features are named for the serviceberry, otherwise called shadbush or Juneberry. The bush is of the Amelanchier family. The name is probably the most mispronounced botanical word in the West, the uneducated invariably making it sarvis berry. Service CREEK, Wheeler County. This is the name of a post office near the mouth of Service Creek, a tributary of John Day River. The creek was formerly called Sarvis Creek, spelled as pronounced colloquially. The post office was established on May 23, 1918, with the name Sarvicecreek and with May Tilley first postmaster. At the request of the compiler of these notes the name was changed to Service. creek on December 4, 1918. The 1941 Postal Guide lists the office as Service Creek, the change to two words having taken place early in 1929.
SEUFERT, Wasco County. Seufert station is east of The Dalles. It bears the name of the two Seufert brothers, Frank A. and Theodore J. They were natives of New York, and came to Oregon in the early '80s. They were engaged in various branches of the packing business, principally of salmon and fruit. For biography of Theodore J. Seufert, see History of Central Oregon, page 327.
SEVEN DEVILS, Coos County. In describing the coast south of Cape Arago, George Davidson in the Coast Pilot of 1889 says: "The hills are covered with dense forests and underbrush, and are cut by deep ravines running at right angles to the shore-line. From the number of these ravines the coast is locally known as 'the Seven Devils"." R. R. Monbeck of the USGS furnished the compiler with information about this name in 1943 and it seems apparent that the name Seven Devils was originally applied because of the difficulty in cutting the coast trail across these ravines. The earliest mention of these ravines that the compiler has seen is in the Harrison G. Rogers journal in The AshleySmith Explorations on July 4, 1828: "The travelling pretty bad, as we were obliged to cross the low hills, as they came in close to the beach, and the beach being so bad that we could not get along, thicketty and timbered, and some very bad ravines to cross."
SEVENMILE CREEK, Coos County. Sevenmile Creek flows into Coquille River about seven miles upstream from the river's mouth and is so named on that account.
SEXTON MOUNTAIN, Josephine County. This mountain is a prominent peak north of Grants Pass. The Pacific Highway skirts its westtern flank. William M. Colvig of Medford wrote the compiler on July 1, 1927, as follows: "In about the year 1853 a widow by the name of Nidav settled on a location at the foot of the mountain. She kept a wayside tavern on the road and travelers were delighted to enjoy the restful hospitality of the place. In the '50s she married David Sexton and the stopping place became known as Sextons. Their son Charles Sexton now lives there."
SEXTON MOUNTAIN, Washington County. Edward S. Sexton was born in Ohio in 1822, and settled on land southwest of what is now Beaverton in the spring of 1853. Sexton Mountain was named for him. It is erroneously spelled Saxton on some maps.
SHADY Cove, Jackson County. Shady Cove is on Rogue River between two and three miles south of Trail. The post office is on the ​
Crater Lake Highway near the concrete bridge which carries the highway over the river, but the cove itself is up river a few hundred yards and on the southeast side of the stream. The name is descriptive of a little nook on the river bank, but is not particularly applicable to the locality of the post office and the highway bridge. Shady Cove post office was established in September, 1939, with Mrs. Lillian F. Hukill postmaster. The compiler has been informed that the name Shady Cove was applied to the place upstream from the post office some years before the office was established, by one J. Powell of Medford.
SHAMROCK CREEK, Wallowa County. Shamrock Creek and Shamrock Flat are near Flora. These features are said to have been named by some soldiers who crossed the Grande Ronde River at Hanson Ferry from Walla Walla about 1885 or 1886. These soldiers had difficulty in fording the river and lost part of their equipment. After traveling near Bear Creek and Buford Creek they camped on a small flat at the head of what is now known as Shamrock Creek. When they left they painted a sign on a tree with a shamrock on it, and the flat has been known by that name ever since.
SHANIKO, Wasco County. Shaniko was named for a pioneer settler, August Scherneckau. Scherneckau came to Oregon after the Civil War and bought a farm near the present site of Shaniko. Indians pronounced the name Shaniko, and that is how the locality got its name. The Scherneckau ranch was on the stage route from The Dalles to central Oregon and August Scherneckau opened a stage station and kept the travel. Scherneckau some years later moved to Astoria, and after residing there several years moved to California, where he died. This locality was first called Cross Hollows, and a post office with that name was established May 23, 1879, with Scherneckau first postmaster. The office was closed May 27, 1887. The words Cross Hollows were supposed to be descriptive of the local topography. Shaniko post office was established March 31, 1900, with John D. Wilcox first postmaster. For additional information about Shaniko, see Bend Bulletin, September 24, 1930, and for story about early days in Shaniko by Giles L. French, see news section of the Oregonian, December 12, 1943. Sharps CREEK, Lane County. This stream was named for a wellknown pioneer character, Bohemia Sharp. He was an early prospector and road builder. The stream is a tributary of Row River.
SHASTA Costa CREEK, Curry County. Shasta Costa Creek is a tributary of Rogue River. It bears the name of the Shas-te-koos-tee Indians. Orvil Dodge spells the name of the Indian tribe in this manner and says that it numbered about 145 in 1854. The name of the creek does not seem to have anything to do with either Mount Shasta or the Spanish word costa meaning coast, but is merely the white man's convenient method of writing the Indian name. The Handbook of Amer's ican Indians lists the tribe or band as the Chastocosta, part of the Tututni Indians, in volume II, page 857.
SHASTA GULCH, Malheur County. Shasta Gulch is in the extreme north end of Malheur County, and drains south into Willow Creek. This gulch was named in the gold rush of the '60s by miners from the Shasta region of northern California.
SHATTUCK, Multnomah County. Erasmus D. Shattuck was one of the foremost jurists of Oregon. He came to Oregon in 1853 from New York, and conducted the Oregon City College and the Clackamas ​
County Female Seminary in 1853-55. He served at Pacific University as professor of ancient languages, beginning in 1855, was elected superintendent of schools for Washington County in 1855, and probate judge for the same county in 1856. In 1857 he was a member of the constitutional convention, and, in 1858, a member of the territorial legislature; in 1862-67 he was supreme and circuit judge; in 1874-78 he was judge of the supreme court; in 1886 he was elected to the circuit court, and served until 1898. He also served in the Portland city council and on the school board of Portland. Judge Shattuck was born at Bakersfield, Vermont, December 31, 1824; died at Portland July 26, 1900. See various estimates of his work and character in the Oregonian, July 6, 1898. For tributes to him in 1896, ibid., January 1, 1896. Judge Shattuck owned a farm on the Southern Pacific about two miles west of Hillsboro, and the station at the crossing with the Shattuck Road was named for him. Shaw, Marion County. This is a station east of Salem. It was named for Angus Shaw. Shaw came to Oregon from Ontario, Canada, and bought a farm near the present site of Shaw in 1876.
SHEAVILLE, Malheur County. Sheaville is in the cattle country on the extreme east edge of the county and just about midway north and south. It was named for Con Shea, a pioneer stockman. Sheaville post office was first established November 3, 1887, with Morris Oberdorfer first postmaster. The office has not been in continuous operation.
SHEDD, Linn County. A post office near the place now known as Shedd was established with the name Boston Mills, on September 22, 1869, with William Simmons first postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Shedd on August 28, 1871, at the time when the rail. road was being built south from Albany. The new name came from Captain Frank Shedd, upon whose land the community was started. For a time the place was called Shedds, but that form has passed into oblivion. For information about the Shedd family, see editorial page of the Oregon Journal, October 18, 1930.
SHEEP Rock, Grant County. Sheep Rock is in the south part of Butler Basin, north of Picture Gorge. J. E. Snow of Dayville told the writer that this rock was not named because of any fancied resemblance to a ram's head, but because of the prevalence of mountain sheep nearby in pioneer days. The rock has an elevation of 3356 feet. See editorial page the Oregonian, December 10, 1925.
SHELBURN, Linn County. In April, 1927, the postmaster at Shelburn wrote the compiler that the name Shelburn was supposed to be a combination of parts of the names of two pioneer residents, Shelton and Washburn. Riley Shelton of Scio, in 1927, confirmed the statement and told the compiler that the name was made up by Rosa and Mary Miller.
SHELL ROCK, Hood River County. A post office with the name Shell Rock was established on the Wasco County list April 14, 1873, with David Graham postmaster. This office was in what is now Hood River County and was in the vicinity of Shellrock Mountain on the south bank of the Columbia River between Cascade Locks and Hood River. The office was of course named for the mountain, Shell Rock post office later was moved north across the Columbia River into Washington Territory and the name changed to Collins Landing, but the compiler cannot tell when. Shell Rock post office was in operation again on the Oregon side between May 20 and August 19, 1878, with John Cates postmaster. John Cates, of a well-known Wasco County family, operated a sawmill at a ​
point a couple of miles west of the present site of Wyeth. The post office was apparently reestablished to serve people connected with the Cates mill. It was about three miles west of Shellrock Mountain, but named for that feature nevertheless.
SHELLROCK, CREEK, Clackamas County. Shellrock Creek, which takes its rise in Shellrock Lake, is in the east part of the county. It flows into Oak Grove Fork Clackamas River. The lake and stream were so named because they were near Shellrock Mountain, which had shale slides on its slopes. Several years ago the name of this mountain was changed by the government to Frazier Mountain because there were too many other Shellrock mountains in the state, but the name of the lake and creek remained as before because there was no duplication.
SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN, Hood River County, Mountains of this name are so called because the rock of which they are composed breaks off in platy chunks and piles up in long slopes, like shelled corn. There are several Shellrock mountains in Oregon, the best known being on the Columbia River Highway east of Cascade Locks.
SHEPPERDS DELL, Multnomah County. This dell on the Columbia River Highway just west of Bridal Veil was presented to the public in May, 1915, by George Shepperd, as a memorial to his wife. The tract consists of eleven acres. The creek is spanned by a fine concrete arch about 100 feet long.
SHERARS BRIDGE, Wasco County. Peter Skene Ogden took an exploring party into central Oregon in 1826-27, and on Thursday, September 22, 1826, he noted in his journal that his party reached the River of the Falls [Deschutes] at the "Falls where we found an Indian camp of 20 families. Finding a canoe, also a bridge made of slender wood, we began crossing, 5 horses were lost thro' the bridge." See OHQ, volume XI, page 205. Apparently in pioneer times there was no bridge at the present site of Sherars Bridge, for Bancroft, in his History of Oregon, volume I, page 787, says that it had to be forded or crossed in Indian canoes. John Y. Todd built a bridge in 1860, but it was carried away and had to be rebuilt in 1862. For Todd's reminiscences, see OHQ, volume
XXX, page 70. Todd later took in Ezra L. Hemingway and Robert Mays as partners. Hemingway bought out the other two, and then sold to O'Brien, who sold out to Joseph Sherar in 1871. Sherar was a prominent character in central Oregon. He was born in Vermont on November 16, 1833, of Irish parentage, and was reared in St. Lawrence County, New York. He came by sea to California in 1855. He mined in northern California, and in 1862 he started with passengers and freight by pack train to the John Day mines, and on this trip his party named Antelope Valley, Muddy Creek, Cherry Creek and Burnt Ranch, and laid the foundation for Bakeoven. Sherar married Jane A. Herbert in 1863 and settled in Wasco County. He paid $7040 for Sherars Bridge and spent $75,000 improving roads leading to it. He was interested in various milling enterprises on White River and kept a stage station at the bridge which bears his name. He died at The Dalles on February 11, 1908. Apparently there was a post office at this locality as early as 1868 with the name Deschutes. See under that heading
SHERIDAN, Yamhill County. Sheridan is on the South Yamhill River and was named for Philip Henry Sheridan, who as lieutenant, did efficient and courageous work against the Indians at the Cascades in ​
1856. He arrived at Fort Vancouver in October, 1855, from California, and remained in Oregon and Washington until the outbreak of the Civil War. In April, 1856, he was ordered to Grand Ronde Agency, and was stationed not far from the town that now bears his name. He was stationed at Fort Hoskins in 1857, fourteen miles from Corvallis, as quartermaster and commissary. He went east in September, 1861, and as a result of his great work in the Civil War was made lieutenant-general in 1869, and general before he died, August 5, 1888. He visited Portland, Salem and Yamhill County in 1875; arrived at Portland August 31; left for California September 8. See his Memoirs for narrative of the Yakima War; also the Oregonian, December 9, 1888; December 23, 1888. Sheridan post office was established April 4, 1866, by change of name from Willamina, with Thomas N. Faulconer postmaster. The office had been serving an area a few miles west of Sheridan, and was moved eastward to the new location. Another office was established for Willamina in August, 1878.
SHERIDAN MOUNTAIN, Deschutes County. Sheridan Mountain, elevation 6948 feet, is a prominent point in a string of craters that extends south from Bachelor Butte. It is about five miles from Bachelor Butte and the same distance from Lava Lake, It was formerly called Tent Mountain, because of its shape when seen from the west, but on March 4, 1931, the USBGN adopted the name Sheridan Mountain, in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, who, in 1855, as a second lieutenant with the Pacific Railroad Surveys, explored central Oregon. It seems probable that Sheridan ascended this peak on August 30, 1855. See also under WILLIAMSON MOUNTAIN.
SHERMAN, Sherman County. This station west of Biggs was once known as Deschutes Junction, because it was at one end of the railroad branch line up Deschutes River. Fred S. Stanley later asked to have the name Deschutes given to a point between Redmond and Bend, and it then became necessary to change the name at the north end of the line. The name Sherman was selected because it was in Sherman County. This was in 1912. In 1930 the name Sherman was changed to Ainsworth, because Sherman duplicated the name of other stations. See under AinsWORTH for additional information. The north end of the Deschutes Canyon line was abandoned in 1936 and as a result the junction at Ainsworth was eliminated. There was no station there in 1940.
SHERMAN COUNTY. Sherman County was created February 25, 1889, by the state legislature. It was taken from the northeast part of Wasco County, as that county was then organized, and in 1940 had a land area of 830 square miles. Sherman County was named for General Willliam Tecumseh Sherman, the great northern leader in the Civil War. W. T. Sherman was born at Lancaster, Ohio, February 8, 1820, and graduated from West Point in 1840. He resigned from the army in 1853. He accepted a colonelcy in the Union army in 1861, and gained rapid promotion on account of his recognized ability. He was made a lieutenant-general in 1866 and general in command of the army in 1869. He died February 14, 1891, at New York City. It was first planned to name this county Fulton County for Colonel James Fulton, a pioneer resident, and the bill providing this name went through two readings in the house of representatives, but before it was ​
passed, the name Fulton was changed to Sherman, at the instigation of j. W. Maxwell of Tillamook and Yamhill counties. It is said this was done because Colonel Fulton objected to extending an invitation to General Sherman to visit the house of representatives some years previously when General Sherman was a visitor in Oregon. For editorial about naming Sherman County, see the Oregonian, November 27, 1942.
SHEROD MEADOW, Wallowa County. Sherod Meadow is in the northwest corner of township 2 north, range 43 east, and bears the name of William Sherod, who ranged his sheep there in 1887-88.
SHERRILL, Lake County. Elmer Sherrill was the first postmaster at Sherrill and the office bore his family name. Sherrill post office was established September 17, 1914, and operated until June 29, 1918. It was situated about 15 miles southwest of Wagontire Mountain.
SHERWOOD, Washington County. Sherwood was founded and laid out as Smockville by James C. Smock in 1889. The post office was established in that year with George B. Seely first postmaster. The name of the place was changed to Sherwood in the summer of 1891. The new name was adopted at a meeting of the citizens and was suggested by Robert Alexander, and it is supposed he did so because he had formerly lived near Sherwood, Michigan, although there is a local tradition that the name was chosen in compliment to Sherwood Forest, England.
SHEVLIN, Deschutes and Klamath counties. From time to time Shevlin post office was in the news because of its mobility. It served loggers for The Shevlin-Hixon Company, and when logging was completed for a local area, the camp buildings were put on cars and moved to a new location. Most of the buildings were glorified trailers. When the compiler first knew the camp, it was about ten miles south of Lava Butte and two or three miles east of The Dalles-California Highway. It was later moved to a point about three miles southeast of Lapine. Both of these sites were in Deschutes County. The next move was to Summit Stage Station on the Fremont Highway in the very extreme east border of Klamath County. Shevlin post office was established in Deschutes County June 27, 1931, with William J. Baer first postmaster. It first appears on the Klamath County list in September, 1936. The office was discontinued April 1, 1951, with business transferred to Chemult. For illustrated story about Shevlin, see section 2, Sunday Oregonian, June 15, 1947.
SHEVLIN PARK, Deschutes County. This natural park along Tumalo Creek is west of Bend. The land comprising the park was given to the city of Bend by a deed dated December 22, 1920, by The Shevlin-Hixon Company. The idea of setting this land aside for a park originated with T. A. McCann, then general manager of the company at Bend, who had witnessed the cutting over of an entire lumber district in the middle West, and did not want to see the operation repeated. The park was dedicated to the memory of Thomas H. Shevlin, famous football player, and former president of the lumber company. Shirk, Harney and Lake counties. Members of the Shirk family were among the early settlers in Catlow Valley and for a time lived at the famous Home Creek Ranch. Shirk post office was established at or near this ranch September 22, 1890, with Leonore Mott first postmaster. Frances M. Shirk was appointed postmaster August 31, 1892. The office was closed to Diamond May 31, 1902. Later some members of the family ​
transferred their ranching operations to eastern Lake County, and Shirk post office was reestablished in that area September 10, 1903, with Olive G. Shirk postmaster. This office was closed to Cedarville, California, May 5, 1905.
SHIRTTAIL GULCH, Baker County. Shirttail Gulch is north of Rye Valley. J. Tracy Barton, in OHQ, volume XLIII, page 228, gives a glowing account of the origin of the name. In 1869, John Richardson, a rancher in Rye Valley, went foraging about five miles for a load of wood. He unhitched his team in a likely spot and began to assemble the load, when suddenly he was surprised by the singing of bullets from the guns of a band of rambling Snake Indians. Richardson abandoned his equipment and ran for home. His speed was so great that his shirttail fanned out behind him and even the jackrabbits were amazed. The place has been called Shirttail Gulch since that episode.
SHITIKE CREEK, Jefferson County. This stream is in the south part of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. It heads in a magnificent gorge cutting into the Cascade Range north of Jefferson Park. The stream is mentioned in the Pacific Railroad Surveys Reports, under date of 1855, as Chit-tike Creek, but the meaning of the name is not given. The Klamath Indians used the name Sidaikti to indicate the general locality of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and also the stream mentioned above. The compiler has been unable to get a satisfactory translation of the name. Indians indicate that it is a very old locality name.
SHONQUEST RANCH, Deschutes County. The name of this pioneer ranch on the old road south of Bend is frequently misspelled.
SHOTPOUCH CREEK, Benton and Lincoln counties. According to Jerry E. Henkle, Benton County pioneer, Shotpouch Creek was named in 1856 when a party of Benton County settlers was exploring the Coast Range looking for grazing land. George Knowlton, a member of the party, lost a shotpouch near the stream, which was named on that account. This story was reported to the compiler in 1937 by Mark Phinny of Philomath, who interviewed Henkle about Benton County history. Shotpouch Creek flows northwest from Marys Peak.
SHOWALTER CREEK, Lane County. This stream is in the Mohawk Valley west of Mabel. The creek bears the name of W. B. Showalter, who built a cabin on its banks in early days and operated as a hunter in the locality.
SHUCK MOUNTAIN, Coos County, Shuck Mountain, a ridge with a maximum elevation of nearly a thousand feet, lies southeast of Coquille in the big bend between Coquille River and North Fork Coquille River. The mountain was named for Samuel Shuck, who came to Oregon in 1863 and settled in Coos County in 1872. See Dodge's Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, supplement page 90.
SHUTLER, Gilliam County, Shutler is a place in Alkali Canyon about eight miles south of Arlington. Shutler Flat is in the same locality. In April, 1947, Mark V. Weatherford of Albany wrote as follows: "Schuttler Flat was named for the Schuttler wagon. The first plowing was done on the flat by W. W. Weatherford and A. H. Weatherford in 1880, and the first crop was raised in 1881. . . . Most of the early settlers moved from Willow Creek to Schuttler Flat and this movement was coincident with the building of the railroad along the Columbia River. ​
Most of them had been cattle men." Peter Schuttler, 1812-1865, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1834. He learned wagonmaking, and tried several ventures in the business. Finally he established himself in Chicago and supplied many of his wagons to emigrants and gold seekers en route to Oregon and California. His wagon was lighter than the old prairie schooners and easier running. It commanded a premium over other makes, and was widely used in many parts of the West. The compiler does not know the reason for the discrepancy in spelling for the name used in Oregon, except that it was simpler. A post office called Shutlers was established June 5, 1914, with May Piper postmaster. It was apparently named for the nearby railroad station, also called Shutlers. In November, 1915, the name of the post office was changed to Shutler, and the office was discontinued December 14, 1918. The name of the railroad station was changed to Shutler about the same time as the change in the post ofhice name. Siah BUTTE, Deschutes County. This butte southwest of Bend was named by the Forest Service with the Chinook jargon word for far or far off, indicating its more or less inaccessible position. The name should be pronounced as though spelled Si-ya with accent on the last syllable. Siboco, Lane County. Siboco is a station on the Southern Pacific Company railroad at the mouth of South Inlet on the south side of Siuslaw River about two miles south of Cushman. The name was made synthetically by taking parts of the name of Siuslaw Boom Company which operated in those parts. SiCKFOOT CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream is about twenty miles north of Wallowa. It was named for David Rochester, a clubfoot, who lived on the creck. The Indians named him Sickfoot. Sickfoot drains into Grande Ronde River in township 5 north, range 42 cast.
SIDNEY, Marion County. Sidney is a station on the Oregon Electric Railway in Ankeny Bottom. J. M. Wallace started a flour mill at Sidney in pioneer days and is said to have named the place because of his wife's family name.
SIDWALTER BUTTES, Wasco County. The Sidwalter Buttes lie on a northwest-southeast axis between Badger and Mill creeks in the south part of the county and near the west edge of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The maximum elevation of about 3600 feet is near the northwest end of the series. The buttes are named for an old Wasco Indian family of the vicinity. There are several spellings, including Sid Walter, Sidwalter, Sidwallo, Sidewalder and other styles. Sidwalter is the spelling used on the USGS map of the Mount Jefferson quadrangle and reflects the general modern usage.
SIGNAL BUTTES, Clackamas County. Signal Buttes are near the head of Roaring River. T. H. Sherrard of the United States Forest Service told the compiler that the name was intended to be descriptive, because as far as he knew there never were any signals of any kind on these buttes. The pointed summits gave rise to the name.
SILETZ River, Lincoln and Polk counties. The Siletz Indians were the southernmost Salishan tribe on the coast. The name now designates all the tribes on the former Siletz reservation-Athapascan, Yakonan, Kusan, Takilman, Shastan and Shahaptian linguistic families. The name has been called Celeste, Neselitch, Sailetc. Siletz River ​
was named for these Indians. There was for many years a Siletz Indian Agency in Oregon. For editorial on the closing of this agency, see the Oregonian, November 18, 1925. It is estimated there were 2000 Indians at Siletz Agency in 1867. The Siletz reservation is described in the Oregonian, May 22, 1862, by Philip Ritz. For description of the Siletz Indians in 1869, ibid., September 24, 1869, page 3. A writer in the Oregonian, February 2, 1877, page 3, identifies the word with the French celeste. This theory is controverted by James W. Nesmith (ibid., February 7, 1877, page 2). The town of Valsetz was named for the Valley & Siletz Railroad.
SILICA, Gilliam County. This station east of Arlington, was named by the railroad company because of the presence of so much sand.
SILK CREEK, Lane County. This stream flows into Coast Fork Willamette River at Cottage Grove, and according to Elbert Bede, was once known as Hazelton Creek. A letter by Frances E. Morss Baker in the Eugene Register, April 17, 1929, says that a miner named Turpin returned from California, where he had been forced to take part of his wages in merchandise, which included enough handsome silk to make a dress. A woman living on the stream liked the silk so much that she traded a cow for it and the name Silk Creek had its origin in this swap.
SILTCOOS LAKE, Douglas and Lane counties. Not much is known about the origin of this name, except, of course, that it is Indian. It is said to be the name of a local chief and also that it is an Indian family name. This version seems to be substantiated by an entry under Kuitsh, a small Yakonan tribe on the lower Umpqua River, in Handbook of American Indians, volume I, page 732, where the village Tsiakhaus is listed. The proximity of Coos Bay could easily produce a distortion in the name of the lake, although the Indians of the two regions were not related. The name was formerly spelled Tsiltcoos, but the USBGN adopted the shorter form. The lake is a fine body of water covering several square miles, and has an elevation of eight feet. Siltcoos River connects it with the Pacific Ocean. Siltcoos station and post office is at the northeast corner.
SILVER BUTTE, Curry County, Silver Butte is a small point close to the Oregon Coast Highway about two miles north of Port Orford. On June 1, 1946, Louis L. Knapp, of Port Orford, told the compiler an amusing story about the origin of the name, a story that was told him when he was a small boy. The butte was named in the very early days at a time when there was plenty of panning for gold on the black beach sands. Some enthusiast got the notion of starting a silver stampede to property that he owned or controlled. He melted up some small silver coins and poured the metal so that it would resemble silver grains. He used these to salt the property and then announced a discovery of silver bearing ground. Wise prospectors soon exposed the scheme, but the name Silver Butte has remained attached to the feature to this day.
SILVER CREEK, Harney County. Silver Creek heads in the northwest part of the county and flows southeast to Harney Lake. A little to the northwest of Harney Lake is Silver Lake, which at times receives water from Silver Creek. The compiler has not been able to get definite information about the origins of the names of these features, but is of the opinion that they are the result of mixed identity with Silvies River, an ​
important stream just to the cast. Early in July, 1859, Captain H. D. Wallen, of the Fourth Infantry, in charge of a military expedition, passed Silver Lake and called it Whatumpa Lake, but gave no explanation of the name. See 36th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document 34, which gives an account of this expedition. For early history of this area by Robert C. Clark, see OHQ, volume XXXIII, page 101.
SILVER CREEK, Josephine County. This stream is in the western part of the county. Walling, in History of Southern Oregon, page 452, says the stream was named because of a pretended discovery of silver ore on its banks in 1879. Silver CREEK, Marion County. Silver Creek was named in pioneer days, and the town of Silverton was named for the stream. There are two stories about the origin of the name. The first is to the effect that a traveler on horseback had some silver in his saddle bags and tried to ford the stream near where the town of Silverton now stands. His horse got into deep water and in the struggle that ensued the saddle pockets were lost, silver and all. The loss was not recovered, and as a result the stream was named Silver Creek. The second and more probable story is that the stream was named for James Smith, who was called "Silver" Smith because he brought a quantity of silver dollars into the locality, possibly a bushel of them. Smith and John Barger built a sawmill at Milford, two miles above Silverton, about 1846. Old-timers generally favor this version. A post office with the name Silver Creek was established in Marion County November 16, 1854, with E. M. Waite postmaster. The compiler has not been able to get its location, but it was doubtless not far from the present site of Silverton. Silver CREEK Falls, Marion County. These falls are about fifteen miles southeast of Silverton, in Silver Creek Falls State Park. They constitute one of the important scenic attractions of Oregon and in ordinary times are visited by large numbers of sightseers. North and South Silver creeks join to form Silver Creek in the park, and the larger falls are on the two streams above the forks. In April, 1943, S. H. Boardman, state parks superintendent, had the heights of the falls accurately measured with the following results: North Falls, 136 feet; Twin Falls, 31 feet; Winter Falls, 134 feet; Middle North Falls, 106 feet; Drake Falls, 27 feet; Double Falls, 178 feet; Lower North Falls, 30 feet; Lower South Falls, 93 feet; South Falls, 177 feet. Below the junction of North and South Silver creeks are five small falls within the park, with the following heights: Crag Falls, 12 feet; Elbow Falls, 20 feet; Canyon Falls, 10 feet; Lisp Falls, 5 feet; Sunlight Falls, 5 feet. A community called Silver Falls City sprang up near these falls many years ago. The town was platted in 1888, with ambitious dimensions, but the enterprise folded up. See story by R. J. Hendricks, Salem Statesman, May 16, 1937. Silver Falls, Coos County. These falls are on Silver Creek, northeast of Allegany. They were named in contradistinction to Golden Falls nearby, in the belief that Golden Falls were named for the metal. According to information from S. B. Cathcart in 1929 Golden Falls were actually named for Dr. C. B. Golden, first Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of Oregon. Silver King MOUNTAIN, Marion County. This mountain, elevation 5238 feet, is in the north part of the county, north of Detroit. It was ​
named for a mining claim nearby which was located by some Portland men. Silver Lake, Lake County. Silver Lake is about six miles east of Silver Lake town. It formerly had an area of about 20 square miles, but is now quite dry. The lake apparently bears a descriptive name, but it is not known who first applied it. Residents of central Oregon attribute the name to John C. Fremont, but the compiler cannot find that Fremont had anything to do with it, and certainly did not see or name Silver Lake on his first trip into Oregon in 1843. The Klamath Indian name for Silver Lake was Kalpshi. This appears to have been derived from the word kalapsh, meaning a decayed log, and was used because of the presence of petrified wood near the lake.
SILVER LAKE, Lake County. Silver Lake post office was established on December 9, 1875. It was first in the home of G. C. Duncan at a point considerably east of the present site of the town of Silver Lake. Duncan was the first postmaster. The office was discontinued in March, 1880, and reestablished in July, 1882, at the ranch of C. P. Marshall one and one-half miles west of where the town now stands. The most important happening in the history of the community was a fire which occurred on December 24, 1894, in which 43 people lost their lives in the burning of one building. Silver Lake town was named for Silver Lake, six miles to the east. See under that heading. Silver Lake town has an elevation of 4345 feet. For history of the community, see History of Central Oregon, pages 853-57. Silver Point, Clatsop County. Silver Point is sometimes erroneously referred to as Sylvan Point. This small promontory on Cannon Beach was called Silver Point because of the characteristic color of the weathered spruce trees on its face. The land adjacent to the point was platted and recorded as Silver Point Cliff on April 21, 1894. On February 16, 1898, Sylvan Park was platted and recorded a half a mile north of Silver Point. In 1929 Rodney L. Glisan, long familiar with the geography of this part of Oregon, recommended that the name Silver Point be adopted, and this style was also favored by the compiler of these notes. On December 4, 1929, the USBGN adopted the name Silver Point rather than Sylvan Point. Silver WELLS, Crook County. The compiler has had an inquiry for the history of the place called Silver Wells. A post office with this name was established on the Wasco County list August 16, 1878, with Joseph J. Brown postmaster. The office was finally closed in 1881. It was on Camp Creek south of the east end of Maury Mountains. The name is intended to be descriptive, probably of the white sand near the wells.
SILVERTON, Marion County. Silverton took its name from the fact that it is situated on Silver Creek. The early history of the community is given in Down's A History of the Silverton Country, page 223. The first settlement was at a locality called Milford, where James Smith and John Barger established a sawmill about 1846. This was about two miles up stream from the present site of Silverton. Down says that the town of Silverton itself dates from 1854, but that the name did not come into use until the following year. Various milling and mercantile establishments along Silver Creek as far south as Milford were finally concentrated in Silverton, the other locations being abandoned. The name Bargerville was suggested for the new community in honor of John Barger, a nearby ​
land owner. This was rejected because of confusion with Parkerville nearby. Mrs. T. R. Coon, a member of a pioneer Silverton family, has written the compiler that Polly Crandall Coon Price actually selected the name of Silverton. She came to Oregon in 1852, following her husband, T. L. Coon, who had arrived shortly before. Her husband died January 10, 1854, before securing title to his donation land claim. Mrs. Coon remained on the land and secured the title and sold town lots, naming the place Silverton. This was probably in the fall of 1854 or early in 1855, as the Silverton post office was established July 16, 1855, with Charles Miller postmaster. Mrs. Coon married Stephen Price in September, 1855. Silvies River, Grant and Harney counties. Silvies River was named for Antoine Sylvaille, who, with a party of trappers, was sent into central Oregon by Peter Skene Ogden in 1826. See OHQ, volume X, page 354, and volume XI, page 202. Sylvaille, on his return from central Oregon, reported finding a stream very rich with beaver, to which the name Sylvailles River was at once given. The Arrowsmith maps published between 1830 and 1850 showed the stream as Sylvailles River. In the Ogden journals, under date of October 8, 1826, mention is made of the fact that Sylvaille discovered this river. On November 1, Ogden mentions the river as flowing into a lake, now known as Malheur Lake. Dr. Robert C. Clark, in OHQ, volume XXXIII, page 113, says that the party under Major Enoch Steen, 1860, named this stream Cricket River, because of the swarms of insects. That name did not supplant the older name, Sylvailles River or its anglicized form, Silvies River, which had been in general use for many years. Silvies post office was established near this stream in the extreme north part of Harney County in February, 1892, with Adelaide Cross first postmaster. The office was closed in July, 1906, but was reestablished in 1915 in the south part of Grant County.
SIMAX BAY, Klamath County. This bay is at the northern end of Crescent Lake. It is reported that the word simax is an Indian expression meaning landing place. The compiler has been unable to find the word in the Klamath Indian language, or any other language for that matter.
SIMMONS DRAW, Wallowa County. Simmons Draw is east of Maxville. It was formerly known as Deadhorse Draw because a horse was drowned therein.
SIMNASHO, Wasco County. This is a post office on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Pierce Mays is authority for the information that the original Indian word was pronounced as though spelled Sinimassa. Warm Springs Indians have corroborated this and inform the compiler that the word means thorn bush.
SINAMOX, Wasco County. A station on the Oregon Trunk Railway named with the Chinook jargon word for seven, since it was the seventh station from the north end of the line up Deschutes River. Sinamox post office was established January 2, 1914. The office was closed December 31, 1914, with papers to Moody.
SINK, Lake County. Sink post office, in the extreme north part of the county, took its name because it was near the sink of Peters Creek. It was established in April, 1911, and operated until August, 1920. Anna M. Long was the first postmaster.
SINK, Sherman County. Sink railroad station was named for George ​
P. Sink who was born in Illinois June 2, 1847, and came west in 1876. He took up a homestead in Spanish Hollow in 1882.
SINKER MOUNTAIN, Lane County. Sinker Mountain, elevation 4752 feet, is the highest point on Alpine Ridge between Christy Creek and Fall Creek. George H. Kelly of Portland told the compiler that the peak received its name as the result of a camping experience of some hunters who were there forced to eat biscuits made with soda, popularly known as sinkers.
SINNOTT, Morrow County. Sinnott post office was established in the southwest corner of the county, on one of the headwaters of Rock Creek, and about six miles south of Hardman, on April 29, 1916. Scott H. Osborn was the first postmaster. Sinnott post office was discontinued effective February 28, 1918. Sinnott was named in compliment to Nicholas Sinnott of The Dalles, a representative in Congress from Oregon from 1913 to 1928, who doubtless assisted in getting the post office established. N. J. Sinnott was one of Oregon's most esteemed citizens. He was born at The Dalles December 6, 1870, and was graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1892. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law at The Dalles. He was a member of the Oregon state senate in 1909 and 1911. His service in Congress at Washington was brought to a close by an appointment to the United States Court of Claims. However, his term on the court was cut short by his death on July 20, 1929. Sisi BUTTE, Clackamas County. Sisi Butte, elevation 5614 feet, is a prominent point in the Cascade Range in the southern part of the county, just west of Lemiti Butte. Sisi is the Chinook jargon word for blanket or cloth. Gibbs gives the form pa'see-sie, but it is the same word. In 1927, Dee Wright, who was a walking encyclopedia about Cascade Range place names, told the compiler that he had never been able to get a good explanation as to why the name was applied to Sisi Butte, although Indians told him that it was correct.
SISKIYOU, Jackson County. The name Siskiyou as applied to a post office did not appear until April, 1895, well over a half a century after Hudson's Bay Company trappers had named the pass through the Siski. you Mountains. The compiler does not know the exact location of the first Siskiyou post office, which was in charge of Alice E. Ager, but for many years this office was near the Southern Pacific Company station Siskiyou at the northeast end of the Siskiyou tunnel and very close to the Pacific Highway. This post office was closed October 31, 1932. The compiler has been asked about where the golden spike was driven on completion of the Siskivou line of the Southern Pacific Company. In March, 1947, G. H. Kilborn, superintendent of the Southern Pacific Company's Shasta Division at Dunsmuir had a search made of the old records and reported that the golden spike was driven on December 17, 1887, at about 5:04 P. M. on the east side of the track at the south end of the Ashland yard at mileage 428:8. The spike was driven at survey station 1154 + 05. The driving of this spike completed the Siskiyou line of the Southern Pacific, SiSKiYOU MOUNTAINS, Jackson and Josephine counties. George Gibbs, in his Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, 1863, gives the following version of the origin of this name: "Siskiyou. Cree. A bob. tailed horse. This name, ludicrously enough, has been bestowed on the range of mountains separating Oregon and California, and also ​
on a county in the latter state. The origin of this designation, as related to me by Mr. Anderson, was as follows: Mr. Archibald R. McLeod, a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, in the year 1828, while crossing the mountains with a pack train, was overtaken by a snow storm, in which he lost most of his animals, including a noted bob-tailed race horse. His Canadian followers, in compliment to their chief, or 'bourgeois,' named the place the Pass of the Siskiyou, -an appellation subsequently adopted as the veritable Indian name of the locality, and which thence extended to the whole range, and the adjoining district." Alexander C. Anderson was connected with the Hudson's Bay Company. On page 598 of Lacombe's Cree dictionary, Montreal, 1874, published in French, is the Cree word sisikiyawatim, which refers to a spotted horse or possibly a pack-horse. The obvious similarity between the first part of this word and the word Siskiyou is too great to need comment. The compiler feels that when Gibbs attributed Siskiyou to the Cree, he was on firm ground. The story that the name Siskiyou comes from the French six cailloux, meaning six stones, has always seemed fanciful to the compiler. It is alleged that the six stones were used in fording various streams, but there are several versions of the story, and none is well authenticated. They cover too much territory and are very indefinite. Professor A. L. Kroeber of the University of California says of this etymology: "(it) looks too much like a typical case of folk-etymology to engender much confidence. The usual assumption of an Indian origin, though not necessarily from a tribal name, is more credible." The Siskiyou Mountains are part of what geologists call the Klamath Mountains, which lie as a connecting uplift between the Coast Range and the Cascade Range. Joseph S. Diller, in his Topographic Development of the Klamath Mountains, USGS Bulletin 196, gives an interesting description of the geography and geology of this part of Oregon. Attention is called to the fact that there is some confusion about the given name of McLeod, referred to by Gibbs. Presumably this is the same person generally mentioned as Alexander R. McCleod, for whom McCloud River in northern California is said to have been named.
SISTERS, Deschutes County. Sisters is just east of the summit of the Cascade Range, and is named for the imposing nearby peaks, the Three Sisters. There was previously a post office at Camp Polk, about three miles away, and in 1888 it was found advisable to move the office, and as a result of the move, the name was changed, as Camp Polk was no longer significant. It is said that Jacob N. Quilberg selected the new name, and John J. Smith was the first postmaster in the new office. The townsite plat was filed for record July 15, 1901, by Alex and Robert Smith. For news story about 40th anniversary of the town of Sisters, see Bend Bulletin, September 24, 1941.
SITKUM, Coos County. About 1873, J. A. Harry established a tavern or roadhouse about half way between Roseburg and what was known as Coos City. As a result of a competitor putting up another halfway house nearby, a new name was selected, Sitkum, which is the Chinook jargon word for half. The post office got its name from the name of the tavern. It was established on May 9, 1873, with Wm. H. Flook first postmaster.
SITKUM CREEK, Lane County. Sitkum Creek flows into Salmon Creek from the north about eleven miles east of Oakridge. Sitkum is ​
the Chinook jargon word for half, and in this case means that the stream is rather piddling. Siuslaw RIVER, Lane County. Siuslaw was the Indian name of a locality, tribe or chief, and has become the name of a river in western Oregon. The Siuslaws are classed as a Yakonan tribe. The first mention of the name that the compiler has seen is by Lewis and Clark, in History of the Expedition, Biddle edition, volume II, page 118, where it is given as Shiastuckle. Alexander R. McLeod in his journal of 1828 gives Saoustla; Samuel Parker in his Journal of an Exploring Tour gives Saliutla; Hale gives Saiustla in Wilkes' U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume VI, page 221. The name has many other variations. See Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 584. The forms Linslaw and Linslow are probably due to misreading of poor handwriting, mistaking S and u for L and n. A post office with the name Siuselaw was established April 23, 1852, with James Heatherby postmaster. Henry Coleman became postmaster June 1, 1854. Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856, shows this office at a point five miles north of the present site of Lorane, but with the spelling Siuslaw. Postal records of later dates show an office called Siuslaw, but the compiler does not know when the spelling of the name was changed. See also under LINSLAW and also LORANE. Sixes RIVER, Curry County. Sixes River is an important stream flowing into Pacific Ocean just north of Cape Blanco, and draining a considerable part of northern Curry County. L. B. Spurgeon, postmaster at Sixes office in 1926, wrote that it was named for a local Indian chief. George Davidson, in the Coast Pilot for 1869, has a different history of the name, and says that in 1851 it was usually called Sikhs River, the Chinook jargon word for friend. On some maps he found the name of a stream in that locality shown as Sequalchin River. The Indian village on Sikhs River was known as Te-chehkutt. Captain Wm. Tichenor, in Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 26, says the Indian name of Sixes River was Sa-qua-mi. Handbook of American Indians, volume I, page 746, under the heading Kwatami, a subdivision of the Tututni, lists a number of alternative forms of the tribe name. One of these forms, Sik-ses-tene, is said to mean "people by the far north country." This is probably the real origin of the name, but the form of spelling, Sixes, was doubtless applied during the southern Oregon gold rush by miners who were familiar with the Chinook jargon word for friend. The spelling Sixes was used as early as October, 1855. See Harper's Magazine, October 1856, page 591.
SIXMILE CANYON, Morrow County. This canvon, opening onto Columbia River, was so called on the assumption that it was about six miles cast of the mouth of Willow Creek.
SIXMILE CREEK, Gilliam County. This stream flows into Rock Creek east of Condon. The headwaters average about six miles from Condon and the stream is said to have been named on that account.
SIXTEEN BUTTE, Lane County. Sixteen Butte was named by W. O. Harriman of the Forest Service, because the butte was largely in section 16, township 23 south, range 15 east.
SKEETERS FLAT, Jackson County. Skeeters Flat is southeast of Butte Falls some cight or ten miles and Skeeters Creek is nearby. These two geographic features were nained for Isaac Skeeters, who was one of the ​
digmirat this poinlar insect. The as the etymo Lake on je first white settlers in the vicinity and operated a rived shingle camp. Skeeters was one of the party that discovered Crater Lake on June 12, 1853. The name Skeeter Flat is wrong, as the etymology has nothing to do with the unpopular insect. The Forest Service maintains a guard station at this point called Mosquito Guard Station which seems to carry dignity a little too far.
SKELL HEAD, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. A point on the east shore of Crater Lake named by Will G. Steel in 1908 for a Klamath Indian deity of the plains, represented by the marten.
SKELLEY, Douglas County, See under KELLEHER.
SKINNER BUTTE, Lane County. This butte is between the main business section of Eugene and Willamette River and has an elevation of 681 feet. It was named for Eugene F. Skinner, who settled at its foot in 1846. For references to Eugene F. Skinner and his family, see under the heading EUGENE. The University of Oregon at one time maintained an observatory near the east end of the top of this butte.
SKIPANON RIVER, Clatsop County. Lewis and Clark called this stream Skipanarwin Creek on their charts, and for a century most maps used that form and Skeppernawin Creek. These spellings did not lend themselves to easy use, and for many years the stream has been locally known as Skipanon, a fact that the USBGN finally took notice of, and included in a decision: Skipanon Creek. Subsequently (April 1, 1925) the decision was changed to Skipanon River, which fits the universal Oregon use. Preston's map of 1856 uses the form Skippenon Cr. There is a station named Skipanon on the railroad south of Warrenton. Skipanon was originally known as Lexington. Lexington was surveyed in 1848 by W. Hall and the plat recorded April 19, 1854. It was part of the Jeremiah G. Fuller donation land claim. The place was also known as Upper Landing. Silas B. Smith is authority for the statement that the Clatsop Indian name Skippernawin referred to a point at the mouth of the stream rather than to the stream itself, OHQ, volume I, page 321. See under WARRENTON. Lexington post office was established November 28, 1850, with David E. Pease first postmaster. It was discontinued February 24, 1853. It was in operation again with other postmasters from April, 1856, to September, 1857. Skipanon post office was in service from August, 1871, to April, 1903.
SKOOKUM LAKE, Clackamas County. This small lake on the north slope of Thunder Mountain drains into Fish Creek, a tributary of Clackamas River. It is named with the Chinook jargon word which originally meant a strong or powerful malign deity, and later came to mean simply strong or stout. When used in connection with localities, the word skookum generally indicated a place inhabited by a skookum, or evil god of the woods. It sometimes meant a place used as a burial ground. There are several geographic features in Oregon described with this name. Indians avoided skookum places and considered them haunted. A Skookum Chuck did not mean a strong, swift stream, but a place to stay away from. The modern meaning of the word skookum is quite different from the earlier connotation. In contradistinction to a skookum, a hehe was a good spirit and a Hehe Chuck was a fine place for games, races and other sports and festivities.
SKOOKUMHOUSE BUTTE, Curry County. Indians near the mouth of Rogue River built a fort or stockade on the south bank of the stream ​
about fifteen miles from the ocean. It was named with the Chinook jargon word skookum for stout or strong, and the name has been applied to various geographic features nearby. White settlers drove the Indians out and took the fort. See Port Orford News, December 14, 1926. Skookumhouse was also a word used by early settlers to describe a jail.
SKULL SPRING, Malheur County. Skull Spring was so called long before the post office was established. The compiler was told many years ago that the name was applied because the bleached skull of a melancholy steer lay near a useful spring. Skullspring post office was established June 13, 1902, with Anna G. Riley first postmaster. The office was finally closed in October, 1927. It was in the high country about 20 miles east-southeast of Riverside, possibly not always in the same location. The name of the post office was in one word.
SKUNK CREEK, Josephine County. It is surprising how many people have the notion that a geographic feature may be made more attractive by changing its name. Every now and again someone wants to change the name of Skunk Creek, which is an agreeable brook flowing through the city of Grants Pass. Up till now champions of the old name seem to have had the best of the argument. If the compiler lived on Skunk Creek he would be glad of the publicity and would print a picture of the little black and white animal on his letterpaper. The skunk is independent, brave and capable. He produces, among other things, a fine fur that is made into coats for beautiful women who don't object to the name skunk. There are several varieties of skunk in Oregon, which are ably described in Vernon Bailey's Mammals and Life Zones of Oregon, beginning on page 308. The skunk is an animal of distinction. SlagLE CREEK, Jackson and Josephine counties. Slagle Creek is a tributary of Applegate River about ten miles southeast of Grants Pass. It was named for Conrad Slagle, a pioneer settler. A letter by Logan Wooldridge, of Murphy, Oregon, printed in Grants Pass Bulletin on June 4, 1937, says that Slagle was born in Tennessee and came across the plains to Oregon in 1852. He first settled in Lane County, but sold out and went to Jackson County in 1858, where he took up a claim on the creek which now bears his name. He died many years ago and was buried in the Sparlin cemetery on Williams Creek.
SLATER, Union County. Slater was a post office with an unusually short life. It was situated in the Grande Ronde Valley, probably near the middle of township 2 south, range 39 east, on the old stage road from Union to Summerville. The post office was established June 9, 1881, with Stowell L. Pavne first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued January 31, 1882, and the business turned over to Summerville. The office was at or near the site of an older office, Sand Ridge. See under that heading. At the time the post office was established James H. Slater of Union County was the United States senator from Oregon and it was doubtless named in his honor.
SLED SPRINGS, Wallowa County. These springs in township 3 north, range 44 east, were named for a broken-down sled that lay nearby for many years. It was abandoned about 1883 by James Alford and George Allen.
SLEEPY CREEK, Wallowa County. This is a tributary of Lightning ​
Creek. It was named by James and Charles Rice, Fred Gaylord and Len Snell, who had a camp there, and since the sun did not fall on the camp until late in the morning they lay abed and snoozed.
SLIDE MOUNTAIN, Clackamas County. Slide Mountain is in the northeast part of the county and was named because of a large landslide on the southwest shoulder.
SLOUGH, Multnomah County. Slough post office was one of the first in what is now Multnomah County, and was put in service just about a year after the Portland office was established. Slough office was established November 25, 1850, with John Switzler postmaster, and was in operation until January 6, 1852. It was near what was then called Oregon Slough on the south bank of the Columbia River. Oregon Slough is now North Portland Harbor. Switzler was an early settler in that area.
SLUICE CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream heads near Hat Point and flows into Snake River. It was named by Alex Warnock because a miner named Corby sluiced for gold there in early days. Sly, Deschutes County. A post office with the name Sly was established on the Crook County list as of January 17, 1900, with G. Sly first postmaster. The order was rescinded May 12, 1900, and the office was never put in operation. George Sly had a place in the extreme south part of what is now Deschutes County, and the Sly office would have been about four miles south of Lapine, on Long Prairie within a few hundred feet of the Klamath County line.
SMITH, Harney County. Smith post office in Harney County was near the stream known as Smyth Creek. Smith was the correct spelling of the post office, which was established March 2, 1895, with Ida C. Smith first postmaster. The creek was named for D. H. Smyth, but the post office was named for another family. The office was closed October 31, 1913, with mail to Diamond. Smith Hill, Benton County. Smith Hill is southeast of Airlie. It was named for Green Berry Smith, a prominent pioneer settler of the county. Smith, who was frequently called Greenberry Smith, was born in Grayson County, Virginia, in 1820 and came to Oregon in 1845 with the Meek party. He settled in Benton County in 1846 on a claim near the butte that now bears his name. See land office certificate 2322. He later moved to a farm south of Corvallis and then to Corvallis. For biography, see History of Benton County, page 526. See also in this book under
GREENBERRY. Smith Lake, Clatsop County. Smith Lake is at the north end of Clatsop Plains, west of the Oregon Coast Highway and a short distance south of Skipanon. It was named for Solomon Howard Smith, one of the early American settlers in Oregon. Solomon H. Smith was employed by Dr. McLoughlin to teach school at Fort Vancouver in 1832, a few weeks after John Ball had quit school-teaching there. He settled near the mouth of Chehalem Creek, and afterwards at Clatsop Plains. Ball was a member of W'veth's first party and returned eastward in 1834. Smith taught school, also, at French Prairie, near the home of Joseph Gervais. Smith was one of the organizers of the provisional government in 1813. He died at Skipanon June 19, 1891. For biographical narrative, see OPA Transactions, 1887, pages 81-89. The name of Smith Lake was-mo-pah. See OHQ, volume I, page 322.
SMITH POINT, Clatsop County. Smith Point is at the western ex ing EN ​ROCA of the tremity of Astoria, and was named for Samuel C. Smith, who took up a donation land claim that included the point. The Indian name for this point was (-wa-pun-pun. See OHQ, volume I, page 321. Vancouver's expedition named it Point George, for George III of England. Wilkes charted this with the name Youngs Point. See the atlas for U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume XXIII, Hydrography.
SMITH Rock, Deschutes County. There are a number of stories about the origin of the name of this peculiar formation on the north bank of Crooked River. J. N. Williamson of Prineville wrote in 1926 that about 1863 a company of soldiers was camped nearby, during Indian troubles, and one Smith climbed upon the rock to get a view. A boulder that he stood on rolled from under his feet, and he fell and was killed. There are other versions, but this seems the most probable.
SMITH RIVER, Douglas County. Smith River is a large tributary of Umpqua River, into which it flows at a point opposite Reedsport. It was named for Jedediah Strong Smith, a western fur trader and explorer, who was born in the Mohawk Valley, New York, June 24, 1798, and was killed by Comanche Indians in the summer of 1831 while on the way from St. Louis to Santa Fe. When he was thirteen years old Smith obtained a position on a freight boat on the Great Lakes, and when he was about 18 he was in St. Louis, attracted by the fur trade. In 1826 Smith started from St. Louis with William Henry Ashley on the first stage of what was to be the first journey of a white man from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean over the midland route. He traveled to southern California by way of Great Salt Lake, then returned to Utah and in 1828 started for northern California and southern Oregon. His party made its way up the Pacific Coast, and reached the Umpqua River, which was crossed very close to the mouth early on July 12, 1828. The party then made its way up the west and the north side of the river until the evening of July 13, where camp was pitched on the north bank just west of the mouth of what is now Smith River. Gordon's Land office survey of 1857 gives the location as about a quarter of a mile west of the east line of section 26, township 21 south, range 12 west, or about the same distance southwest of what is now Gardiner station on the Southern Pacific railroad. On the morning of Monday, July 14, Indians attacked the party, while Smith and two companions were away from camp. Arthur Black was the only man who escaped from the camp. He made his way north to Tillamook, thence to Fort Vancouver. Smith and his two companions escaped toward Willamette Vallev. Fifteen men were killed. These figures are from the account by R. C. Clark, OHQ, volume XXXVIII, page 115. Through the aid of Dr. John McLoughlin, Smith's furs were recovered and the dead were buried. Smith eventually returned to St. Louis and continued in the fur trade until his death. He was a devout Christian, and a reliable geographer, and entitled to great credit for his explorations. For details of his life see The Ashley-Smith Explorations by Harrison C. Dale; The Travels, of Jedediah Smith by Maurice S. Sullivan and Jedediah Smith, Trader and Trail Breaker, also by Sullivan. The main tributary of Smith River is North Fork Smith River, not West Fork. A tributary of North Fork is known as West Branch. There is another Pacific Coast stream named Smith River, for Jedediah Smith. It is in northern California. The north fork of this stream rises in southern Ore ​gon, so that there are two North Forks Smith River in this state, but not two Smith rivers, named for Jedediah Smith.
SMITHFIELD, Lane County. Daniel Smith came to Oregon in 1852 and shortly thereafter settled in Lane County on the Territorial road southwest of what is now Junction City. In 1857 R. V. Howard built a store in the vicinity and began to call the place Smithfield. In the meantime Franklin post office had been established in the same general locality. This has resulted in a controversy about the names Franklin and Smithfield that has at times been acute. For a history of the business see under FRANKLIN-SMITHFIELD.
SMITHFIELD, Polk County. Smithfield, formerly a railroad station about five miles northeast of Dallas, bears the name of Absalom Smith, a pioneer settler. Smithfield post office was established July 28, 1893, with Ira Kimball postmaster, but the railroad station was in service before that date. The compiler cannot tell when the post office was closed, but it was before March, 1900. The railroad through this place was originally the narrow gage line of the Oregonian Railway Company, later standardized by the Southern Pacific Company. The track has been removed.
SMOKY CREEK, Grant County. J. E. Snow of Dayville told the writer that this stream probably received its name because of mist and fog that collects against the mountain where it heads.
SMUGGLER Cove, Tillamook County. This snug little harbor is between Cape Falcon and Neahkahnie Mountain and its shore has been called Short Sand Beach for many years. It is not a landing place, but fish boats sometimes anchor there in rough weather. The name Smuggler Cove is purely romantic as there is nothing to indicate that smugglers ever used the place. See also under TREASURE COVE. Smyth CREEK, Harney County, Smyth Creek was named for D. H. Smyth, a pioneer settler near Malheur Lake. Darius Hynson Smyth was born in Lincoln County, Missouri, October 29, 1844, and came to Oregon in 1853. He spent nearly twenty years in Lane County, but also roamed in Nevada and California. He settled in Harney County in 1872 and established himself in Happy Valley in the winter of 1873-74. His father and brother were killed in Happy Valley in June, 1878, by Indians. For reminiscences of D. H. Smyth, see OHQ, volume XXXIII, page 125. He died at his home in Happy Valley, May 13, 1942.
SNAKE River forms in part the eastern boundary of Oregon, and constitutes the eastern boundary of Wallowa and Baker counties and in part of Malheur County. Snake River was named from the Snake Indians (Shoshones). The Lewis and Clark journals called the Indians Choshonnes and Sosonees. The name Snake came out of the fur trade period, Alexander Ross, in Fur Hunters of the Far West, volume I, page 275, comments on the facility of these Indians in concealing themselves, and adds: "They are very appropriately named Snakes." De Smet said the Indians were called Snakes because of their poverty, and necessity of digging in the ground for food. See Chittenden and Richardson's Life, Letters and Travels of Father De Smet, page 217; also OHQ, volume XX, page 3, "The Snake River in History," by Miles Cannon. The habitat of these Indians was extremely barren, and their eating habits were repulsive to the early writers. Snake River has had various names: Lewis, for the explorer; Shoshone, Nez Perce, Sahaptin, KimeoThe The namlunters ​
nim. Captain William Clark named the river Louis, or Lewis, when a few miles below the confluence of the Salmon and Lemhi rivers. See Thwaites' Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, volume
III, page 10. For editorial by Harvey W. Scott on the name of Snake River, see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, page 209. For notes by Leslie M. Scott and comments by T. C. Elliott of Walla Walla about the application of the name Lewis River and other references, ibid., page 324., et seq.
SNELL CREEK, Wallowa County. Snell Creek was named for George Snell, a nearby rancher. This stream is in township I south, range 48 east.
SNIDER CREEK, Jackson County. For some years there has been a difference in the names applied to the stream that flows southward between Upper and Lower Table rocks, and it has been shown on maps as Snider Creek, Table Creek and Table Rock Creek. In 1937 the
USGS adopted the name Snider Creek for this stream, apparently for an early settler. This was the recommendation of Paul B. Rynning, county engineer. The name Rock Creek is now given to the stream north of Lower Table Rock which flows into Sams Creek to the west. The geography of the area is shown on the map of the Medford quadrangle.
SNOW, Klamath County. The post office called Snow was in the extreme southwest corner of Klamath County. It was established June 22, 1894, with Adelbert B. Smith first of four postmasters. The office ran along with its original name until November 22, 1898, when it was changed to Pokegama. This change doubtless came about because the Pokegama Lumber Company projected a railroad north into Oregon from Thrall, a station on the Southern Pacific near Klamath River, Cal. ifornia. For a time this railroad was an important factor in the development of Klamath County. Snow post office was probably named for Snow Peak, a point about twelve miles to the northeast. In recent years Snow Peak has been called Chase Mountain, but the compiler does not know when the change was made. Emphasis must be called again to the fact that when the names of post offices were changed the offices themselves were frequently moved, sometimes a considerable distance. The compiler does not know if the Snow post office was in the same building as the Pokegama office or not. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Pokegama office had more than one location before it was closed in 1911.
SOAP CREEK, Benton and Polk counties. This streain rises in the eastern foothills of the Coast Range and Rows into Luckiamute River about two miles from the junction of that stream with the Willamette. Soap Creek is so called because of its white, soapy appearance. Soap Creek post office was established in Benton County November 4, 1854, with David D. Davis postmaster. The compiler does not know its location, but it was doubtless near the stream. The name of this office was changed to Tampico December 3, 1854, and it was closed November 3, 1860. The compiler has not learned the significance of the name Tampico as applied to this office. Soap CREEK, Deschutes County. This stream flows east from North Sister. Hodge, in Mount Multnomah, says it was named because of the white, glacial silt carried by the water.
SOAP FLAT, Wallowa County. This flat is in section 18, township 5 north, range 45 east, and was named because of the soapweed that grows ​
there. William Ralls took up the first homestead there about 1890.
SODA CREEK, Deschutes County. This stream is tributary, from the north, to Sparks Lake. It was named for a well-known soda spring about three miles from its mouth.
SODA SPRINGS, Jackson County. There are several places in Jackson County with the name Soda Springs, but only one had a post office of the same name. Soda Springs office was on Emigrant Creek ten or twelve miles southeast of Ashland, in the extreme north part of township 40 south, range 2 east. The locality is often called Wagner Springs because of the ownership. Soda Springs post office was established in September, 1886, with John Marshall Wagner postmaster. The office continued under Wagner's direction until May, 1911, when it was closed to Ashland. The Wagner family was among the early settlers of the valley.
SODA SPRINGS, Linn County. The valley of South Santiam River has been well endowed with mineral springs and it is not surprising that the localities of these springs have had communities and some post offices, such as Soda Springs, Soda Stone, Sodaville, Lower Soda, Upper Soda, and others. Soda Springs is shown on old maps in the east part of township 13 south, range 1 east, northeast of the present community of Foster. This was the first of the springs to have an office. Soda Springs post office was established September 24, 1869, with Daniel D. Gibson first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued December 7, 1873. SoDaVILLE, Linn County. Sodaville was named for a cold mineral spring situated nearby.
SOLDIER CAMP MOUNTAIN, Curry County. This is a well-known point on the north side of Rogue River about ten miles airline east of the Pacific Ocean. It was named during the local Indian disturbances of the '50s. The north end of the ridge is known as Sawtooth Rock Mountain, which is a little higher than Soldier Camp Mountain, a mile to the south. Troops under the command of Captain C. C. Augur, U.S.A., camped at the point on March 17, 1856, and an account of the event is given in Glisan's Journal of Army Life, page 295, et seq. On March 20 the detachment returned to the place and Glisan mentions it specifically as "Soldiers' Camp." The name appears in other contemporaneous records. The compiler thinks that the name was in use before Glisan's visit, although the matter may be debatable.
SOLDIER CREEK, Harney County. This stream is just west of Harney. It was named because soldiers camped there in the Indian wars in the '60s.
SOMERANGE, Harney County. When the petition was sent in for the establishment of this post office local residents suggested the name Steens because of Steens Mountain nearby. The name was not acceptable to the postal authorities so another name, Somerange, was suggested. This name had its origin in the words "summer range," the stockmen's term for summer feeding grounds. Somerange post office was established December 19, 1923, with Robert W. Bradeen first postmaster. Bradeen was a member of the firm of Bradeen Brothers, merchants in the Catlow Valley, who kept a supply camp in Steens Mountain during summer months for the accommodation of their customers. About 1926 the Bradeens abandoned this project, and Somerange post office was moved off the mountain to a point a little west of the P Ranch. On the death of Robert Bradeen, Jesse L. Bradeen became postmaster June 30, 1930, and on October 1, 1930, the name of the office was changed to Frenchglen, ​
with Jesse Bradeen continuing as postmaster. See under FRENCHGLEN.
SOMERS CREEK, Wallowa County. This is a tributary of Snake River in the east part of the county. It was named for Frank P. Somers, who ran stock near this creek for many years.
SONNY, Hood River County. This station, west of Hood River, bears an unusual name. It was formerly called Mitchell, but owing to confusion with another place in the state of the same name, it was decided by railroad officials to make a change. The owners of the Little Boy ranch, just west of Mitchell Point, tried to have the station named Little Boy, but this was not acceptable to the railroad because it was awkward in telegraphy. The name Sonny was finally selected as the next best thing. SoosAP PEAK, Clackamas County. This peak, elevation 4693 feet, lies east of North Fork Molalla River. Dee Wright, for many years a packer in the Cascade Range, told the compiler that it was named for Soosap, a well-known Indian of Oregon City, who occasionally hunted in the neighborhood of the mountain. This Indian was also known as Joe Suisap and Joseph Andrews, and was part Klickitat and part Molalla, according to Wright. Soosap died January 18, 1916, and his obituary is printed in the Oregon City Enterprise, January 21, 1916. He was 61 vears old at the time of his death. Soosap Peak was at one time known as Arquette Point, for a settler who lived nearby, but the name has not persisted.
SOUTHBEACH, Lincoln County. This is a descriptive name for a community near the south side of Yaquina Bay. It has been so known for more than a half century, although the post office was not established until May 18, 1916. Harborton is the name of the place on the official plat, but that name is not in general use. Margaret F. Conrad was the first postmaster.
SOUTH CANYONVILLE, Douglas County. Under the heading CANYON VILLE mention is made of a place called South Canyonville. South Canyonville was the name used for a locality, but not for a community, about ten miles south of Canyonville, in the Cow Creek Valley where the road from Canyonville first reaches that valley. It was at the Hardy Elliff place, later called Johns. It was at this locality that pioneer settlers "forted up" at Camp Elliff at the time of the Indian wars of the '50s. South Canyonville was not a post office, but the use of the words as a locality name made it necessary to use the name North Canyonville for the post office at Canyonville, ten miles to the north. The post office name North Canyonville was changed to Canyonville in 1892, as by that time South Canyonville was no longer used as a place name, South DICKEY PEAK, Clackamas County. This peak, elevation about 5300 feet, lies in the Clackamas drainage basin in the extreme south part of the county. North Dickey Peak and Dickey Creek are nearby. These geographic features were named for J. K. Dickey, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Oregon from Missouri in 1845 and settled in a small valley near the present site of Molalla, in the spring of 1846. He hunted a great deal near Collawash River, and it is thought that government surveyors named the features for him because of this fact. This information was furnished the compiler of these notes in October, 1927, by J. O. Dickev, a son of J. K. Dickey.
SOUTH INLET, Coos County, South Inlet post office was established April 18, 1912, with Lillian Saunders first and only postmaster. The ​
office was closed December 15, 1914. It was situated near the head of South Slough, about twelve miles by road south of Empire. The name was supposed to be descriptive.
SOUTH JUNCTION, Wasco County. When the two railroads were built up Deschutes Canyon, an arrangement was made for the use of joint track for a distance of about twelve miles in the south part of Wasco County. The station at the north end of this joint track was named North Junction and the station at the south end was named South Junction. Subsequently one of the duplicate tracks between South Junction and Metolius was abandoned, so that South Junction is no longer a junction point, although the original name has been retained.
SOUTH SANTIAM RIVER, Linn County. This is the correct name of the southern large tributary of Santiam River. The name South Fork is wrong.
SOUTH SCAPPOOSE CREEK, Columbia County. This seems to be the form of name in general use, not South Fork.
SOUTH UMPQUA RIVER, Douglas County. This is the correct name of the southern branch of Umpqua River, near South Fork. South YAMHILL, Polk County. This was a pioneer post office situated near the present site of Broadmead. It was named for South Yamhill River, nearby. This office was established July 6, 1852, with Marshall B. Burke first postmaster. The name was changed to Lawn Arbor on April 12, 1855, and the office was discontinued February 22, 1865.
SOUTH YAMHILL RIVER, Polk and Yamhill counties. This is the correct name of the southern branch of Yamhill River. It was so named in pioneer days.
SOUVIES ISLAND, Multnomah County. This was the name of a pioneer post office near the mouth of Willamette River. The office was established under the name Mouth of Willamette on June 30, 1851, with Ellis Walker first postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Souvies Island on March 5, 1852. The office was discontinued August 1, 1860. The island is now officially known as Sauvie Island. For information about the island see under that heading. See also under Post
OFFICE BAR.
SPANISH GULCH, Jackson County. This gulch is on the extreme west edge of the county and drains into Wooldridge Creek, a tributary of Slagle Creek. In a letter published in Grants Pass Bulletin on June 4, 1937, Logan Wooldridge says that the gulch was named for a company of Spaniards who mined there during the Rogue River Indian War. The Spaniards deserted their camp in 1855 and never returned.
SPANISH HOLLOW, Sherman County. This is the hollow that opens upon the Columbia River at Biggs. It is said to have received its name because a Spanish ox died in the canyon during the days of the immigrations. The name Spanish Gulch for this hollow is incorrect.
SPARKS LAKE, Deschutes County. This is a long, kidney-shaped lake just east of the summit of the Cascade Range. Its weedy banks originally provided a rendezvous for many varieties of water fowl, some of which have unfortunately been driven away by automobile travel. The lake was named for "Lige" Sparks, a pioneer stockman of central Oregon.
SPARTA, Baker County. Sparta was named for Sparta, Illinois, by William H. Packwood, a prominent Oregon pioneer. Packwood and others visited the diggings near lower Powder River in 1871 and the ​
name of Sparta was selected at that time. Sparta post office was established on October 29, 1872, with William W. Ross postmaster. This office was first established with the name Gem on August 7, 1871, with William Lynn White postmaster, and the Sparta office was provided by changing the name. The office may have been moved, possibly some little distance, when the name was changed. Facts about these changes in early post offices are not always clear from the records. Gem was the name of a mine. The compiler has a copy of a statement made by Packwood on June 26, 1916, the substance of which is that Packwood, I. B. Bowen, Ed. Cranston and C. M. Foster left Baker on January 8, 1871, to visit the locality where Packwood was preparing to build what is now the Sparta Ditch. They laid out a townsite and decided to name the place by spinning a four-sided wooden top with a proposed name on each face. Packwood wrote Sparta for his home in Illinois, and that side of the top turned up. H. S. Daly, in a letter on the editorial page of the Oregonian, October 7, 1927, says that Packwood did not name Sparta, but Dunham Wright, of Medical Springs, takes issue with him in a letter in the Baker Morning Democrat, October 19, 1927. Wright says he got his information first hand from Packwood. Irving Rand, of Portland, a grandson of Packwood, confirms the Packwood story. In view of all this the compiler thinks that Packwood was responsible for the name. Both Daly and Wright say that the locality was first called Koster, for Tom Koster, who discovered gold nearby. Daly also says the place was called Eagle City before it was named Sparta.
SPEAKER, Josephine County. Josephine Speaker was the only postmaster this office ever had and it was named in her honor. The office was on Wolf Creek about six miles east of and upstream from Wolf Creek community. It was in the northeast part of the county and depended on farming, lumbering and mining. The office was established September 20, 1905, and was discontinued March 31, 1925.
SPEECE, Gilliam County. Speece is a railroad station north of Condon. It was named for William Speece, a local resident.
SPEELYAIS COLUMNS, Multnomah County. These rock columns are on the south bank of the Columbia River near Shepperds Dell. They are the cores of old basalt volcanic vents, the softer coverings of which have been eroded away. They are named with the Indian word Speelyai, the name of the coyote god of the mid-Columbia region. See Lyman's Columbia River, page 8, et seq. The word is pronounced Speel-e-e, with the vowels long, and the accent on the first syllable.
SPENCER BUTTE, Lane County. Spencer Butte, elevation 2065 feet, is just south of Eugene and is a well-known landmark in the south part of the Willamette Valley. Spencer Butte was named in July, 1845, by Dr. Elijah White, while making an exploration along the foothills of the Cascade Range for the purpose of locating an emigrant road to the eastern states. Dr. White and a companion, Batteus Du Guerre, climbed the mountain, and the following passage quoted from his book, Ten Years in Oregon, (compiled by Miss A. J. Allen and published in 1848), describes their experiences on the summit: "They now took a delightful survey of the general features of the landscape before them. On one hand was the vast chain of the Cascade mountains, Mt. Hood looming in solitary grandeur far above its fellows; on the other hand was the Umpqua Mountains, and a little farther on, the ​
2012 2. Ec para 00 nhan I the nfor duit Dai ster age coast ridge. Between these lay the whole magnificent panorama of the Willamette valley, with its ribbon streams, and carpet-like verdure. The day was fine, and such was the clearness of the atmosphere that the scene was very distinct, grand and imposing. In enthusiastic admiration of the noble site, the doctor named the elevation Mt. Spencer, in compli. ment to John C. Spencer, the then secretary of war ..." For additional information about the discovery of Spencer Butte and Baptiste (Batteus) Du Guerre, see article by Fred Lockley on editorial page Oregon Journal June 7, 1927. This article indicates that DuGuerre's nephew used the spelling DeGuire. Walling, in History of Lane County, page 327, has quite a different story about the naming of Spencer Butte, based on tradition, to the effect that the butte was named for a young Englishman, Spencer, who had wandered away from a Hudson's Bay Company party and was killed on the mountain by Indians. The compiler inclines to Miss Allen's version, which was written nearly 40 years before Walling's and was not based on a legend. Spencer's Butte post office was established July 14, 1853, with Milton S. Riggs postmaster and was discontinued April 2, 1855. It was near the west base of the butte.
SPENCER CREEK, Klamath County. Captain 0. C. Applegate in 1926 informed the compiler that Spencer Creek was named for an early settler who lived on a ranch on the creek.
SPENCER CREEK, Lincoln County. Spencer Creek flows into Pacific Ocean at Ocean Park about a mile south of Otter Rock. The creek was named for Doke Spencer, an Indian who lived near its mouth. Spencer and his family were allotted land in this locality.
SPICER, Linn County. Spicer, about five miles northwest of Lebanon, was first called Leng, apparently for a local landowner. The Oregonian Railway narrow gage line was built south through the area in 1880, but the compiler does not know if the station Leng was established at that time or not. In any event, Leng appears as the station name in Polk's Directory of 1886-87, but Spicer post office was established August 17, 1886, with Adam A. Bashor first of a long series of postmasters. The post office was named for a local resident, W. E. Spicer, and the railroad adopted the post office name for its station. The post office was closed November 30, 1904, as the result of the extension of rural delivery. The railroad through this part of the county was abandoned in 1910.
SPIKENARD, Jackson County. The reason for the application of the name Spikenard to a Jackson County post office is another puzzle in Oregon geographic nomenclature. On November 21, 1879, a post office called Thomas Mill was established in the north part of the county with Thurston T. Thomas postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Spikenard on March 22, 1883, with Joseph Satterfield postmaster, and the office was finally closed in October, 1903. Old maps show Spikenard on the upper reaches of Evans Creek in township 34 south, range 2 west, but the exact location is a little indefinite. Dictionaries give several definitions of the word spikenard, including an ancient aromatic ointment, an essential oil or one of a number of plants allied to the valerian. The compiler does not know which of these was in mind when the post office was named, although the place was probably christened for a plant.
SPIRIT MOUNTAIN, Yamhill County. This mountain, about a mile north of Grand Ronde, was so named because the Indians thought Shed ​
LRS
spirits or skookums lived on it. It was at one time called Cosper Butte for a family of early settlers. Dr. Rodney Glisan and other officers stationed at Fort Yamhill climbed this mountain on October 30, 1856, but Glisan does not mention it by name in Journal of Army Life, pages 374-75.
SPLINTERCAT CREEK, Clackamas County. This stream is a tributary from the south to Roaring River in range 7 east. It received the fantastic name of the legendary flying cat of the woods which was supposed to splinter branches from trees and tear out dead stumps. See editorial page of the Oregonian, April 17 and 24, 1944.
SPORES FERRY, Lane County. Jacob C. Spores, a native of Montgomery County, New York, came to Oregon in 1847 and was one of the earliest settlers in Lane County. He operated a pioneer ferry on McKenzie River south of what is now Coburg a few hundred feet upstream from the Southern Pacific Company railroad bridge. This enterprise was of course named Spores Ferry in compliment to the owner. For information about Spores, see Illustrated History of Lane County, page 481 and also under MOHAWK RIVER.
SPRAGUE RIVER, Klamath County. There have been two different post offices in Oregon with the name Sprague River, established at different times and places. They were both named for the stream. The first Sprague River office was established November 12, 1873, with John W. Gearhart postmaster. The office was at first on the Jackson County list, but since it was east of the Cascade Range, it was not in what is now Jackson County. Later the office was moved to the Lake County list. John A. Smith became postmaster on March 24, 1876, and the office operated with other postmasters and with some intermissions until January 31, 1883, when the name was changed to Bly. The record does not show if the office was moved when the name was changed. The Gearharts were stock raisers on the upper reaches of Sprague River, but probably not as far east as what is now Lake County. The compiler is of the opinion that this office was in what is now Klamath County and never far from Bly. The second Sprague River office was established September 14, 1923, with Benjamin E. Wolford first postmaster, to serve a well-known lumber community. The office is much further west of and downstream from the old office and is about fifteen miles westward of Beatty.
SPRAGUE RIVER, Lake and Klamath counties. Sprague River was named for Captain F. B. Sprague, who was a participant in various phases of the Snake and Piute Indian wars, and who was in command at Fort Klamath in 1866. His name was applied to the stream at least as early as 1864. The Klamath Indian name for Sprague River was Plai, or Plaikni Koke. Koke was the general word for river, and plai indicated that the stream came from the upper or higher country. Seen under BLY.
SPRAY, Wheeler County. Spray was named for its founder, John Fremont Spray, and his wife, Mary E. Spray. Spray was born in Iowa in 1859, and came to the Willamette Valley in 1864. After living in various localities in Oregon, he came to the site of Spray in 1900. The town plat was filed for record May 19, 1900, by Mrs. Spray. Spray post office was established May 31, 1900, with John F. Spray first postmaster. For information of the Spray family, see editorial page of the Oregon Journal, December 13, 1934. John F. Spray died at Fossil January 11, 1930. See the Oregonian, January 18, 1930, for obitu ​ary.
SPRING Hill, Benton County. Spring Hill is a prominent landmark west of the old wagon road between Albany and Independence. It has several tops, the highest 519 feet in elevation. A fine spring fed a water trough by the roadside, and for many years travelers pulled up their tired horses for a drink.
SPRING VALLEY, Polk County. Spring Valley is in the northeast corner of the county, between the Eola Hills and Willamette River, and has been so called since pioneer days. The name is descriptive. Spring Valley post office was established March 5, 1852, with Sanford Watson postmaster. Solomon Allen became postmaster November 30, 1854. When. Watson was postmaster, the office was at his home on the extreme west edge of the valley in the north part of section 26, township 6 south, range 4 west. When Allen became postmaster, he moved the office to his home near the middle of section 33, township 5 south, range 4 west, about two miles southeast of Amity and a considerable distance from Spring Valley. The office was closed on September 1, 1855. See under
VALFONTIS.
SPRING VALLEY, Wheeler County. A post office with the descriptive name Spring Valley was established on the Wasco County list February 28, 1876, with Henry H. Wheeler first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued April 14, 1880. Old maps show the place in the extreme northeast corner of what is now Wheeler County, on the south bank of John Day River between Spray and Kimberly. H. H. Wheeler, for whom Wheeler County was named, was a prominent pioneer character of the John Day country. His biography appears in History of Central Oregon, page 688. In 1864 he started the stagecoach service between The Dalles and the newly discovered mining area near Canyon City. In the early '70s he located in the John Day Valley where he was associated with French Brothers in the stock business at the place called Spring Valley. About 1880 he bought property at a point six miles northwest of Mitchell, where he lived until he sold out in 1904 and retired to Mitchell, where he died in 1915.
SPRINGBROOK, Yamhill County. Springbrook was for several years called Hoskins, for Cyrus E. Hoskins, a pioneer settler. When the post office was established June 30, 1893, it was impossible to use the name Hoskins because of confusion with a place of the same name in Benton County. Hoskins' farm was known as Springbrook and the name of the community was therefore changed to Springbrook. Hoskins was one of the pioneer horticulturists of the state.
SPRINGFIELD, Lane County. Springfield appears to have been named from a natural spring, which sent up its water in a prairie or open field. In the early '50s the spring and the land near it were fenced off, and the place came to be known by its present name. Elias Briggs was the first settler there in 1849. During many years he ran a ferry on the Willamette River. The town is described in the Oregonian, April 23, 1903; also ibid., September 4, 1867, by Preston W. Gillette. Springfield post office was established May 15, 1868, with Albert G. Hovey first postmaster.
SPRINGVILLE, Multnomah County. The following note by Leslie M. Scott in Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, page 328, is a good summary of the history of Springville: "Springville was south of Linnton, one mile, and north of Portland, six miles, at the place known (1922) as Claremont. At that place C. B. Comstock and Lafayet ​te Scog gin established a warehouse, which served as a shipping point for farmers of Tualatin Valley, and which, about 1860, was regarded with jealousy by Portland and Saint Helens. It was the nearest shipping point to North Plains of Washington County, and Comstock and the farmers opened a road across the hills to Springville. The Springville road, from Tualatin, was a favorite route to the Willamette River before the Canyon Road to Portland was improved. When the west side railroad was opened, the Springville road fell into disuse, and, in 1872, the buildings there burned." Springville was named for a well-known spring on the slope of the hills to the west. The place was near the old Saint Johns ferry landing and just north of the modern Saint Johns bridge. Springville post office was established February 27, 1860, with C. B. Comstock first postmaster. The office was discontinued April 18, 1873.
SPRINGWATER, Clackamas County. The locality known as Springwater, about three miles south of Estacada, has borne the descriptive name since early days. Springwater was one of the first places on the upper Clackamas River to have a post office, which was established June 24, 1874, with George A. Crawford first postmaster. The office called Zion, later Currinsville, was established the same day. Springwater office was discontinued May 31, 1914.
SPRUCE, Tillamook County. Spruce post office, named for the Sitka spruce trees in the vicinity, was established at a point about twelve miles south of Tillamook in November, 1894, with Henry Peters first postmaster. The office was not far from the place later called Hemlock. Spruce office was moved around to suit the postmasters and was finally moved a few miles to the north to Pleasant Valley. It was discontinued in May, 1907. In the meantime the locality now called Hemlock was left without an office, so Hemlock office was established in April, 1906, with James W. Beaty first postmaster. Hemlock post office was closed in November, 1921.
SQUAW Back Ridge, Jefferson County. This name is supposed to be descriptive, but the compiler has been unable to see the similarity between the ridge and what the name describes. Squaw CREEK, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Fremont camped on this stream on December 2, 1843, but gave it no name. Lieutenant R. S. Williamson camped on Squaw Creek on September 1, 1855, and wrote that the Indian name was Why-chus. See Pacific Railroad Surveys Reports, volume VI, page 78. The compiler has been unable to learn who gave Squaw Creek its modern name.
SQUAW GULCH, Wallowa County. This gulch drains into Sheep Creek in township 1 north, range 48 east. It was named in the early '80s by Elisha Chase for an old Cayuse mare called Squaw, generally found ranging in the gulch.
SQUAW ISLAND, Coos County. One of the islands at the mouth of Sunset Bay southwest of the mouth of Coos Bay is called Squaw Island. There is a fairly well authenticated account of an Indian battle near Sunset Bay. The Indian women were put on the island so that when the tide came up they could not be captured. This encounter was between a roving band of Chetco Indians in war canoes and some Indians living near what is now Sunset Bay.
STAATS CREEK, Benton and Polk counties. This creek and Staats ​
r farm Hollow nearby were named for Isaac Staats, who was born in Albany th jeal. County, New York, in 1814, and settled on his donation land claim oint tol near the creek in September, 1849. He married Orlena M. Williams May 10, 1846. See land certificate 4710.
STACEY, Douglas County. Stacey post office was established Janue Can. ary 19, 1901, with T. B. Fagan first postmaster. This office, which id was was named for a local family, was situated on Elk Creek a few miles ildings northeast of Yoncalla. The office was closed October 31, 1906. on the STAFFORD, Clackamas County. This place was named by George A. is ferry Steel, a prominent pioneer of Portland, for his native town, Stafford, le post Ohio. : post STAHLBUSCH ISLAND, Benton County. This island is the upper part of a land area in Willamette River above Corvallis. The lower part is pring Fischer Island, and the two are separated by water at high river stages. iptive About 210 acres of the land were deeded to John and Herman Stahln the busch in December, 1888, and Robert Johnson of Corvallis informed June the compiler that this is the correct spelling, not Stallbush. called STALEY RIDGE, Douglas County. This ridge is in the Calapooya office Mountains. Just to the east is Stalev Creek, a tributary to Middle Fork Willamette River. Staley Creek flows into the Middle Fork in Lane Sitka County. These features were named for W. F. Staley of the U. S. Forest Service. Staley Creek was known in early days as South Fork Middle first Fork. lock.
STANFIELD, Umatilla County, Stanfield was first known as Foster nally and was named for John R. Foster, a well-known Umatilla County resident. Foster post office was established May 14, 1883, with Frank was B. Clopton first postmaster. The name of the place was later changed 906, to Stanheld, for Robert N. Stanfield, subsequently U. S. senator from Oregon. Senator Stanfield owned land nearby, hence the application of his name to the community. Stanfield post office was established in 1907. o be
STANLEY, Clackamas County. The locality called Stanley is in the extreme north edge of Clackamas County about two miles northeast of Milwaukie. When the interurban line was built along Johnson Creek the company asked John H. Gibson, a local resident, to name the place. This he did in compliment to his son, George Stanley Gibson. Stanley post tant office was established November 16, 1904, and was discontinued April 29, and 1905. Mary A. Morris was the only postmaster. The office was about a bur third of a mile west of Wichita. 10
STANLEY LAKE, Clatsop County. Stanley Lake is a short distance northeast of Seaside. It was named for S. K. Stanley, an early settler on Clatsop Plains.
STANLEY Rock, Hood River County. This is a prominent rocky bluff on the south bank of the Columbia River just east of the mouth of Hood River. It is surmounted by a steel transmission tower of the Pacific Power & Light Company. The top of the rock is about 140 feet above the river level. It was named for John Stanley, who operated a farm at this point, and also a ferry to the Washington side.
STAPLETON, Polk County. This station, near Independence, was named for John Stapleton, who came west from Canada in 1863, and after spending a few years in Idaho, settled in the Willamette Valley, near the place that now bears his name. His sons, George Stapleton and Tued d in beped ​
James P. Stapleton, were prominent members of the Oregon bar for many years. Star CREEK, Lane County. Star Creek is tributary to South Fork McKenzie River from the west at a point just about due south from McKenzie Bridge. It flows into South Fork about a half mile north or downstream from the mouth of Augusta Creek. It bears the family name of a former forest assistant who was stationed at McKenzie Bridge, one Starr, but for a long time the stream has been known as Star Creek and that style seems to be in general use. The compiler has been informed by competent authorities that young Starr began to pay his respects to (was a settin' of) Miss Augusta Young, daughter of Carl Young, an early day forest ranger in the neighborhood, and by the time their engagement was announced, their names had been joined in a sort of nomenclative couple. The two streams were named Star Creek and Augusta Creek and thus sylvan romance has become preserved to posterity.
STARKEY, Union County. Starkey was named for a pioneer homesteader, Fred Starkey. The post office was first established in 1879. Starr CREEK, Benton County. Starr Creek is southwest of Corvallis. It bears the name of a pioneer family. See under MONROE.
STARVATION FALLS, Hood River County. These falls were so named because it was at this place west of Dog (Hood) River that a party of pioneer travelers suffered because of some defection in their commissary.
STARVOUT, Douglas County. The locality called Starvout is on a stream of the same name which flows into Cow Creek a few miles east of Galesville. The place has been called Starvout since early days. Early in 1946 Miss Bess A. Clough of Canyonville was able to get the history of this name from her uncle, George Elliff, then mining gold in northern California. The Elliff family were well-known Douglas County pioneers. Some time in the '50s Hardy Elliff grubstaked one George Walton and sent him up on the creek to prospect. Gold was scarce and when Walton came out in the spring, neighbors said he had starved out, hence the name of the stream. Some good diggings were found later on, farther up the creek. Starvout post office was established on the banks of this stream on February 18, 1888, with H. L. Miser postmaster. For the subsequent history of this office, see under the heading AZALEA.
STAL'FFER, Lake County. Stauffer is in Lost Creek Valley, and local residents wanted the post office called Lost Creek, but the postal authorities objected to the name because of duplication, and instead selected the name Stauffer, for C. J. Stauffer, the first postmaster. The post office was established September 13, 1913.
STAVEBOLT LANDING, Clatsop County. This landing was named because it was the place where bolts or logs were dumped into Lewis and Clark River and towed away to the mills. Stavebolt Landing is about eight miles airline south of Astoria. Stavebolt Creek flows into Lewis and Clark River about a half mile above the landing. These names have been in use for many years.
STAYTON, Marion County. Stayton was named for Drury S. Stayton, who founded the community. The following news item printed in the Oregonian for November 18, 1875, tells of early days in Stayton: "The new town of Stayton in Marion County has grown rapidly during the past season. A new flourmill and a sawmill have been built. ​
It now contains 20 families." Stayton was platted in 1872, and the post office established on May 7 of that year. Samuel D. McCauley was first postmaster.
STEAMBOAT, Jackson County. Many old mining camps have this name applied to one or more geographic features, and it does not mean that a steamboat has ever been in the neighborhood. When mines have been worked out, or where prospects do not come up to expectations, either naturally or through fraud, they are said by miners to have been "steamboated." In addition to a place and a mountain in the southwest part of Jackson County bearing this name, there is also a creek named Steamboat which rises in the Calapoova Mountains in Lane County and flows through Douglas County into North Umpqua River. It is said to have received its name in this manner.
STEAMBOAT CREEK, Wallowa County. Steamboat Creek flows into Snake River in township 4 south, range 49 east. In the early '90s the steamboat Norma, on her way down the river from Weiser, hung up on a rock near the mouth of this stream, which was named for the event.
STEAMBOAT LAKE, Wallowa County. So called because of a rock in the lake resembling a steamboat. The lake is about 18 miles airline south of Lostine.
STEARNS BUITE, Crook County. This butte, four miles south of Prineville, is at the S. S. Stearns ranch, and got its name on that account. A prominent tree on the summit was for many years a surveyorsbearing mark.
STEEL BAY, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. This bay is at the north shore of Crater Lake, and was named in honor of Will G. Steel, for a half a century a prominent explorer, mountaineer and nature lover of Oregon. William Gladstone Steel was born in Stafford, Ohio, September 7, 1854, the son of William and Elizabeth Steel. His father's mother, Jean Gladstone, was a sister of Thomas Gladstone, Jr., and was therefore the great aunt of William Ewart Gladstone who became premier of England. Steel moved to Pittsburgh with his parents in 1865 and in 1868 to Kansas. Here the boy read an account of the discovery of a mysterious lake in Oregon. This fired his imagination and filled him with a desire to come to this state and see the natural wonder. He reached Oregon in 1872, and it was nine years before he could get authoritative data about the lake he was looking for. He finally visited Crater Lake in 1885, and immediately started a movement to have the locality made a national park. He was successful in this after 17 years of effort. Steel devoted a large part of his life to matters pertaining to the natural history and attractions of the Pacific Northwest and was the authority on Crater Lake. He died at Medford October 21, 1934.
STEEL CLIFF, Hood River County. This cliff is on the south face of Mount Hood, and was named for Will G. Steel by E. L. Coldwell, better known as Jerry Coldwell, for many years a reporter on the Oregonian.
STEENS MOUNTAIN, Harney County. The first reference to this mountain that the writer has seen is in the journal of John Work, for Friday, June 29, 1831. See OHQ, volume XIV, page 308. Work describes the mountain as covered with snow. Pioneer maps use the name of Snow Mountains for the range. In 1860 a joint expedition was ​
sent into southern Oregon under the command of Major Enoch Steen, U.S.A. Steen reached the mountain that now bears his name early in August, and drove a band of Snake Indians over its summit. See Bancroft's History of Oregon, volume II, page 467. The name Steens Mountain has been in general use ever since, although it is frequently misspelled Steins Mountain. The USBGN has adopted the form Steens Mountain. The mountain is the highest in southeastern Oregon, and is much longer north and south than east and west. Its east face is a notable escarpment that extends for 5000 feet above Alvord Valley. Enoch Steen was born in Kentucky, and was commissioned second lieutenant in the mounted rangers in 1832. He reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel on September 28, 1861, retired from the army on September 23, 1863, and died January 22, 1880. He was brevetted major in 1847 for gallant conduct in the battle of Buena Vista, Mexico.
STEINMAN, Jackson County. Steinman station south of Ashland was named about the time the railroad was built, for Ben Steinman, a jeweler, pawnbroker and money lender of Sacramento. He was wellknown to railroad officials and employees, who wished to perpetuate his memory in a kindly way by naming a station for him.
STEINNON CREEK, Coos County. This stream, which is southeast of Coos Bay town, flows south from Blue Ridge. In 1929 S. B. Cathcart of Coos Bay told the compiler that it was named for a Belgian farmer who settled nearby about 1900.
STEPHENS, Douglas County. Stephens is a place on Calapooya Creek about four miles west of Sutherlin and was named for a local family well known in those parts. Stephens post office was established January 6, 1890, with Mrs. Eliza Ottinger postmaster. The office operated until October 31, 1912, when it was closed out to Oakland. Stephens was never a large community. The post office list for Umpqua County contains the name of an office called Stephensville, which operated in the late '50s with Winslow P. Powers postmaster. This list appears to be for that part of Umpqua County which was added to Douglas County in 1862. It may be that Stephensville was an early name for what was later Stephens.
STERLING CREEK, Jackson County. There have been a number of geographic features in southwest Jackson County with Sterling as part of the name, including Sterling Peak, Sterling Creek, Sterling Mine and Sterlingville. Many years ago the writer was told by Will G. Steel that these names all came from one James Sterling, presumably a miner, who operated in the area in the '50s. Sterling Peak was named in 1853, according to Steel, but the name Dutchman Peak has supplanted the older name. Sterling Creek flows into Little Applegate River near Buncom, and Sterling Mine was well known because of its hydraulic works, shown on popular picture post cards. Sterlingville post office, a short distance upstream from the mine, was established April 21, 1879, with George Yandes first and only postmaster. This office was closed to Jacksonville on July 31, 1883.
STEVE FORK, Jackson and Josephine counties. Steve Fork is a tributary of Carberry Creek. The name Steamboat Creek is incorrect.
STEWART LAKE, Benton County. This lake, northeast of Corvallis, was named for Archimedes and John Stewart, who took up donation land claims around it. See land office certificates 175 and 176. ​
Still CREEK, Clackamas County. This stream flows into Zigzag River at Rhododendron. It was named in pioneer days because emigrants coming down the Zigzag, which is turbulent, noted the difference in the character of the flow of the two streams.
STINKINGWATER CREEK, Harney County. William Hanley of Burns told the compiler that this stream had been so known since the '70s, because of the disagreeable fumes that are prevalent near some of the mineral springs along the creek. These disagreeable fumes are said to contain arsenical gases. The late George E. Davis, corporation commissioner of Oregon, who died in November, 1927, informed the compiler that, according to his understanding, the name of the stream was a corruption of the name of a pioneer German settler who lived on its banks. Hanley denied this, however, and said he never heard of such a settler and was positive this version was incorrect.
STIPP, Marion County. Among the pioneer settlers in Marion County was John L. Stipp, who took up a claim just west of the community now known as Macleay. Stipp was pastor of the local Baptist Church, and was referred to as Elder Stipp. He gave land for what is called the J. L. Stipp Memorial Cemetery, just west of the community. Stipp post office, named for Elder Stipp, was established May 4, 1880, with William Taylor postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Macleay February 3, 1882. See also under the name MACLEAY.
STONE BRIDGE, Lake County. Stone Bridge is a well-known place near the south end of Hart Lake in the Warner Valley. The bridge was built in the summer of 1867 under the direction of Major-General George Crook, then a lieutenant-colonel in the regular army. In the previous year Old Camp Warner had been established on the east side of the Warner Valley and not in the place specified in the orders. When Crook arrived in the valley in 1867 he wanted to know why the camp had been built on the wrong side of the valley and was told that the troops were on the east side and could not get across the lakes. Crook immediately ordered the army wagons and carts to haul chunks of lava out to the narrowest crossing, and, using rock for a foundation, built a causeway to the west side. A new Camp Warner was then established. The roadway is still passable at low-water stages. See History of Central Oregon, page 812.
STOTTS LANDING, Multnomah County. This landing, just west of the mouth of Little Sandy River, was named for J. M. Stott, who took up a donation land claim nearby.
ESTOUT CREEK, Marion County. Stout Creek was named for Ephriam Stout and his son Lewis, who emigrated from Iowa in 1852 and operated pioneer sawmills near this stream. Lewis Stout was born in 1829 and died in 1922. His donation land claim was at the mouth of Stout Creek, and his sawmill was operated by water from the creek.
STRAIGHTSBURG, Hood River County. Straightsburg was the name given to a post office established on the Wasco County list October 19, 1888, with Henry D. Straight postmaster. The office was in the Hood River Valley and within the limits of what is now Hood River County. Straightsburg post office operated only until November 18, 1891. Old gazetteers say the office was on Neal Creek about seven miles south of Hood River town.
STRASSEL, Washington County. Strassel was named for Mrs. Mary be creek ​
Strassel. She was an early settler, who took up a homestead, and with pioneer spirit made a home in what had been a wilderness. When the railroad was built near her place, E. E. Lytle, president of the Pacific Railway and Navigation Company, named a station for her, and later a post office was established with the same name.
STRAW FORK, Wheeler County. This stream flows into Butte Creek southeast of Fossil. It was named for Al Straw who settled there about 1869. See History of Central Oregon, page 640. Stories to the effect that the stream was named for strawstacks are wrong.
STRAWBERRY, Morrow County. Strawberry is a locality about nine miles north of Lexington, named for the wild strawberries that grow there. The place has not grown into a community, Strawberry post office was established March 7, 1904, with Jesse C. White first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued December 31, 1908. Expected development did not become a fact.
STRAWBERRY MOUNTAIN, Grant County. Patsy Daly of Prairie City, for many years a resident of the John Day country, told the compiler in 1927 that white settlers and miners first called this mountain Logan Butte for Camp Logan, nearby. This was in the '60s. To the north of the butte was Strawberry Creek, so called because of the wild strawberries growing on its banks. Gradually the name Strawberry spread to the valley and to the butte, so that the forms Strawberry Valley and Strawberry Butte came into universal use. The name Logan Butte became obsolete. During the past three decades the name Strawberry Mountain has supplanted Strawberry Butte, and the form with the word "Mountain" now appears on official maps. It seems to be in general use. It is the highest point in the southwest part of the Blue Mountains. The elevation determined by the USGS is 9052 feet.
STRING CREEK, Clackamas County. This stream is in the Salmon River drainage basin. It was named because of its small, stringy appearance.
STRINGTOWN, Clackamas County. There are several localities in Oregon called Stringtown, generally because they are or were strung out along a road or highway. One of the best known with this name is about a mile southwest of Canemah. It was called Stringtown long ago, long before there was a through highway. There were a number of houses built on the narrow strip between the railroad and the steep bluff to the southeast, and these houses were called Stringtown, especially by people living in more thickly settled areas such as Oregon City and Canemah. The place is now well known because it is on the Pacific Highway East.
STUKEL MOUNTAIN, Klamath County. Stukel Mountain was named for Stephen Stukel, a pioneer settler. It is about ten miles southeast of Klamath Falls, and is shown on some maps as Laki Peak, but it is not known by that name locally. Laki is probably derived from the Klamath Indian word laki meaning chief.
STURGEON LAKE, Columbia and Multnomah counties. Omar C. Spencer of Sauvie Island in a letter of January 18, 1946, says inter alia: "Before the hand of man despoiled its natural characteristics through the medium of the public levee built at government expense, Sturgeon Lake was a large body of water consisting of approximately 2500 acres, through which Gilbert River found its way to an outlet in Multnomah ​
Channel of the Willamette River. Now the upper part of Gilbert River has been cut off from flowing through Sturgeon Lake, but the lake still has its Gilbert River outlet to Multnomah Channel. Originally Sturgeon Lake was of sufficient importance that it had its Little Sturgeon Lake, which has been taken from it by the levee above mentioned." Sturgeon Lake was named in very early days, but the exact circumstances of the event are not known to the compiler. The white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, is the largest fish found in fresh water in North America. The biggest specimen on record was taken from the Columbia River near Vancouver in 1929. It was over twelve feet long and weighed 1285 pounds. These big sturgeon in the Columbia River are largely a thing of the past, and the fish now caught seldom exceed five feet in length. Sturgeon is much appreciated locally as a food fish, but is relatively scarce. Squire Spencer's letter contains a lively tradition that Sauvie Island sturgeon came ashore from the lake and stripped the fruit from the nearby apple trees. A fish weighing 1285 pounds might be able to do anything, even reach up into an apple tree.
STURGILL, Baker County. In 1925 railroad company officials wrote that this station was named for an early settler and prospector.
STURGILL PEAK, Wallowa County. Sturgill Peak in the Wallowa Mountains was named for Jake Sturgill.
STURGIS Fork, Jackson and Josephine counties. This stream is a tributary of Carberry Creek, and is named for an old settler. Sturges is wrong.
STURTEVANT CREEK, Lane County. This stream flows into Coyote Creek not far from Crow. It was named for Joseph K. Sturtevant, an early settler.
SUBLIMITY, Marion County. According to information furnished the writer Sublimity was named by James M. Denny who established the town and said he called it Sublimity "for the sublime scenery in the hills around the town." Sublimity post office was established September 29, 1852. Denny was the first postmaster.
SUBSTITUTE POINT, Lane County. Substitute Point, elevation 6340 feet, is just west of the Three Sisters. It was named in 1916 by a USGS party in charge of J. G. Staack,which was extending triangulation in that part of the Cascade Range Two unnamed peaks were selected for possible stations, where but one was to be used. The other peak was called Proxy Point. See under that heading. The station was installed on Substitute Point and later a lookout was established there.
SUCKER CREEK, Josephine County. Sucker Creek flows into East Fork Illinois River. Walling, in his History of Southern Oregon, page 454, says the stream was named on account of some Illinois miners who prospected nearby. Illinois is known as the Sucker State.
SUCKER CREEK, Malheur County. There has been a good deal of controversy over this name, and some people think it should be Succor Creek. The stream rises north of Sheaville and flows northward near the east border of the county, then northeast into Idaho, where it empties into Snake River near Homedale. The decision in favor of Sucker Creek was made by USBGN on June 6, 1906. Postal history recently made available shows that there was a post office called Sucker established on the lower reaches of the stream on October 4, 1895, with Sara McConnell postmaster. This office was close to the Idaho line. It was closed October ​
13, 1899. Apparently the name was changed and the office moved to Delaine, Idaho. The existence of a post office with the spelling Sucker seems to indicate that that style was acceptable to local residents about the turn of the century. In the summer of 1929 the problem was presented again and after another study, the USBGN decided to stand by the earlier decision. The style Sucker Creek appears to be based on a story to the effect that some miners were played for suckers during early-day mining excitement, and also on the prevalence of sucker fish in the stream. The advocates of Succor Creek say the stream was named in pioneer days because an army detachment saved an emigrant train from the Indians. There are two distinct versions of this story. Then there is another legend to the effect that the correct name is Succor, corrupted from the Spanish word socorro, meaning aid or help, used by some travelers who were almost dead from thirst, and who found fresh water in the creek. In 1929 there appeared to be advocates of all the stories mentioned above, and champions of both styles of the name. However, none of the evidence was very specific. In 1906 and also in 1929 the
USBGN concluded that the prevailing usage was Sucker Creek, and decided on that form. For editorial comment about this name, see the Oregonian, April 14, 1929.
SUGARLOAF, Polk County. Sugarloaf post office served the Siletz Basin in the locality of what is now Valsetz. The office was named for a conical point just north of South Fork Siletz River, called Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf post office was established on April 16, 1895, with John S. Wright first postmaster. It continued in operation until April 30, 1904, when it was closed out to Rocca.
SUGARPINE MOUNTAIN, Klamath County. There are few geographic features in Oregon named for the sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana, and of these features Sugarpine Mountain north of Klamath Indian Reservation is probably the most important. The sugarpine is the largest of the Pacific pines, from 160-180 feet tall with a diameter as great as six feet. The long, chestnut brown cones are characteristic, reaching a length of sixteen inches. The range of the tree does not generally extend north of the latitude of Mount Jefferson.
SULLIVAN CREEK, Baker County. This stream is in township 6 south, range 44 east. It was named for a pioneer prospector who is buried on its banks.
SULLIVAN GULCH, Multnomah County. Timothy Sullivan, for whom this gulch in east Portland was named, settled on a donation land claim in the eastern part of section 35, township 1 north, range 1 east, on January 27, 1851. The record of this claim, certificate 1478, shows that Sullivan was born in Ireland in 1805. He appears to have traveled extensively, for he was married to Margaret, last name unstated, in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania), January 8, 1841. He was made a citizen of the United States by Judge Cyrus Olney on April 16, 1855, and appears to have received title to the claim about 1863. His house was on the south edge of the gulch, in the north part of his claim. For additional information about the Sullivan family, see editorial in the Portland Telegram, May 3, 1927, and article in Oregon Journal, May 15, 1927, section 1, page 10.
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Douglas County. Sulphur Springs are close to the north bank of Smith River a couple of miles east of North Fork. These r ​
springs, which flow cold mineral water, have been known from pioneer days. Sulphur Springs post office was one of the earliest offices in the west part of the county. It was established February 6, 1878, with John Cowan first postmaster. That was the same day that Norfolk post office was established not very far away. Sulphur Springs post office was closed to Reedsport on March 31, 1920.
SUMAC CREEK, Wallowa County. Sumac Creek is near Chico, in township 3 north, range 45 east. The stream was named for the sumac, Rhus glabra occidentalis.
SUMMER LAKE, Lake County. Summer Lake is one of the larger lakes of the arid part of the state and has an area of about 60 square miles. Its main source of supply is Ana River which is a spring-fed stream attaining great volume within a short distance from its source. Summer Lake has no outlet and as a result its water is strongly impregnated with salts, particularly of sodium. The lake was discovered and named by then Captain John C. Fremont, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, on December 16, 1843. As he looked down from the ridge which his party had climbed from the west he saw the sun shining on the lake, bordered with the green grass and the contrast was so great that he named the mountain Winter Ridge and the lake Summer Lake.
SUMMERVILLE, Union County. William Patten, one of the founders of this community, named it for his friend and neighbor, Alexander Sommerville. The two had lived about six miles from Harrisburg in the Willamette Valley. They moved to Grande Ronde Valley in 1857, according to information furnished the compiler by Edgar J. Sommerville of Pendleton in 1926. Summerville post office was established on May 30, 1865, with Patten first postmaster. The compiler does not know why the spelling was changed from Sommerville to Summerville. There may have been a mistake somewhere along the line or Patten and the postal authorities may have concluded that the public would prefer the usual style and adopt it sooner or later instead of the family name. The locality of Summerville was known as Indian Valley at one time.
SUMMIT, Benton County. Summit is on the watershed between Willamette Valley and Yaquina River and the name is descriptive. One time the place was called Summitville.
SUMMIT LAKE, Klamath County. Summit Lake, elevation 5554 feet, is in the extreme northwest part of the county and drains eastward into Crescent Lake. It is very close to the summit of the Cascade Range, hence its name. Summit Lake must have been known in the days of the immigrations, but the first use of the name that has come to the compiler's attention is in a report on the Oregon Central Military Road, by B. J. Pengra, dated November 29, 1865. Part of this report is on file at the Oregon Historical Society. The report seems to indicate that the name Summit Lake was applied in July, 1865, by Pengra and W. H. Odell while making a reconnaissance of that part of Oregon.
SUMNER, Coos County. Steel says this community was founded in 1888 by John B. Dalley and named for Charles Sumner, (1811-1876), Massachusetts statesman. The date must be wrong, for the post office was established on September 18, 1874, with Dalley first postmaster.
SUMPTER, Baker County. C. A. Moore of Baker informed the compiler in 1927 that Sumpter was settled during the early days of the Civil War, and was named for Fort Sumter, South Carolina, because of the ​
prominent position occupied by the name in the news dispatches. A post office with the name Sumter was established on the Grant County, Oregon, list June 24, 1874, with Joseph D. Young first postmaster. The office was soon changed to the Baker County list and was discontinued October 1, 1878. It was reestablished December 13, 1883, with the spelling Sumpter. The compiler has been unable to learn why the name of the place in Oregon is spelled differently from the name in South Carolina. A news item in the Baker Democrat-Herald, May 3, 1929, says that the immediate reason for selecting the name for the Oregon town was that a local resident found a rock, as perfectly spherical as a cannon ball, and this, along with the name of Fort Sumter in the news, suggested the use of the name. This rock was on display in Baker in 1929.
SUNDIAL LAKE, Multnomah County. This lake is on the south side of the Columbia River near Fairview. It was named for the Sundial Ranch nearby. Charles F. Swigert of Portland told the compiler that the ranch was named by his business associate, the late Homer C. Campbell, also of Portland. Swigert said he did not know why Campbell chose the name Sundial Ranch, because as far as he knew, there never was a sundial on the place.
SUNNY VALLEY, Josephine County. Sunny Valley post office was established in the summer of 1945 at the point where the Pacific Highway crosses Grave Creek, about 18 miles north of Grants Pass. The name takes the place of several that have had great historic significance in Oregon. The first establishment in this vicinity was the Grave Creek House of Harkness and Twogood, also called Fort Leland in the Indian wars of the '50s. The first post office here was Leland, on March 28, 1855, with McDonough Harkness first postmaster. For the history of the name Leland, see under that name. Some time after the railroad was extended from Roseburg south in the '80s, Leland post office was moved about four miles west to the railroad location. There had already been a railroad station at Altamont at or near the station later called Leland. The compiler cannot learn when the name Leland was moved to the railroad, but it must have been in the early '90s. On July 24, 1894, a post office named Grave, with Samuel B. Pettengill postmaster, was established to serve the locality on Grave Creek from which Leland post office had been moved. Grave office was operated until October, 1913. It was opened again in March, 1928, with the name Grave Creek, and with Mrs. Nora Dunham postmaster. This office continued to serve the locality until the office Sunny Valley was established by change of name from Grave Creek. Local residents were apparently a little morbid about the old name. For the origin of the name Grave Creek, see under that heading.
SUNNYSIDE, Clackamas County. The area called Sunnyside lies south of Mount Scott and is rather loosely defined. There is a Sunnyside Road, well known and also a Sunnyside School about two miles west of Damascus. These features are all near the north border of the county. Sunnyside post office was established December 17, 1888, with John R. Welch first postmaster. The office was closed August 12, 1903, probably because of the extension of rural free delivery. The compiler does not know the exact location. The fact that this office was in operation in the early '90s made it impossible to have a Sunnyside post office to serve Sunnyside, now a part of Portland. Accordingly the Sunnyside addition in Multnomah County was served by an office called Sunnyview. ​
SUNNYVIEW, Multnomah County. That part of Portland known as Sunnyside in the vicinity of Southeast Belmont Street between Southeast Twenty-ninth and Southeast Thirty-seventh avenues was once served by a post office with the name Sunnyview. The name Sunnyside could not be used because there was already a Sunnyside ofhice in neighboring Clackamas County. Sunnyview office was established August 21, 1890, with Queen M. Bower first of three postmasters. The office was closed December 4, 1894, with all papers to Portland. The name was optimistically descriptive.
SUNSET, Coos County. Sunset post office was named for Sunset Bay, where it was situated, about three miles west of Charleston. The office was established January 24, 1910, with William S. Denning postmaster. It was closed March 31, 1911. Sunset Bay is a little cove on the north part of Cape Arago and is said to have been named by Thomas Hirst.
SUNSET BAY, Coos County. Sunset Bay is a snug little cove on the north part of Cape Arago, at the mouth of Big Creek. According to an article in the Marshfield Coast Mail, August 14, 1892, the name was first suggested by Thomas Hirst.
SUNSET HIGHWAY, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook and Washington counties. Sunset Highway is the official name of the state road, which was built largely with the name Wolf Creek Highway. The name Wolf Creek was derived from a small stream flowing castward into Nehalem River near Sunset Camp. For many months during the construction period the name Wolf Creek Highway was used for this important link in the state road system but it became apparent that the name caused confusion because of other Wolf creeks in Oregon. Accordingly on January 17, 1946, the Oregon State Highway Commission adopted a resolution changing the name to Sunset Highway. This was in compliment to the 41st or Sunset Division of the United States Army which played a conspicuous part in both World War I and II. The late M. R. Chessman of Astoria suggested the name Sunset Highway because the Sunset Division had such a large proportion of men from the Pacific Northwest. Chessman was a member of the Highway Commission. Sunset Camp in Washington County was named long before the name Sunset was applied to the highway. Sunset Camp was named for a logging enterprise that had nothing to do with the Sunset Division. Sunset Tunnel to the southeast was named for the camp. All this presents an interesting coincidence.
SUNTEX, Harney County. W. F. Sturges, of Scio, Oregon, was the first postmaster of Suntex. Sturges informed the compiler in January, 1927, that postal authorities selected the name of this post office and he did not know why they chose the word Suntex. It has no local significance. The office was established on February 7, 1916.
SUPLEE, Crook County. Annie Senecal, postmaster at Suplee, informed the compiler that the name was suggested by Charles Dorling because his mother's maiden name was Suplee. The office was established October 31, 1894, with Joel C. Abbott first postmaster.
SUSANVILLE, Grant County. W. W. Armstrong, of Galena, informed the compiler in October, 1927, that Susanville was named in the '60s by a party of miners who came to Oregon from Susanville, California. They named the new camp for the scene of their former activities. The following quotation is from an article on Lassen County, by H. M. Barstow, in ​California as It Is, written by 70 of the leading editors and authors of the Golden State for the Weekly Call, third edition, San Francisco Call Company, 1882: "The county seat and chief town is Susanville, which was located in 1854 by Isaac N. Roop, then Provisional Governor of the State of Nevada, and named for his daughter Susan." For editorial comment on the name Susanville, see the Oregonian, September 9, 1943.
Sutherlin, Douglas County. Sutherlin was named for Fendel Sutherlin, who was born in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1822, and after graduating from Greencastle College in 1846 came to Oregon in the following year. In 1849 Sutherlin joined the gold rush for California, but soon returned to Oregon. Fendel Sutherlin's parents came to Oregon, arriving in the fall of 1850, and in 1851 moved into the valley that now bears the family name. Sutherlin spent much time and energy in developing the valley and irrigating fruit land. Fendel Sutherlin died in 1901. See University of Oregon Extension Monitor for September, 1924.
Suttle Lake, Jefferson County. C. H. Stewart of Albany wrote the compiler in August, 1927, as follows: "This lake was named for John Settle, or Uncle Jackie, as he was familiarly known. He was one of the pioneers of the Lebanon district, where he took up a donation land claim about two miles north of that town. He was one of the organizers and directors of the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Military Wagon Road project in 1866. He was one of the men who had actual supervision of the building of the road. It is said that while out on this expedition he went hunting one day and found the lake which was named for him and also Blue Lake in the same vicinity." This lake has been known for many years as Suttle Lake, a corruption of the correct name, but the compiler is of the opinion that it would be useless to attempt to revert to the spelling Settle. The form Suttle has been used in many legal documents, including irrigation district records, and is firmly established
Sutton Lake, Lane County. This lake is about five miles north of Florence. It was named for Orrin W. Sutton, a pioneer homesteader who settled on its banks in early days.
Sutton Mountain, Wheeler County. Sutton Mountain, which has an extreme elevation of 4680 feet, lies north of Mitchell. It was named for Al Sutton, a pioneer stockman who settled in The Dalles in 1858 and moved to what is now Wheeler County in 1865. He was a native of England and well known throughout central Oregon.
Suver, Polk County. Joseph W. Suver, who was born in Virginia in 1819, was a pioneer of Oregon, and settled on a donation land claim at the present site of Suver in 1845. The community bears his name. His wife was, according to land office records, Deliley Suver. For history of the community, see Independence Enterprise, January 27, 1939.
Svensen, Clatsop County. This is the correct spelling and not Svenson. The USBGN has adopted the form Svensen for the community and also for an island nearby near the south bank of Columbia River. These features were named for Peter Svensen, a seafaring man, who settled near the Columbia River in early days.
Swan, Klamath County. Swan post office was about twelve miles northeast of Klamath Falls in the Swan Lake Valley. Swan Lake was once much larger than it is now and was much frequented by wild swan. ​It was named on that account. Arthur Cleveland Bent, in his splendid series of bulletins of the U. S. National Museum, Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl, and similar titles, has painted a graphic picture of the tragedy of some of the most picturesque of our birds. Bulletin 130, pages 281 to 301, contains a fine account of Cygnus columbianus, the whistling swan, and Cygnus buccinator, the trumpeter swan, both of which use the western United States for winter range. The ruthless destruction of these birds has been without the slightest excuse. As Bent says, no opportunity has been neglected to kill these magnificent swans, by fair means or foul, until they have been sadly reduced in numbers and are now confined to certain favored localities. For letter about swans along Columbia River, see editorial page the Oregonian, May 4, 1927.
Swan Island, Multnomah County. The origin of this name is obvious, but the compiler has been unable to find out by whom the name was applied. The island was charted by Wilkes in the atlas accompanying U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume XXIII, Hydrography, as Willow Island, but the name has not persisted. For editorial protest against changing the name of Swan Island, see the Oregonian, September 27, 1927. For similar editorial, ibid., November 2, 1939. Despite the fact that the land is no longer an island, the name Swan Island is firmly and affectionately fixed in the public mind.
Swart, Umatilla County. Swart post office was established September 15, 1897, and was closed to Duncan on May 31, 1902. John H. Swart was postmaster all this time, and the office was named for his family. It was about seven miles south of Gibbon. The Swarts were well known in the Blue Mountain area, and several of the family were in the railroad service. Swan post office was established to serve people in the vicinity of the railroad spur which was installed on Meacham Creek to allow for the shipment of cordwood. At the time two of the Swart family were loading and shipping wood from this area.
Swastika, Jackson County. Swastika post office was in the extreme east part of the county, in the northeast part of township 38 south, range 4 east, at or near Deadwood. The office was established December 11, 1909, with Clayton E. Burton first of two postmasters. The office was discontinued September 15, 1912. The name of the office was derived from the stock brand of C. E. Burton, who branded his livestock with a swastika. It is apparent that the name Deadwood could not be used for this office because that name was already in use in Lane County for an office which was in service from 1884 to 1914. Hitler had not yet been heard of and there was no objection to the use of Swastika as a place name.
Sweet Creek, Lane County. Sweet Creek rises in the Coast Range in the west part of the county and flows generally northward to join Siuslaw River near the locality called Point Terrace, a few miles down stream from Mapleton. The name of the stream came from one Sweet, a local resident of those parts, and was not applied because of any excellence of the water.
Sweet Home, Linn County. At the approach of spring in 1930 Oswald West applied his talents to the early history of Sweet Home. His kindly letter on the subject and an equally sympathetic editorial appear in the Oregonian for March 5 of that year. Both are well worth reading. Governor West says, and it has not been disputed, that an early name ​
for the locality of Sweet Home was Buckhead. This name, savoring of pioneering days, finally gave way to Sweet Home. There is nothing to indicate the date of this transition, but the post office of Sweet Home was established on March 13, 1874, with John B. Hughes first postmaster. It is apparent that Governor West could not have had much to do with the boisterous behavior of the young men of Buckhead which he so well describes. The calendar proves otherwise. In December, 1926, B. H. Watkinds told the writer that the place was called Sweet Home in the '40s by Lowell Ames, Sr., but in October, 1927, C. H. Stewart of Albany wrote that this could not be true, because Ames did not arrive in the vicinity of Sweet Home until about 1860. Ames may have applied the name to his homestead. A letter in the Sweet Home New Era, March 28, 1930, by Mrs. (. Feigum, a well-known local resident, says that the name Sweet Home was first applied in the form Sweet Home Valley. The first community to be called Sweet Home was in the east part of what is now the town. Buckland was the name of a saloon on Ames Creek west of the community. It was decorated with a large pair of antlers over the front door. Mrs. Feigum says that about 1880 the community buildings were moved west to Ames Creek and the name Sweet Home supplanted the name Buckhead.
SWEETBRIER, Multnomah County. Sweetbrier post office was established January 10, 1900, and was in service until August 31, 1901, with Robert G. Combs postmaster. This office was a little to the west of the center of section 1, township 1 south, range 3 east, about a half a mile south of the Base Line Road at the 15-mile post on the old road down to Sandy River. This was before the Base Line extension was cut through. The office was named for the well-known Sweet Briar farm then owned by Emmet B. Williams, Portland attorney, and in 1947 owned by Mr. Williams' daughter, Mrs. Lenore W. Althaus. Variations in the form of this name for one of the most popular bushes in Oregon are familiar to most people. Sweet Briar Farm is the style in the registration certificate held by Mrs. Althaus. Frequently one meets the forms Sweetbriar, Sweet Brier and Sweetbrier. The last spelling was the one used by postal officials at Washington, but Mrs. Althaus says that a signboard nailed to a maple tree in front of her house uses the form Sweet Brier for the old post office. This gives a fourway choice. In addition, there is the romantic name eglantine also used for this wild rose. For editorial comment about the sweetbrier, see the Oregonian, June 27, 1947, and for letters on the subject, ibid., June 25, July 3 and July 4, 1947.
SWEETSER, Harney County. A map of 1889 shows a place called Switzer a few miles southeast of Crane, but whether it was a real community or a proposed station for the projected Oregon Pacific railroad the compiler does not know. In any event the name appears to be misspelled. Alphene Venator, J. W. Biggs and Phil Metchan say the place was intended to be named for Frank Sweetser, who, with Stauffer, operated horse ranches in the Harney Valley, and elsewhere in eastern Oregon. Sweetser died in 1895, and his widow, maiden name Meriah Sutherlin, married Phil Metschan, Sr., in 1896. Swim, Clackamas County. The name Swim was given to this post office early in 1925. Boyd Summers was the first postmaster and the originator of the name. There is a large, outdoor, warm mineral ​water swimming pool nearby and this suggested a title for the post office. Swim is near Mount Hood Loop Highway. Swiss SPRING, Klamath County. Swiss Spring is in section 29, township 27 south, range 7 east. It was at one time called Coyote Spring, but due to duplication with another Coyote Spring in the neighborhood, the Forest Service asked to have the name changed to Swiss Spring in compliment to a Swiss who was associated with the locality. The style Swiss Spring was adopted by the USBGN in 1940.
SWISSHOME, Lane County. The name Swisshome originated because of the fact that a Swiss family lived about a mile west of the present site of the post office. The locality where this family lived was called Swisshome and when the post office was established sometime after 1900 the name was transferred to the new locality.
SWITCHBACK FALLS, Hood River County. These falls were named May 6, 1925, by the USBGN because the title suggested was unusually descriptive. They are near where the Mount Hood Loop Highway crosses Iron Creek, southeast of Mount Hood.
SWITZLER LAKE, Multnomah County. This is a slough lake on the south shore of the Columbia River near Portland. It was named for John Switzler, who brought his family to Oregon, from Missouri, in 1845, and on September 30, 1846, settled on the south side of the Columbia, opposite Vancouver, and north of Woodlawn, which is a part of the city of Portland. This was the old landing of the Vancouver ferry. See map of W. W. Chapman, surveyor-general of Oregon, dated September 20, 1860, Eugene, Oregon, in the surveyor-general's office at Portland, Oregon. Switzler was born in Virginia and served in the War of 1812. He died in 1856. See Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, page 289, and land office certificate 137. Slough post office was established in the vicinity of Switzler Lake November 25, 1850, with John Switzler postmaster. The office was discontinued January 6, 1852.
SYCAMORE, Multnomah County. Sycamore is a locality on Johnson Creek about three miles east of Lents, near the south border of the county. A story about George Flinn, in Fred Lockley's column of the Oregon Journal, July 16, 1927, tells of the origin of the name. Sycamore State is a name used in referring to West Virginia. The Flinn family came to Oregon about 1844 from West Virginia and settled at the pres. ent site of Sycamore. Nelson A. Flinn, the head of the family, named the locality Sycamore. A post office with that name was established May 29, 1889, with Flinn first postmaster. This office was closed March 23, 1901. Some of the family later moved to the vicinity of Cherryville east of Sandy.
SYCAN Marsh, Klamath and Lake counties. Sycan Marsh gets its name from the Klamath Indian words saiga and keni, literally, the level, grassy place. The marsh covers a considerable area in the northeast part of the Klamath Indian Reservation, and its outlet is Sycan River, a tributary of Sprague River. The best information about Sycan Marsh may be found in the cooperative report issued by the state engineer entitled Silver Lake Project. There are many spellings of the name, but the USBGN has officially adopted Sycan. It seems probable that the name Thompson Valley was at one time applied by white people to Sycan Marsh as well as to what is now known as Thompson Valley, to the north. The name Sycan has become applied to Sycan ​River as a result of the association of the stream with the marsh, and also rather inappropriately, considering its literal Indian meaning, to Sycan Butte, near the northeast corner of Sycan Marsh. There are many other examples of this misapplication of names by association and proximity. See under LEMITI.
SYLVAN, Multnomah County. Nathan B. Jones, a pioneer of 1847, settled at the pass at the head of Tanner Creek in 1850 and lived there until he was murdered early in 1894. He called the locality Zion Town and platted lots with that name in 1892-93. Whether he chose the Bible name for religious reasons or because of the place called Mount Zion about a mile to the southeast the writer cannot tell. There was no community at Mount Zion, which was named about 1860-61. Jones may have adopted the unusual form Zion Town to show that it was the community or trading center for Mount Zion. When a post office was desired in the late '80s postal authorities would not use the name Zion, on the grounds of confusion that might result from duplication. There had already been at least two Zions in Oregon and the names had been changed because of difficulties with the mails. T. H. Prince, resident of Zion Town, suggested the name Sylvan and an office with that name was established June 6, 1890, with Charles C. Prince first postmaster. This office was closed October 11, 1906. The locality is now generally called Sylvan. The name is derived from Silvanus, the Italian deity of the woods. For additional information see under the heading Mount Sylvania. Nathan B. Jones was born in Salem, New Hampshire, in 1819. Four years after he settled at the place now called Sylvan he built a dwelling called the Hermitage, which was destroyed by fire in 1893. Jones was considered to be an eccentric hermit. It is said that one of his schemes was to develop a town that would become Oregon's seat of government. The outside of his home was decorated with weird paintings that anticipated the modern fad for fantastic murals. In January, 1894, Jones disposed of some property to Henry E. Reed of Portland and took a check for the balance due, which he promptly deposited in a Portland bank. He was supposed to have retained the cash in his house, and was clubbed on January 17, apparently with the idea of robbery. He died January 25, 1894, and was buried at the little cemetery at Sylvan.
SYRACUSE, Polk County. Syracuse post office was established in the valley of Luckiamute River on February 8, 1885, with Frank K. Hubbard first of two postmasters. James P. Starr became postmaster on January 9, 1889. At that time the office was moved westward about two miles to Falls City. When this move was made Hubbard was appointed postmaster of Falls City and retained the position until the summer of 1890. The origin of the name Syracuse is not based on water-tight evidence, but it is generally thought that the word was applied by some of the first settlers, who are said to have come from Syracuse, New York. However, there is another theory that should be mentioned. The Oregon post office may have been named by someone interested in classical history. There were several such students in the area.