# Oregon Geographic Names (1952)/W

​WACONDA, Marion County. Waconda is a station on the Oregon Electric Railway north of Salem. It was named when the railroad was built about 1907, and the post office was established in 1912. Waconda is an old name in that part of the Willamette Valley, and was originally applied to a community about a mile south of Gervais, at the point where the present Pacific Highway East is crossed by the old road from Parkersville to Saint Louis. This old community has disappeared. The name Waconda was probably brought to Oregon from the Plains. Wakonda is used by tribes of the Siouan family to mean something consecrated and as a verb, it means to worship. It is hard to give an exact definition of wakonda. See Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 897.
Wades FLAT, Douglas County. Wades Flat is southwest of Reedsport. Captain Henry Wade and his brother settled on a ranch on this flat in early days, and the locality is named for them. For information about Henry Wade, see Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, page 185.
WAGNER, Wheeler County. Wagner post office was established March 21, 1882, and was given the family name of the first postmaster, Carl N. Wagner. The office was then in Grant County, as Wheeler County had not yet been created. It was on or near the upper reaches of Kahler Creek and a few miles north of John Day River. The office was closed April 27, 1901.
WAGNER CREEK, Jackson County. This stream is northwest of Ashland. It was named for Jacob Wagner, who was born in Ohio in 1820 and came to Oregon in 1850. He settled on Wagner Creek two years later, and in 1862 moved to Ashland, where he ran the Ashland flour mills. For additional biographical information, see Walling's History of Southern Oregon, page 542. The community of Talent was once known as Wagner or Wagner Creek.
WAGONTIRE MOUNTAIN, Harney and Lake counties. Wagontire Mountain is one of the important landmarks in central Oregon. It has an elevation of 6504 feet, according to the USC&GS. It received its ​
name in pioneer days on account of the fact that a wagontire lay beside the road on its northern slopes for many years. This tire is said to have come from an emigrant wagon which was burned by Indians. There is a post office named Wagontire southeast of the mouuntain. This post office was formerly known as Egli, for a prominent local stockman. The name was changed to Wagontire in the fall of 1919 at the suggestion of Loretta M. Addington, who thought the new name more appropriate.
WAHANNA LAKE, Lane County. Wahanna Lake, north of Waldo Lake, bears an Indian name imported from Clatsop County. Wahanna was the name used for many years for the stream flowing into Necanicum River north of Seaside, now officially known as Neawanna Creek. For the history of these names see under NEAWANNA CREEK. The lake in Lane County was named at a time when several other nearby features were given Indian names for better identification. The name Wahanna Lake was probably used because it had a pleasing sound and not for any local reason. WaHCLELLA Falls, Multnomah County. These falls are on Tanner Creek, and were named by a committee representing the Mazamas and other organizations in 1915. Wahclella was the name of an Indian locality near Beacon Rock on the Washington side of the Columbia River, and was selected because of its pleasing sound.
WAHGWINGWIN FALLS, Hood River County. Wahgwingwin or Wah Gwin Gwin Falls are produced by Phelps Creek when it plunges over the cliff west of Hood River town into Columbia River. The falls, which are about 207 feet high, are near the east end of Columbia Gorge Hotel and are a well-known scenic feature of the vicinity. The name is said to be of some Indian tongue and means tumbling or rushing waters. There are a number of geographic names in the Pacific Northwest with the initial syllable Wah, and they generally refer to water features. The repeated syllables are used for emphasis. Walla Walla is a name of this type.
WAHKEENA Falls, Multnomah County. These falls were once known as Gordon Falls, for F. E. Gordon, a pioneer landowner. On account of confusion with Gordon Creek near Sandy River, and Gorton Creek at Cascade Locks, a committee appointed by the Mazamas in 1915 to name points on the Columbia River Highway, changed the name to Wahkeena Falls and Wahkeena Creek. This name is said to be a Yakima Indian word meaning most beautiful. See Wah-KeeNah, and her People, by James C. Strong
WAHTUM LAKE, Hood River County. H. H. Riddle told the compiler in 1922 that Wahtum Lake was named by H. D. Langille in 1901 while making a map for the Geological Survey. Wahtum is said to be the Waucoma Indian name of the lake, but the meaning of the word is not known.
WAKE BUTTE, Deschutes County. This butte southwest of Bend was named by the Forest Service with the Chinook jargon word for no or none, indicating its unimportant character. Waldo, Josephine County. According to James T. Chinnock of Grants Pass, Waldo was a specific place in the general locality known as Sailor Diggings, so named because a party of seafaring men found gold there. However the legislative act of January 22, 1856, creating ​
Josephine County, provided that Sailor Diggings was to be the county seat until the next county election. Waldo was not mentioned. This may mean that Sailor Diggings was also a specific place, or it may mean that the two names referred to the same locality. It is late in the day to determine the situation exactly. The name Sailor Diggings passed out of use; Waldo survived. Reports that Waldo was named for Daniel do vas name is Danis Waldo, prominent Oregon pioneer of 1843, do not seem to be true. Daniel W. Bass, a grandson of Daniel Waldo and a prominent citizen of Seattle, wrote the compiler in 1928 that the Josephine County town was named for William Waldo, brother of Daniel Waldo. William Waldo was nominated for governor of California by the Whig party in 1853. He had been of service to settlers and miners in northern California and the residents of what was later Waldo, Oregon, close to the state line, all voted for William Waldo with the notion that they were actually living in California. This origin of the name is confirmed by Walling in his History of Southern Oregon. There is nothing to indicate that Daniel Waldo ever held court in this part of Oregon. Waldo post office was established on September 4, 1856, with Lyman H. Guthrie first postmaster. Waldo Hills, Marion County. The Waldo Hills are western foothills of the Cascade Range and lie east of Salem. Their geography is well shown on the USGS map of the Stayton quadrangle. They were named for Daniel Waldo who was born in Virginia in 1800; died at Salem September 6, 1880. For his funeral eulogy, by J. W. Nesmith, see the Oregonian, September 11, 1880; biography, by T. T. Geer, ibid., May 7, 1905, page 19. He was a companion of the Applegates in the migration to Oregon in 1843. He was a member of the legislative committee of the provisional government in 1844, and a district judge for Champooick district in that government. He was a highly respected pioneer. "His name will be remembered as a synonym for independence and integrity" (Matthew P. Deady, Pioneer Address, 1875). Two of his sons, William and John B., were prominent in Oregon affairs. His daughters married James Brown, Samuel Bass and David Logan. In earliest pioneer days the name Waldo Hills was not generally used; the locality was referred to as the Waldo Settlement. The area was also called Lebanon, and Lebanon post office was in operation at a point about twelve miles cast of Salem from 1851 to 1858. The name Lebanon was absorbed by the place in Linn County.
WALDO LAKE, Lane County. This is one of the largest mountain lakes in the state, and lies in the Cascade Range at an elevation of 5410 feet. The geography of the lake and its surroundings is shown on the
USGS map of the Waldo Lake quadrangle. The lake was named for Judge John B. Waldo, son of Daniel Waldo for whom the Waldo Hills were named. Judge Waldo sought his recreation in the Cascade Range, and Waldo Glacier on the southeast slope of Mount Jefferson was also named for him. Judge Waldo died September 2, 1907. This lake and others nearby were shown as the Virgin Lakes on a map dated August 24, 1863, by the surveyor general of Oregon. Frank S. Warner, a pioneer resident of Lane County, in a letter printed in the Oregonian, September 6, 1927, says that Waldo Lake was discovered by Charlie Tufti, and that its early name was Pengra Lake, for B. J. Pengra. Pengra was a pioneer railroad enthusiast, and championed the construction of a line approximately in the present location of the Cascade line of the Southern Pacific. ​
WALDPORT, Lincoln County. This community is said to have received its name in the early '80s at the suggestion of P. V. Wustrow, then postmaster at Alsea. Waldport is a combination of the German word wald, meaning forest, and the English word port, referring to Alsea Bay. The name is descriptive, for the bay is closely surrounded by hills, once wooded. Waldport was founded by David Ruble, already in business in Alsea, and he is said to have asked Colonel Wustrow to suggest a name for the new community. There was a Waldport post office as early as 1881.
WALDRON, Wheeler County. The compiler has not been able to get an explanation of the origin of the name of this early-day post office except that it was named for a person. The office was established on the Wasco County list on March 28, 1879, with William A. Helms postmaster. The place was on Shoofly Creek about ten or twelve miles northeast of Mitchell. Several members of the Waldron family have been prominent in central Oregon affairs and Henry J. Waldron was once postmaster at The Dalles. Waldron post office was closed out to Richmond in July, 1902.
WALKER, Lane County. Walker post office was established in 1891. Francis Smith, first postmaster, had come from Crawford County, Iowa, to seek a western home and a place to open a small mercantile business. He secured some property from Mrs. J. F. Walker, a pioneer resident of the neighborhood north of Cottage Grove. Mr. Smith was instrumental in securing the post office and named it for Mrs. Walker. The post office at Walker was discontinued about 1925.
WALKER ISLAND, Columbia County. This island in the Columbia River below Rainier was discovered by Lieutenant Broughton on Octo. ber 27, 1792, and was named Walkers Island for the surgeon of the ship Chatham. Modern usage, Walker Island, has been approved by the
USBGN.
WALKER MOUNTAIN, Klamath County. This is an important mountain a few miles south of Crescent. It is shown on maps as Walker Range, Walker Rim and Walker Mountain, but the last named is considered to be the best designation and the one in general use. In the opinion of the writer it was named for W. T. Walker, of the Middle Fork Willamette River road viewing party, who explored this part of the state in 1852. See under DIAMOND PEAK. It appears that two peaks were named for Walker, one the mountain described herein, and the other a point on the summit of the Cascade Range north of Mount Thielsen. The name of the latter peak has been changed from Walker Mountain to Howlock Mountain for an Indian chief. This was done to avoid confusion that would result from two mountains of the same name so near together.
WALKER Road, Washington County. For many years the name Walker Road has been applied to a thoroughfare which extends westward from the Tualatin Valley Highway through the area south of Cedar Mill, north of Orenco and toward Hillsboro. Walker Road was named for Mr. and Mrs. William E. Walker who took up a farm a little southwest of Cedar Mill in 1852. For an account of Walker family history, see Fred Lockley's article in the Oregon Journal for September 10, 1929, editorial page. In 1946 there was a painted sign over a gate on the north side of Walker Road near the crossing of Cedar Mill Creek ​, read.
ing: "Mr. and Mrs. William E. Walker, 1852. The Old Meadow Farm."
WALL CREEK, Grant County. Wall Creek is a tributary of North Fork John Day River. Little Wall Creek rises in Morrow County and flows into Wall Creek. J. L. Cochran, an early resident in the John Day country, informs the compiler that the stream was named because of the rimrocks or walls along its banks.
WALL CREEK, Grant County. This Wall Creek is south of Canyon City and flows into Canyon Creek. Patsy Daly of Prairie City informs the compiler that it was named for a local resident. WallA WALLA RIVER, Umatilla County. The sources of Walla Walla River lie in Oregon. South Fork Walla Walla River is the main tributary, and this stream rises in the extreme northwest corner of Wallowa County. The north and south forks join about seven miles southeast of Milton, and the stream flows into Washington north of Milton, after having been divided into several channels and ditches, one branch being known as Little Walla Walla River. "In several languages walla means running water, and reduplication of a word diminutizes it; so Wallawalla is the small rapid river." (Coues in History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark, page 969.) According to Myron Eells, in The American Anthropologist, January, 1892, page 34, the word is Nez Perce and Cayuse, the root of which is walatse, which means running, hence running water. Wallula is probably an anglicized corruption of Walla Walla. Lewis and Clark use the name Wallow Wallow, with several variations, and other early travelers use different spellings. The pronunciation, however, is more or less the same. See OGN, 1928 edition, page 373. Old Fort Walla Walla (Fort Nez Perce), at the mouth of Walla Walla River, in Washington, was established in 1818 by the North West Company, and was abandoned in 1855. The city of Walla Walla, 33 miles east, came into importance in 1860-61, amid placer gold mining activities of Clearwater, Salmon, upper Columbia, Owyhee and Boise rivers. It was first settled upon in 1855. Whitman's mission, at Wai-il-at-pu, was six miles west of the city of Walla Walla.
WALLACE, Clackamas County. Wallace is a station on the Oregon Electric Railway about two miles south of Wilsonville, named for Mrs. Guy W. Talbot, of Portland, whose maiden name was Wallace.
WALLACE, Lane County. Wallace post office and what there was of a community were named for William Wallace Shortridge. The place was on Coast Fork Willamette River about ten or a dozen miles south of Cottage Grove, in township 22 south, range 3 west. The post office was established December 8, 1885, with Shortridge postmaster, and it continued in service until March 1, 1898. Shortridge had previously been postmaster at Ida, at or near the same place as Wallace. Shortridge was born in Iowa. He came to Oregon in 1852 and to Lane County in 1853.
WALLACE Hill, Polk County, Wallace Hill is a prominent landmark in the eastern part of the Eola Hills about three miles northwest of Salem. It has an elevation of about 100 feet and the highway between Salem and Dayton skirts its eastern shoulder. It was named for R. S. Wallace who planted nearby one of the largest orchards in Polk County.
WALLACE ISLAND, Columbia County. This is an island in the Columbia River north of Clatskanie. It is said to bear the name of an early settler who either lived thereon, or owned part of it. The compiler has been unable to get reliable information about the matter. ​
Wilkes in U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume XXIII, Hydrography atlas, callls the western part of the island "Yapats I" and the eastern part "Kotse I," and the channel to the south, now known as Wallace Slough, is called by him "Natsox Run." Wilkes does not explain these names, though they are apparently of Indian origin.
WALLACE SLOUGH, Columbia County. This is probably the small river described by Broughton, which he named Swaine's River on October 26, 1792. Its appearance emerging from behind Wallace Island doubtless led Broughton to believe it was a real river.
WALLALUTE Falls, Hood River County. These falls are on the northeast slope of Mount Hood. They were named in 1893 by Miss A. M. Lang of The Dalles. The word is the Wasco Indian term for strong water. Miss Lang and Will Langille explored the falls on September 26, 1892. Langille and Will Graham had been there about a year before, but Miss Lang was the first white woman as far as known to visit the place. She asked Wasco Sally for a list of names from which to select, and Wallalute was the result. Sally told Miss Lang the word meant strong water, and her statement was confirmed by Sampson, a prominent Indian at the Warm Springs Agency.
WALLOWA, Wallowa County. Wallowa was the first post office in that part of Oregon that now comprises Wallowa County. The office was can lished April 10-1873 with lohn Smedona established April 10, 1873, with John Snodgrass first postmaster. It was on the Union County list at the time.
WALLOWA COUNTY. Wallowa County is the extreme northeast county of Oregon. It has a land area of 3178 square miles. Wallowa is a Nez Perce Indian word used to describe a structure of stakes set in a triangle, used to support a network of sticks called lacallas, for catching fish. These traps were put in Wallowa River below the outlet of Wallowa Lake. This information was furnished the compiler by Levi Ankeny of Walla Walla, who was thoroughly familiar with the early history and tradition of the Wallowa Valley and on intimate terms with many Indians, who knew the facts of the matter. This origin of the name has been disputed, but the compiler is disposed to place great weight on Levi Ankeny's opinion, which was confirmed by J. H. Horner of Enterprise. Wallowa County was created February 11, 1887. See F. V. Holman's "History of Counties of Oregon," OHQ, volume XI, page 60. Wallowa River is a tributary of Grande Ronde River, which Lewis and Clark named Wil-le-wah. The explorers also gave the name to a tribe of Indians.
WALLOWA MOUNTAINS, Baker, Union and Wallowa counties. The Wallowa Mountains are an important geographical feature in Oregon and represent a structure quite distinct from most of the other mountain ranges of the state. They are granitic and are not of volcanic origin, or the result of lava flows. They are rugged in character and alpine in appearance. They take their name from Wallowa River. These mountains were formerly known by a number of names, most of which were applied by prospectors. These names included Granite Mountains, Powder Mountains, Eagle Mountains. J. Neilson Barry, at the time living in Baker, recommended to the USBGN that these local names be eliminated and the name Wallowa Mountains be used to describe the features in question. This was done and the new name ​
is now in universal use. Wallowa Mountains are separate from and are not part of the Blue Mountains.
WALLOWA RIVER, Union and Wallowa counties. Wallowa River is one of the important rivers of the northeastern part of the state. It is formed by the confluence of the east and west forks about a mile south of Wallowa Lake. The river flows into Wallowa Lake at the south end and out of the north end and joins Grande Ronde River at Rondowa. For the origin of the name see under WALLOWA COUNTY. There is a post office in Wallowa Valley named Wallowa.
WALLS LAKE, Harney County. This is a small lake south of Harney Lake serving as a collecting place for spring runoff. It has an elevation of about 5000 feet. It was named for a pioneer stockman, Tom Walls.
WALLUPA CREEK, Wallowa County. J. H. Horner of Enterprise told the writer that wallu pa was an Indian word and probably meant wildcat.
WALLUSKI RIVER, Clatsop County. Walluski River is a tributary of Youngs River, southeast of Astoria. It bears in modern form the name of a small band of Indians that lived nearby. They were of the Chinook tribe. In 1851 Wallooska was the sole surviving member of this band. See OHQ, volume XXII, page 61. The stream is known as a river and not a creek.
WALTERVILLE, Lane County. Walterville was named by George Millican, a pioneer resident, for his son Walter Millican. For further information see under MilLICAN.
WALTON, Lane County. Walton was named for Judge Joshua J. Walton, a pioneer lawyer of Lane County and for some years county judge and secretary of the Board of Regents of the University of Oregon.
WALLGA, Clackamas County. Indian tradition says that the lake now known as Oswego Lake west of the town of Oswego, was originally called Waluga Lake, waluga being an Indian term for wild swan. This name was used because of the peculiar sound made by these birds. When Waluga post office was established in March, 1916, near Oswego Lake, it was thought appropriate to use the old Indian name, but in June, 1923, the name of the office was changed to Lake Grove, a move of no improvement in the opinion of the compiler.
WAMIC, Wasco County. Wamic was named for a family of early settlers named Womack. This family consisted of Asa and Levi, brothers, and a nephew Crawford. Pierce Mays, prominent resident of Wasco County, is authority for the statement that these three men had a remarkable plan of allowing each of the three in turn to determine what all should do during his day of leadership. Thus on Monday al] worked in the blacksmith shop under the leadership of Asa. Levi was more socially inclined and on Tuesday all three sat in front of the shop and "chewed the rag and whittled." Crawford was the Nimrod of the family and on Wednesday the three went hunting or fishing. Thursday began the cycle anew.
WAMPUS, Klamath County. Wampus is a word used by timbermen to refer to a legendary monster of the forests. No one has ever seen a wampus but plenty of woodsmen will undertake to describe one. Wampus post office was established June 27, 1908, with Eugene Spencer first and only postmaster. It was put in service just a few months after the nearby Forest post office was discontinued. According to a letter from Devere Helfrich of Klamath Falls, written in April, 1948, Wampus post ​
office was probably at the old Spencer stage and freight station at the east foot of Hayden Mountain. This would make it about three miles southwest of Forest. Wampus post office was discontinued September 15, 1911.
WAMPUS BUTTE, Deschutes County. The wampus is a legendary monster of the forest, about which there are many stories. Wampus Butte, named for this creature, is about eight miles west-northwest of Lapine, near the Deschutes River.
WANDERERS PEAK, Clackamas County. Dee Wright of Eugene, a native of the Molalla Valley, told the compiler that this peak was named because a party of hunters got lost nearby and wandered around several days before it found camp.
WANOGA BUTTE, Deschutes County. Wanoga Butte, elevation 5740 feet, is about eight miles southeast of Bachelor Butte. It was named by the Forest Service with one form of the Klamath Indian word meaning son or male child. Other forms are vunak, vunaga, and unak. This butte was named about the same time as other nearby features were named with Indian words expressing family relationship. See under Tot MOUNTAIN and KwolH BUTTE.
WAPATO LAKE, Washington and Yamhill counties. This intermittent lake, which covers considerable area in wet years, bears the Indian name for the arrowhead or sagittaria, commonly known as the wild potato. It grows in wet situations. For information about the wapato see under CHEWAUKAN Marsh and under SAUVIE ISLAND. The form Lake Wapato was frequently used in earlier days, but Wapato Lake is now in general use. A post office with the name Wapatoo was established July 14, 1853, with William E. Molthrop postmaster, on the Washington County list. It was a little southeast of the present town of Gaston. The office was discontinued in August, 1865. On August 13, 1871, another post office, Wapatoe, was established in this vicinity. The name of the office was changed to Gaston on June 5, 1873. The office may have been moved at the time the name was changed. Both of the above offices were on the Washington County list. Wapato post office was established on the Yamhill County list on September 26, 1883, with Frederic Florey postmaster. This office was discontinued November 3, 1886. The railroad station at or near this place is shown on old time-cards with the spelling Wapato, and that is the way it was in 1945.
WAPINITIA, Wasco County. Wapinitia is a Warm Springs Indian word. The correct spelling is said to be Wapinita. The compiler of these notes has discussed the name with several Warm Springs Indians and finds that the word Wapinitia is difficult to translate but it suggests a location near the edge of something. One Indian says that it means the edge of the desert or cultivated land. Another version is that it means a point at the end of the brush, or coming out of the brush. These two meanings are not necessarily contradictory. In Wapinitia it is said the name means running water but this translation does not seem to be substantiated by Indians. Wapinitia was once known as Oak Grove because of the trees in the vicinity. One of the principal tributaries of Clackamas River is Oak Grove Fork, so called because it headed in the general direction of Oak Grove.
WARD BUTTE, Linn County. Ward Butte is east of Shedd and south of Plainview. Here there are two buttes, one on each side of the ​
butte ha hay the hill and shoudaim andhill to the Southern Pacific Company tracks, and the name Ward is always applied to the westward one, which has an elevation of 858 feet. The eastern butte has no name, and an elevation of 442 feet. The compiler is informed that the hill known as Ward Butte is really on the Isom donation land claim, and should have been called 'som Butte, while the small hill is on the Ward claim and should be Ward Butte. Regardless of these facts, however, the larger hill to the west is always known as Ward Butte, and will probably continue to be so called. It was named for Thomas M. Ward.
WARD CREEK, Jackson County. Ward Creek is a tributary of Rogue River at Rogue River town, named for Oliver P. Ward, a pioneer settler.
WARDTON, Douglas County. Wardton, a place near Champagne Creek about six miles west of Roseburg, was named for a local resident, Frazier Ward. Wardton post office was established January 7, 1890, with Ward postmaster. The office was closed on February 28, 1907.
WARFIELD CREEK, Lane County. This creek is a tributary of Hills Creek southeast of Oakridge. It was named for Mrs. B. B. Warfield, the owner of Kitson Hot Springs. Warm SPRINGS, Jefferson County. This place, the agency for the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, was named for natural features nearby. The name of the reservation was apparently taken from the much more important springs on Warm Springs River, Warm Springs post office was established February 7, 1873, with Michael Flinn postmaster. The name of the office was telescoped into Warmsprings in 1894, and later to Warmspring. All this was confusing, for people found it difficult to adhere to two styles, one for the agency and one for the reservation. About 1929 postal authorities changed the name again to Warm Springs, and at length all was brought into agreement.
WARNER LAKE, Lake County. Warner Lake post office was in the south part of Warner Valley. There never was a geographic feature in Oregon called Warner Lake. Instead the name Warner Lakes was used collectively for a string of lakes, ponds, and playas in the Warner Valley. However, there was a Warner Lake post office which was established August 28, 1889, with Alvin N. Bennett, first postmaster. This post office was about eight miles southwest of Adel. It remained in service until July 31, 1924.
WARNER MOUNTAIN, Lane County. This mountain is in the big bend of Middle Fork Willamette River south of Oakridge. It was named for Fred Warner, an early settler on the stream. Warner was a hunter and came to Oregon in 1853, according to information furnished by his granddaughter, Mrs. Lina A. Flock of Oakridge, in 1927.
WARNER VALLEY, Harney and Lake counties. There are several geographic features in Oregon named for Brevet Captain William Horace Warner who was killed by Indians in September, 1849, just over the line in northern California. These features include, besides the valley, the Warner Lakes, former Warner Lake post office, and Warner Canyon just north of Lakeview. There is no Warner Lake in Oregon, the term Warner Lakes being a collective name. The peak east of Warner Valley, once known as Warner Mountain, is now universally known as Hart Mountain. Arrowsmith's map of North America, corrected to 1832-33, shows a string of lakes connected by Plants River in the locality of what is now called Warner Valley. Plants River ​
and the lakes are also shown on the map of the Territory of Oregon, prepared by direction of Colonel J. J. Abert of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, 1838. The compiler is of the opinion that John Work of the Hudson's Bay Company visited the Warner Valley October 12-15, 1832. See California Historical Society Quarterly, September, 1943, page 203. Work left the main party to explore what "might with propriety be called the valley of the lakes," and there is an implication that the old hands had been there before. When Work made his little exploration, he took along C. Plante and J. Favel, two of his good men. Charles Plante was also know as Plant and it seems obvious that Plants River bears his name. Work gives a good description of Warner Valley and its string of lakes. Fremont explored what is now known as Warner Valley in December, 1843, and named one of the Warner Lakes Christmas Lake. This was probably Hart Lake of the present day. For many years the Warner Valley was known as Christmas Lake Valley, but the name of Christmas Lake was transferred to another and much less important body of water by a curious transfer that the writer is unable to explain. See under CHRISTMAS LAKE. Captain Warner, together with Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, left Sacramento in August, 1849, for the purpose of exploring the upper reaches of Pit River. Unfortunate delays hindered the work. Finally the leaders separated, Williamson remained at Goose Lake, while Warner went north to Lake Abert, and then to Warner Valley. He worked south along the west edge of the valley until his party was ambushed and massacred. Williamson gives September 26, 1849, as the date of the massacre, and his map shows the place just south of the 42nd parallel. Williamson's map in Pacific Railroad Surveys Reports is on a large scale and shows the site of the massacre about four miles south of the state line. In 1864, Lieutenant-Colonel C. S. Drew of the First Oregon Cavalry, during the Owyhee Reconnoissance, visited and named Warner Valley for the murdered officer, in the belief that Warner had been killed in the valley itself. Drew says in his report that John S. Drum of Jacksonville told him later that Warner was killed in Surprise Valley, and not in Oregon. Drum was a member of the party that went to find Warner's remains in 1850. While it seems apparent that Warner was killed south of the state line, and not in Warner Valley, it also seems clear that he was not killed as far south as Surprise Valley. The massacre was possibly near Eightmile Creek. For additional information about Warner's death, see Gold Rush, Columbia University, New York, 1944, page 624, et seq. The principal lakes and playas of Warner Valley, beginning on the north, are as follows: Bluejoint Lake. Flagstaff Lake. Hart Lake. Stone Corral Lake. Mugwump Lake. Crump Lake. Lower Campbell Lake. Swamp Lake. Pelican Lake. Campbell Lake. Anderson Lake. The best information about Warner Valley may be obtained from the co-operative irrigation report issued by the state engineer entitled Warner Valley and White River Projects.
WARREN, Columbia County. Warren post office was established on February 19, 1885. James Gill, later a resident of Newberg, named the place for his old home, Warren, Massachusetts. In 1888 the post office was discontinued and when it was reestablished two years later it ​
was named Gillton, for Gill. This was due to the fact that there was another post office called Warren in Umatilla County. Some years later the post office in Umatilla County was discontinued and Gillton, Columbia County, was changed to Warren again. The place formerly called Warren in Umatilla County is now known as Myrick.
WARREN, Umatilla County. Warren was a station on the Northern Pacific Railway about five miles southwest of Helix, named for a local family. The post office was in service from December 18, 1888, to March 26, 1895, with William 0. Warren postmaster. From time to time there was confusion between this place and Warren in Columbia County. The name of the station in Umatilla County was changed to Myrick in compliment to another local family. Myrick post ofhce was established August 1, 1902, with John W. Myrick first of several postmasters. The office operated, but not continuously, until March 31, 1908, but the compiler is informed that the station is still in service.
WARREN CREEK, Linn County. Warren Creek flows into Calapooya River east of Brownsville. It was named for Andrew J. Warren, a pioneer resident. He married Eliza Spalding, daughter of a pioneer missionary of the Oregon country, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding.
WARRENDALE, Multnomah County. Warrendale was a post office in eastern Multnomah County serving the territory west of Bonneville. Warrendale was named for Frank M. Warren, Sr., a pioneer fish packer of Oregon, and a prominent citizen of Portland. He was drowned in the wreck of the Titanic in April, 1912.
WARRENTON, Clatsop County. Warrenton gets its name from D. K. Warren, an early settler. The community of Lexington, which was laid out in 1848, was the forerunner of Warrenton and was the first county seat of Clatsop County. Lexington was a post office in the early history of the state. The site of Lexington was near the south limits of Warrenton and about where Skipanon station is now situated. The name Lexington fell into disuse and for many years the territory where Warrenton is now was known as Skipanon. Small boats went up Skipanon River to the place called Skipanon, or Upper Landing, and there unloaded passengers and goods for Clatsop Plains. Warrenton near the mouth of the river was platted by its proprietor in 1889 and the development of the community immediately began around Warrenton, with the result that Skipanon ceased to be of equal importance. For additional information see under SKIPANON. Most of Skipanon is now within the city limits of Warrenton, although it is about a mile away from the business part of Warrenton. For reminiscences of D. K. Warren, see OHQ, volume III, page 296.
WARRIOR POINT, Columbia County. Warrior Point is the north end of Sauvie Island, and Warrior Rock is on the Columbia River side of the island a little to the south. The following quotation from Vancouver's Voyage of Discovery for October 28, 1792, indicates the reason for naming this point: "About three and a half miles from Oak Point Mr. Broughton arrived at another, which he called POINT
WARRIOR, in consequence of being there surrounded by twenty-three canoes, carrying from three to twelve persons each, all attired in their war garments, and in every other respect prepared for combat." Lieutenant Broughton made peace with these Indians, and no bloodshed ensued. The modern use Warrior Point has been approved by the ​
USBGN. It is not possible to tell at this time if Broughton had his adventure at the point or at the rock not far away, but the latter is more likely. Wasco, Sherman County. Wasco owes its inception to the fact that the old Oregon emigrant trail and the road south from the Columbia River, intersected at this point. Despite its early establishment, it was not incorporated until 1898. It was named for Wasco County, in which it was formerly situated, before Sherman County was formed. The first post office in the locality was called Spanish Hollow. It was established March 2, 1870, with Jesse Eaton postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Wasco on March 17, 1882. Wasco, Wasco County. The postal history of Wasco County is complicated by the fact that when the county was established, it was of magnificent proportions. It is difficult to localize some of these early offices, as they may have been anywhere in eastern Oregon. Many are not shown on available maps. Some of the names are in duplicate. A post office called Wasco was in operation in Wasco County from August 26, 1868, until June 3, 1872, with William D. Gilliam postmaster. This office was apparently not for the locality now named Wasco, in Sherman County. It was a few miles east of what is now Dufur, and it was of course named for the county.
WASCO COUNTY. When Wasco County was created, January 11, 1854, it comprised all the area of Oregon Territory between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, an empire in itself. By successive takings for other states and counties, the land area of Wasco County has been reduced to 2387 square miles. Wasco is the modern name for a tribe of Indians. Early writers used the name in many forms. Ross in Fur Hunters of the Far West, volume I, page 186, speaks of the Wiss-co-pam tribe. Lee and Frost in Ten Years in Oregon, page 176, give Was-co-pam. For references to various spellings, see Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 918. About the time of the immigrations white people shortened the name to Wasco. The Wasco Indians were a Chinook tribe, formerly living on the south side of the Columbia River, in the vicinity of The Dalles. The name Wasco is said to be derived from the Wasco word wacq-o, meaning a cup or small bowl made of horn. The Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 917, says this referred to a cup-shaped rock near the main village of the tribe, but Dr. William C. McKay, in an article in The Dalles Mountaineer, May 28, 1869, says that the name Wasco meant makers of basins, and that the literal meaning of the word was horn basin. Some of these basins were fantastically carved. Both of the explanations may be correct. Dr. McKay says that the locality of the city of The Dalles was called Win-quatt, signifying a place surrounded by bold cliffs.
WASHBURN BUTTE, Linn County. This butte is in the southwest part of section 18, township 13 south, range 2 west. It was named for James A. Washburn, a pioneer landowner nearby. It is about three miles north of Brownsville.
WASHINGTON, Yamhill County. There have been but two post offices in Oregon using the name of the first president. The first of these offices was known as Washington Butte. Its short history will be found under the name LEBANON. This post office, strictly speaking, was named for George Washington indirectly, because it was named for a nearby geo ​graphic feature. A post office called Washington was in service in southern Yamhill County from September 30, 1858, to October 13, 1860. Edward Dupuis was the only postmaster. While it is probable that Dupuis selected the name of this office the compiler has no written record to that effect. The name of the Dupuis family has been applied to a Yamhill County stream which flows into Deer Creek a little to the northeast of Sheridan. The name of this stream is generally given as Dupee Creek due to the inability of later settlers to struggle successfully with the French spelling. The compiler has not been able to determine the exact location of the Washington post office in Yamhill County.
WASHINGTON COUNTY. When the Oregon country was divided into counties by an act approved July 5, 1843, four districts were created. That part of the country between the Willamette River and the Pacific Ocean, north of Yamhill River, was called Twality. This is an Indian name and it is spelled in many different ways. For information about the origin of the name, see under TUALATIN River. That part of Oregon originally lying in Twality District was subsequently divided into several counties. The first of these districts, or counties, to be cut off of Twality District was Clatsop District, which was created June 22, 1844. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature passed an act changing the name of Twality County to Washington County, in honor of the first president of the United States, the act providing: "That the name of the county commonly called "Twality' or 'Falatinebe and the same is hereby changed to Washington." The name Twality is so spelled in the written bills introduced in the legislature in 1849, but in the endorsements on the backs of the bills the word is Tuality. The law as printed in Local Laws, 1850 session, page 54, uses the spelling Tualitz. The z is probably a typographical error for a written y. Wasson CREEK, Coos County. Wasson Creek was named for George Wasson, a pioneer settler. The creek flows into Winchester Creek southeast of Cape Arago. See Dodge's Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 16.
WASTINA, Lake County. The postmaster at Wastina in 1925 wrote the compiler that Wastina was a name of Indian origin and that it meant beautiful valley. He gave no indication as to what tribe used the word. Wastina is not found in the dictionary of the Klamath language. The place was not on the post office list in 1930.
WATERLOO, Linn County. W. H. Klum of Lebanon informed the writer in December, 1926, that he was born and reared on the Klum donation land claim, and one of his first recollections was the saw and grist mill built by Elmore Kees at the falls of South Santiam River. The place was known as Kees Mill. After Kees died his widow leased the property to John F. Backensto. There was litigation among the Kees heirs and other persons. John Ambler, a local wit, suggested the name Waterloo after a court decision was handed down giving a substantial victory to one party to the contest. See story in Lebanon Express, September 16, 1937. Waterloo post office was established by change of name from Harris Ranch on January 5, 1875, with S. D. Gager postmaster. Harris Ranch office was established June 18, 1874, with W. S. Harris postmaster. The writer does not know if it was at the same location as Waterloo or not.
WATERMAN, Wheeler County. Waterman is in the south central L ​
part of Wheeler County. It was named for John W. Waterman, better known as "Doc." He settled on the land where the post office was subsequently established. The place was known as Waterman Flat. Waterman belonged to the cattle firm of Smith & Waterman. There was at one time a post office not far from this place known as Caleb, for Caleb N. Thornburg. Thornburg at one time had stock at Spanish Gulch in John Day Valley and was receiver of the land office in The Dalles.
WATERSPOUT CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream occupies a canyon that drains into Snake River into township 2 south, range 50 east. It was named by the Warnock brothers because of the heavy floods that washed so much material down to Snake River.
WATERSPOUT GULCH, Grant County. Waterspout Gulch drains into John Day River just north of Picture Gorge. It is common practice in certain sections of Oregon, Washington and Idaho to name streams and gulches Waterspout, not because of the frequency of waterspouts, but because of the excessive flood discharge after cloudbursts. The terrific effect of these floods is nowhere more noticeable than along the canyon of Snake River between Riparia and Huntington. Great masses of boulders and earth are swept down narrow defiles and into the main stream in quantities sufficient to form serious obstructions in the river.
WATKINS, Jackson County. For nearly thirty years Watkins was a post office in the upper Applegate River Valley near the mouth of Squaw Creek. The office was established in March, 1893, with the name of the first postmaster, Mark Watkins. The office operated in this locality until November 30, 1920, when it was closed out to Jacksonville.
WATSON, Malheur County. The post office at Watson was established in July, 1898. It was named for Harry Watson, a local stockman. Robert J. Ivers was the first postmaster.
WAUCOMA RIDGE, Hood River County. Waucoma Ridge is a spur off the main divide of the Cascade Range. It is in the northwest part of the county and separates the drainage of Hood River on the east from that of Eagle and Herman creeks to the west. Around the city of Hood River waucoma is said to be an Indian word meaning cottonwood tree, and it was used sometimes to refer to the locality because of the trees near the Columbia and Hood rivers. The compiler has not been able to learn what tribe used the expression. There are probably no cottonwood trees on Waucoma Ridge and the name seems to have been applied to that feature by white people because it has a pleasing sound.
WAUD BLUFF, Multnomah County. Old maps show this as Waid Bluff, but an investigation by government authorities disclosed the fact that Waud Bluff is correct, the name coming from an old settler, John Waud. Waud Bluff is on the east bank of the Willamette River north of Swan Island. Waud's donation land claim was north of the bluff,
WAUNA, Clatsop County. For the origin of the name Wauna, see under WAUNA Point. The name was applied to the Clatsop County community by Alfred W. Clark. Wauna post office was established January 21, 1911, with James Pollock first postmaster.
WAUNA POINT, Multnomah County. Wauna is an Indian name, probably Klickitat. It describes a mythological being supposed to represent the Columbia River. See The Bridge of the Gods, by F. H. ​
Balch. Wauna Point is on the Columbia River Highway between Tanner Creek and Eagle Creek. The highest point of the bluff near the river is about 2500 feet in elevation.
WAUNEKA Point, Multnomah County. This point is just south of the Columbia River Highway between McCord Creek and Moffett Creek. It bears the Indian name of a locality on the south bank of the Columbia River west of Bonneville.
WAVERLY LAKE, Linn County. This lake is not large, but it has a pleasing aspect. It is just east of Albany, and came into being largely because of the construction of the grades of old and the new locations of the Pacific Highway East. It lies between the two alignments and is an attractive feature of the locality. It was named Waverly Lake at the suggestion of Charles Childs, well-known Linn County resident.
WAWA CREEK, Clatsop County. Wawa Creek is a small tributary to Youngs River about a mile south of Youngs River Falls. Wawa is the Chinook jargon word for talk and may have been applied to the stream because the water makes a noise flowing over the gravel.
WEAVER CREEK, Douglas County. This stream flows into South Myrtle Creek. It bears the name of a prominent pioneer family, sev. eral members of which settled in various parts of Douglas County.
WEAVER GULCH, Marion County. Weaver Gulch lies just east of Pacific Highway East, a mile north of Looney Butte. It was named for David Weaver, who took up a donation land claim nearby.
WEB, Yamhill County. This station, northeast of Newberg, was named by consolidating the initials of W. E. Burke, a well-known politician of Portland, who owned land nearby. The station was not in service in 1940.
WECOMA, Lincoln County. John Gill in his Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, 1909, says that wecoma is the jargon word for sea. The community of Wecoma is in the north part of Lincoln County, overlooking the ocean.
WEDDERBURN, Curry County. Wedderburn was established by R. D. Hume, a prominent Pacific Coast business man, who had fishing interests at the mouth of Rogue River. He named the community for an ancestral home in Scotland. Literally, Wedderburn means Sheep Creek. Wedder is an old form of wether, and burn is of course a stream or brook.
WEEKLY, Douglas County. A post office named Weekly was established on the Coos County list on September 24, 1883, but about the same time it was moved to the Douglas County list and there it remained until it was discontinued February 25, 1884. Smith Baily was the only postmaster. All the evidence available is to the effect that the office was at the west edge of Douglas County, probably about twenty miles west of Roseburg on the Roseburg-Coos Bay stage road. The Weekly family was well known, especially in Coos County and some members were interested in the construction of the road. It is probable that Weekly post office was at or near the place called Reston, a stage station on the road and a post office from 1890 to 1934. Edmond E. Weekly was the first postmaster at Reston and was the proprietor of the station.
WEEKLY CREEK, Coos County. The correct spelling of this name is Weekly and not Weakly, as sometimes written. The stream is a tribu ​tary of East Fork Coquille River about one mile east of Gravelford. It was named for a pioneer family of the Coquille Valley.
WELCHES, Clackamas County. Welches was named for Samuel Welch, who took up a homestead nearby in 1882. The post office was established in 1905.
WELLEN, Jackson County. Wellen is the neighborhood of the home of H. von der Hellen. He named it for the estate of his ancestors in Germany.
WELL SPRING, Morrow County. Well Spring has been well known since the days of the immigrations. It is south of Boardman and close to Juniper Canyon, and the exact location may be found on the USGS map of the Blalock Island quadrangle. Well Spring is mentioned in several early journals written on the Oregon Trail, and was probably named because it was enlarged into a well. The compiler has been unable to associate the name of anybody called Wells with the spring.
WELLS, Benton County. Wells was named for a man locally known as "Red" Wells, who owned a donation land claim nearby in pioneer days. Wells post office was established February 24, 1880, with James Gingles first postmaster. The railroad station was put in service about the same time, but some years later the name of the station was changed to Wellsdale to avoid confusion with another Wells on the Southern Pacific railroad. Wells post office was continued with that name until February, 1936, when it was closed to Corvallis. The station name is still Wellsdale as of 1946.
WEMME, Clackamas County. Wemme is a place on the Mount Hood Loop Highway about four miles west of Rhododendron, named for a public spirited citizen of Portland, E. Henry Wemme, who was instrumental in getting the Barlow Road into the possession of the State of Oregon. This road was for many years a toll road, but in 1912 Wemme bought it for $5400. After making a number of desirable improvements, Wemme died, but not before making arrangements to bequeath the road to the public. It is now incorporated in part in the Mount Hood Loop Highway. Wemme post office was established June 21, 1916, with Leonard A. Wrenn first postmaster.
WENAHA RIVER, Wallowa County. This stream is also called Salmon River, but that name is unsatisfactory because of the more important Salmon River nearby in Idaho. J. H. Horner of Enterprise informed the compiler that the name Wenaha is derived from the Indian family or sub-tribe name Wenak, with a ha added to indicate the land governed by the sub-chief Wenak. See under IMNAHA.
WENAKA, Wallowa County. This place was to have been called Wenaha, but postal authorities at Washington mistook the spelling and changed the "h" to "k."
WENDLING, Lane County. Wendling was named for Geo. X. Wendling, a prominent Pacific Coast lumberman and at one time a director of The Booth-Kelly Lumber Company. The post office was established in 1899 and the first postmaster was Geo. H. Kelly.
WENDSON, Lane County. Wendson is a railroad station northeast of Cushman. The name was condensed from that of the WendlingJohnson Lumber Company
WESLEY, Benton County. Wesley got its name from the given name of the first postmaster, Wesley C. Keeton. The office was established in ​
September, 1900, and was discontinued in October, 1903. It was on the extreme west edge of the county and about five miles east of Harlan. Some maps show Wesley on the extreme east edge of Lincoln County, but the postal records in Washington put the office in Benton County.
WEST CHEHALEM, Yamhill County. West Chehalem is an area name, given in contradistinction to East Chehalem or Chehalem as it was more generally known. Chehalem meant the locality now usually called Newberg and vicinity. West Chehalem was on the upper reaches of Chehalem Creek six or eight miles northwest of Newberg. West Chehalem post office was established as early as November 20, 1865, with Isaac Rogers first postmaster. The office operated until July 31, 1900, when it was closed to Gaston. West Chehalem post office moved to fit the availability of postmasters, but it was generally in the northwest part of township 3 south, range 3 west. In recent years there has been no specific community called West Chehalem.
WEST CREEK, Clatsop County. West Creek is near Westport and was named for John West, who settled in the vicinity in pioneer days. See under WESTPORT. West FORK, Douglas County. West Fork is a railroad station on the Southern Pacific line in Cow Creek Canyon at the mouth of West Fork Cow Creek. The post office name was Dothan. See under that heading.
WEST LAKE, Clatsop County. This is a long, narrow lake on Clatsop Plains south of Carnahan station. It was named for Josiah West, a pioneer landowner. The Oregon Coast Highway crosses the north end of this lake north of the old West homestead. For story about Josiah West and the building of the West house, see Sunday Oregonian, December 1, 1946, magazine section.
WEST LINN, Clackamas County. This is the successor of Linn City, which was established as Robins Nest by Robert Moore, a pioneer of 1840. Moore took a prominent part in organizing the provisional government, and bought the Oregon Spectator in 1850. In 1844 the legislature authorized him to, operate a ferry between Oregon City and Robins Nest. On December 22, 1845, the legislature named the locality of his home Linn City, for Lewis F. Linn of Missouri. See under LINN COUNTY. A food swept away the place in 1861. Linn community is now incorporated with the name of West Linn. Linn City post office was established January 8, 1850, with James M. Moore postmaster. The office was discontinued February 18, 1854. West PORTLAND, Multnomah County. The name West Portland is used to describe the area near the crossing of Pacific Highway West and Southwest Capitol Highway. There is a West Portland School and the name is otherwise perpetuated in West Portland addition that lies generally south and southwest of Multnomah. In the '90s a steam motor carline extended into the territory by way of Fulton Park, West Portland post office was established July 21, 1890, with Henry J. Osfield first postmaster. This ofhce continued in service until March 15, 1907, when it was closed out to Hillsdale. In August, 1946, Werner Raz, superintendent of the Multnomah branch of the Portland post office, wrote that for a time the old West Portland office was housed in a building now numbered 4623 Southwest Taylors Ferry Road, a short distance
EST POR he the area ighway. Thelin West Porin the '90s, a. ​
west of Southwest Capitol Highway, Mr. Raz added that the building was being demolished.
WEST SIDE, Lake County. This post office was named by Will C. Fleming, who was first postmaster when the office was established in June, 1923. It was named for the West Side Store, which was on the west side of Goose Lake.
WEST STAYTON, Marion County. West Stayton railroad station was established on the Oregonian Railway narrow gage line in the '80s to serve the locality about four miles west of Stayton. The railroad did not go through Stayton, and West Stayton was the nearest shipping point on the narrow gage. The station was of course named in contradistinction to Stayton. For origin of name see under STAYTON. In the latter '80s a post office was petitioned for to serve the locality of West Stayton, but postal authorities refused to establish an office with the name West Stayton for fear of mail confusion and suggested that the local people interested should choose another name. A meeting was held and Hugh McNeil suggested the name Ale, which was short, and duplicated no other post office name in the country. Mrs. Maude Porter Boone of Aumsville informed the compiler that the name was suggested by the finding of an empty ale bottle beside the road near the station. Ale post office was established on December 18, 1888, with Levi J. Hollister postmaster. The office was discontinued on July 26, 1890. It was opened again on January 21, 1891, with Henry B. Condit postmaster. Mr. Condit ran the office, in conjunction with the railroad station West Stayton, until September 3, 1902, when Ale post office was closed due to the extension of rural free delivery from Aumsville. The later development of the locality brought new demands for a post office, and West Stayton office was established October 12, 1911, with D. M. McInnis first postmaster. This office was still in service in 1946.
WEST UNION, Washington County. The name West Union, applied to various places in Washington County, is of great historic interest and has been in use over a century. On May 25, 1844, a few members of the Baptist Church met in the cabin of David T. Lenox, a pioneer of 1843, who had taken up a claim on the north part of Tualatin Plains. A constitution and covenant was drawn up for the West Union Baptist Church, the first Baptist Church established west of the Rocky Mountains. The text of this document, as printed in the OHQ for September 1935, contains the express statement that the churchmen "have been thrown together in these Wilds of the West, and ... Agree that we Constitute and come into union." West Union Baptist Church was built in 1853 on a site given by Lenox on the east edge of his claim. The congregation met in the new church on December 24 and 25, 1853. The church still stands on the Germantown Road about a mile northwest of the community of West Union. West Union post office was established January 27, 1874, with Stephen A. Holcomb first postmaster. This office was in operation until March 17, 1894. The writer does not know its exact location, but it was probably near the present community of West Union, which is close to the Holcomb claim. West Union community does not now have a post office. It is at an intersection just south of the Germantown Road and about a mile and a half northwest of Bethany.
WEST WOODBURN, Marion County. West Woodburn is about two miles west of Woodburn. For information about origin of the name, ​
see under WOODBURN. West Woodburn post office was established in May, 1912, with M. J. McCormick first postmaster. The office was closed in March, 1934.
WESTFALL, Malheur County. Westfall was named for Levi Westfall, a pioneer who settled in Bully Creek Valley. The post office was first established with the name Bully in April, 1882, but was changed to Westfall in February, 1889. It was at one time on the old Westfall ranch about two miles east of the present site of the town of Westfall.
WESTFIR, Lane County. Westfir was named for the Western Lumber Company. The name was first used July 19, 1923, according to a letter written the compiler by W. J. Norris. The Western Lumber Company is a large producer of fir lumber. The post office was established in November, 1923.
WESTIMBER, Washington County. Westimber, a post office and railroad station west of the town of Timber, was named on that account. The railroad station was formerly called West Timber but about 1918 the railroad company changed the name to one word to agree with the post office name. The post office was established in 1916 with L. R. Kern postmaster.
WESTLAKE, Lane County. Westlake post office derives its name from the fact that the town site it serves is on the west shore of Siltcoos Lake. This community was established by W. P. Reed in 1914 and the post office was installed in September, 1915.
WESTLAND, Umatilla County. Westland is a railroad station near the west bank of Umatilla River, about eight miles west of Stanfield, named because of its westward position as compared with other communities in the lower Umatilla River area. Westland came into being as a result of the construction by the railroad of the Messner-Hinkle cutoff. Westland post office was established August 17, 1917, with Henry T. Schroeder first postmaster. This post office was closed January 14, 1922, but the railroad station was still in service as of February 15, 1947,
WESTON, Umatilla County. Weston was named for Weston, Missouri, by T. T. Lieuallen. Lieuallen came from the Missouri town and named his home in Oregon after his old home in the middle West. He was first postmaster at Weston, Oregon. The writer has been informed by those who say they knew that Lieuallen said on sev. eral occasions that he intended to name the place Western, but the postal authorities circumvented him. In Carey's History of Oregon it is said that Westen was the name Lieuallan picked on, but this does not agree with other reports that have been received by the compiler. A post office named Mitchell's Station was established in February, 1867, with W. H. Abell postmaster. The name of this office was changed to Weston in September, 1869, at which time Lieuallen became postmaster. The compiler has been unable to learn if Mitchell's Station was at the present location of Weston, or if it was moved in 1869 when the name was changed.
WESTPORT, Clatsop County. John West settled in this locality about 1850, and the place was named for him. West was born in Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1809, and came to Oregon by way of Quebec and California. He was known as Captain West and was a millwright and lumberman. He ran a sawmill at Westport and also a salmon cannery. He died in 1887 and his widow, Margaret West, also a native of ​
Scotland, died in 1894. For information about John West and his large family, see article by Fred Lockley in the Oregon Journal, January 31, 1943. Wesport post office was established in December, 1863.
WETMORE, Wheeler County. Wetmore post office, established in the summer of 1945, is at a location used by the Kinzua Pine Mills Company in handling logs in northeast Wheeler County. The office at the time of this writing is about eleven miles northeast of Kinzua, and was named for the late E. D. Wetmore of Warren, Pennsylvania, a large stockholder in the logging and lumbering concern. It was E. D. Wetmore who named Kinzua for Kinzua, Pennsylvania. Wetmore community was established in 1942, but did not have a post office until three years later.
WHALE COVE, Lincoln County. Whale Cove is a well-known place on the Oregon Coast Highway at the north base of Cape Foulweather. The compiler was told about 1930 that it was named many years before by a party of white people who found some Indians busy at work on the carcass of a dead whale. Despite the aroma, Indians were enthusiastic over a whale steak.
WHALEHEAD ISLAND, Curry County. This rocky islet is in the Pacific Ocean, close to the shore of Gold Beach. It is hollow to seaward and has a hole in the top so that at certain stages of the tide water rushes into the cavity and spouts out the hole, simulating a whale. Whalehead Island has been so known since very early pioneer days. The style of the name has included such forms as Whaleshead, Whale Head and other variations, but in 1943 the USBGN adopted the name Whalehead Island as being the most desirable arrangement. A nearby stream is called Whalehead Creek. Orvil Dodge, in Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, says that Frances Fuller Victor's statement that Gold Beach was once known as Whalehead is wrong.
WHEATLAND, Yamhill County. Wheatland is in the extreme southeast corner of the county and was named in pioneer days because it was an important shipping point for wheat grown on nearby lands. The place was also called Wheatland Landing and sometimes Matheny Ferry. Wheatland post office was established January 29, 1867, with Marion B. Hendrick first postmaster. The office was discontinued January 31, 1903, doubtless due to the extension of rural free delivery from larger offices. The area tributary to Wheatland has been extensively developed by intensified and diversified field and fruit crops.
WHEELER, Tillamook County. This place was named for Coleman H. Wheeler, of Portland, a prominent lumberman and sawmill operator, who operated a mill in the community shortly after the railroad was built. Wheeler died about 1920. For his biography, see Carey's History of Oregon, volume II, page 72.
WHEELER, Wheeler County. Wheeler post office was established Aug. ust 15, 1890, with Lafayett Frizzell postmaster, and continued in operation until September 5, 1895, when it was closed to Waldron. Lafe Frizzell lived at the Frizzell Ranch on Girds Creek about six miles north of Mitchell. It is reported that the ofhce was named for Henry H. Wheeler, prominent pioneer resident of central Oregon, for whom Wheeler county was named in 1899.
WHEELER COUNTY. Wheeler County was created February 17, 1899, and according to the Bureau of the Census, has a land area of ​
1707 square miles. It was named for Henry H. Wheeler, who was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, September 7, 1826, of English and German ancestry; went to Wisconsin in 1855; drove an ox team from Wisconsin to Yreka, California, by way of Salt Lake, in 1857, in company with a family named Wells; came to Oregon in 1862 and located at The Dalles in 1867, but soon went to the Salmon River mines, in Idaho. Mining being unprofitable, he secured work driving a stage. He returned to The Dalles, and began farming and stock raising in the vicinity of Mitchell, Oregon, where he remained until his death, March 26, 1915. He was married December 19, 1875, to Dorcas L. Monroe, who died at Mitchell in March, 1911.
WHEELER CREEK, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. This stream was named for James H. Wheeler, of Fort Klamath, one time deputy sheriff. Wheeler was a trapper and spent a great deal of time, often alone for long periods, in the mountains with his traps.
WHELPLEY, Jackson County. Whelpley post office was established in July, 1882, and ran along to the following April when it was discontinued and the business turned over to Deskins post office. Whelpley post office was named for the postmaster, Thomas H. Whelpley. The compiler has not been able to find this place on any map. It is apparent from the fact that the office was closed to Deskins that it must have been in the upper Rogue River country. The name Deskins post office was later changed to Prospect.
WHETSTONE CREEK, Clackamas and Marion counties. This stream is on the northeast slope of Whetstone Mountain and flows northward. The creek was named by John Paine and Preston Pendleton, familiarly known as Doc Pendleton, because of the prevalence of a rock that could be used to sharpen knives.
WHETSTONE POINT, Jackson County. This point is a prominent place near the south end of Bald Mountain, west of Rogue River and a few miles southwest of Prospect. It was named because of the local occurrence of a slate rock which forms a good abrasive whetstone for sharpening blades. The rock splits into suitable shapes and sizes.
WHISKY CREEK, Jackson County. This stream is a tributary to Rogue River, not a great way from Crater Lake. Will G. Steel says that it was named as a result of an enterprising pioneer bootlegger, who planned to take a load of whisky from Jacksonville over the mountains to Fort Klamath. Snow impeded his progress and he buried his load for the winter. Someone discovered his cache and the soldiers of Fort Klamath gradually cleaned out his stock so that when he returned in the spring there was nothing left. All this is said to have occurred about 1865. Times have not changed much.
WHISKY CREEK, Wallowa County. Whisky Creek drains an area northwest of Wallowa. The Illustrated History of Union and Wallowa Counties, page 674, gives the origin of the name. Raz Tulley, a resident of Wallowa, is authority for the statement that in the summer of 1872 traders brought a supply of whisky by pack train from Walla Walla and began to barter the firewater to the Indians for Indian goods. Local residents, iucluding Tulley, Masterson, White, Cox and several others, became much alarmed and went to the camp to put a stop to the business. A three-cornered fight ensued, which was won by the settlers. The kegs were broken and the whisky ran into the ​
stream, which has been known as Whisky Creek ever since. In 1931 J. H. Horner confirmed this story, and said he got his information from W. W. White.
WHISKY Hill, Clackamas County. Whisky Hill is a locality about four miles south of Aurora, on the Meridian Road just east of Pudding River. On March 9, 1945, the Oregon City Banner-Courier printed a letter from Mrs. Wilda Elliott Fish of Woodburn to the effect that when she was a small girl she drove through this neighborhood with her father and asked about a strange looking building with steam coming out. Her father explained it was a distillery where whisky was being made from apples. This sounds more like applejack than whisky, but either fluid carries a stout kick. Whisky Run, Coos County. Whisky Run, just north of Coquille River, was named at the time of the Coos County gold rush of 1853-55. Excitement in the locality was at a high pitch, and it hardly seems possible that liquid stimulants were needed, but the name of the stream indicates otherwise. Remarkable stories are told of the results of panning the beach sands. The community of Randolph was established near the mouth of Whisky Run but was moved to Coquille River after the gold fever subsided.
WHITAKER, Deschutes County. Whitaker post office was a short-lived establishment on the High Desert about ten miles east of Millican. The office was named for John O. Whitaker, a property owner in eastern Deschutes County. The office was established March 28, 1911, with Mary E. Gray first and only postmaster. It was discontinued August 15, 1912, with mail to Bend. Mary E. Gray later became Mrs. John O. Whitaker.
WHITCOMB, Linn County. Whitcomb is a locality on Quartzville Creek about fifteen miles northeast of Sweet Home. It was named for George B. Whitcomb, who had some interests there. A stream flowing in from the northwest is called Whitcomb Creek. Whitcomb post office was established December 26, 1889, and was closed May 15, 1899. George B. Whitcomb was the postmaster. The office was out of service from April 13, 1893, until August 12, 1896.
WHITE CREEK, Linn County. This stream flows into Little Muddy Creek east of Harrisburg. It was named for Luther White, through whose donation land claim the creek runs. White was a pioneer surveyor for that part of Oregon. White Horse, Baker County. The name White Horse as applied to a post office on the Baker County list is a puzzle in Oregon nomenclature. White Horse post office was established February 13, 1867, with W. A. Mix postmaster. The office was closed August 6, 1867. There is nothing to show its location, even approximately. Whitehorse Creek and a little later the famous Whitehorse Ranch were in the limits of Baker County as it was constituted at that time, later in Harney County, but the compiler is of the opinion that the ranch was not actually in operation as early as 1867. The name of the first postmaster, Mix, may furnish a clue. Hiatt in his Thirty-one Years in Baker County, page 25, has a good deal to say about a group of Nevada miners who came into eastern Oregon in 1862, and since several of their horses were white, they were styled the White Horse company. This band found diggings. Whether the members ever bequeathed their company name to a post office the compiler does not know. ​
WHITE LAKE, Klamath County. This lake was so named because of the color of the lake bottom, which apparently consisted of some white diatomaceous material. The lake was an extension of the original Lower Klamath Lake, and much of its area was south of the Oregon state line and therefore in California. It was two or three miles southwest of Merrill. Irrigation and drainage projects have eliminated White Lake. White Lake City was named for the lake. One of the original promoters of the city, Mr. Bert C. Hall, was a resident of Klamath Falls in April, 1947, and kindly submitted some interesting information about the project. The Oklahoma and Oregon Townsite Company was organized to market a large number of lots which were to be made available by the passage of a bill in Congress to dispose of some Indian lands near Klamath Falls. The bill failed to pass and the company acquired the White Lake City area as a substitute townsite. The nucleus of the town was in section 16, township 41 south, range 10 east. White Lake City boasted a bank, built by Mr. Hall, a restaurant, a newspaper and small piers for waterborne traffic. Lots in the project were sold for $15 each, assignment made by lottery. When the Southern Pacific Company extended its line from Weed northeast to Klamath Falls and Kirk, White Lake City was left off the main route of travel, and the town expired. Most of the buildings have been salvaged for nearby farm structures. Whitelake post office was established September 20, 1905, with Lillian H. Stilts first postmaster. The office was closed to Merrill December 15, 1913.
WHITE PINE, Grant County. White Pine post office was about five miles northeast of Austin, on the Sumpter Valley railroad, near the summit of the Blue Mountains. It was established April 6, 1912, with Julius Gardinier first postmaster, and was discontinued March 15, 1918, with mail to Austin. The post office was named for the Baker White Pine Lumber Company, then operating in those parts. The mill was doubtless cutting western yellowpine rather than western whitepine. White Point, Jackson County. White Point was a post office on the old stage road from Ashland south over the Siskiyou Mountains to Yreka. It was about sixteen miles south of Ashland. The post office was established August 8, 1883, with Edward J. Farlow first postmaster. Byron Cole took office October 17, 1883, and was apparently the cause for changing the name of the office to Colestin on April 8, 1892. Colestin office was in service for many years. The name White Point came from a conspicuous outcrop or ledge of white rock, probably some form of granite, visible from many parts of the Cottonwood Creek Valley. The Southern Pacific Company had a railroad station in this locality called White Point, shown on the USGS map of the Medford quadrangle. This station was abandoned about 1938-40. The compiler does not know if this station was in the same location as the old White Point post office or not, but is of the opinion that the old White Point post office was in about the same location as the place called Colestin, also shown on the above map. White Point station and Colestin station were about a mile apart.
WHITE RIVER, Hood River and Wasco counties. This stream has a descriptive name, resulting from the color of the water when glacial silt and sand are present. William Clark's map accompanying the Biddle edition of the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition published in 1814, shows the stream with the name Skimhoox River, but ​
the compiler has been unable to find any mention of the name in the text. Peter Skene Ogden saw the stream on Monday, December 5, 1825, and Fremont mentions it under date of November 26, 1843, but neither of these explorers commented on its color. This is not remarkable, because in the winter the amount of silt carried by White River is small. Joel Palmer, in his Journal of Travels, as of 1845, mentions the river in a number of places, as a branch of the Deschutes, but does not use the name White River. He makes a note of the sand. White River, as a name, probably came into use in the late '40s, but it is not known who was the first to apply it. White Rock, Douglas County. This is purely descriptive. The mountain has an exposed white rock formation on the west side.
WHITEAKER, Marion County. Whiteaker post office was named for John Whiteaker, first governor of Oregon, but probably not because he held that position. Governor Whiteaker was Oregon's representative in Congress when the post office was established and was probably of some help in getting the new facility. Doubtless the office was named for some such reason. Whiteaker post office was established May 3, 1880, with George W. Hunt first of four postmasters. George W. Hunt was a wellknown local resident who owned property in section 23, township 8 south, range 1 west. There was a store on the east-west road near the north part of his property and this is said to be the first location of the Whiteaker post office. The Hunt place was known as the Beaver Glen farm because it was in the vale of Beaver Creek. Old maps show that this post office was moved around from time to time but it was generally a few miles north or northeast of Sublimity. The office was discontinued July 20, 1903. John Whiteaker was born in Indiana in 1820 and came to Oregon in 1852. He was first state governor of Oregon. He served one term as representative in Congress and also in several sessions of the Oregon legislature. He died in Eugene in 1902.
WHITEHILL, Lake County. Whitehill post office was about ten miles northwest of Paisley and just south of the south end of Summer Lake. It was named for a local topographic feature, apparently composed of some chalklike substance. The office, with one short intermission, operated from December 9, 1875, to April 28, 1879. The four postmasters were: William H. Miller, Mrs. Julia D. Hayes, William T. Hill, and Peter Withers.
WHITEHORSE CREEK, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. Will G. Steel informed the compiler in 1927 that when the government forces were constructing the road from Annie Spring west toward Rogue River in 1865, a white horse was used to carry supplies, and the stream and Whitehorse Bluff nearby were undoubtedly named for this animal.
WHITEHORSE RANCH, Harney County. Whitehorse Ranch is one of the historic landmarks of southeast Oregon and much has been written about it. The ranch is on Whitehorse Creek, southeast of Steens Mountain. John S. Devine came to this part of Oregon about 1868 and soon was a member of the partnership of Todhunter and Devine. These two stockmen assembled a fine collection of blooded animals of one sort and another and the Whitehorse Ranch became famous throughout the West. A weather vane simulating a white horse was put on the cupola over the barn and there it has stood for many ​
decades. This weather vane is kept carefully painted and is an object of considerable veneration. In May, 1946, James F. Abel then at Berkeley, California, wrote the compiler that the name Whitehorse Creek appears as early as 1866 on Colonel R. S. Williamson's map of the Steens Mountain country. Mr. Abel continues: "Some thirty years ago a vaquero from the ranch told me that it was named for a beautiful white horse ridden by an Indian chief who frequented that section in the early days. His statement is to some extent verified by the Humboldt Register. The issue of September 23, 1865, in telling of an Indian fight in Quinn River Valley has the following: 'One horse, which had often before attracted notice, was again conspicuous on this occasion – a white animal that defied all efforts to approach its rider'." There is another mention of this white horse in the issue of December 30, 1865, where it is said that he was ridden by Black Rock Tom, a local sub-chief who was captured and killed at the Big Meadow on Humboldt River December 26, 1865. The newspaper account says that Tom did not ride his "pale horse" in the last foray and as a result the animal remained with other Indians. It is Mr. Abel's belief that Whitehorse Creck and Whitehorse Ranch owe their names to Tom's pale horse, which appears to have ranged as far north as the Alvord Valley.
WHITEMAN Bar, Marion County. Whiteman Bar is on the cast bank of Willamette River about one mile southwest of Sidney. It was named for S. J. Whiteman who owned land nearby in pioneer days.
WHITESON, Yamhill County. The postmaster in 1926 wrote the compiler that this place was named for Henry White, who gave the right-ofway to the railroad, and laid out the townsite. Steel says it was named for William White. The reader may do his own guessing. Possibly there were two men, of the same family. A post office called Whites was established here on October 3, 1889, with Dennis A. Browne first postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Whiteson on October 2, 1890. The writer recalls that when he was a very small boy, the railroad station was also called Whites. This was the place where the old narrow gage railroad from Portland to Airlie crossed the standard gage line from Portland to Corvallis.
WHITEWATER CREEK, Linn and Marion counties. This stream was named by the Marion County road surveying expedition in 1874. See article by John Minto, OHQ, volume IV, page 249. The name was applied because of the light colored glacial silt held in suspension by the water.
WHITEWATER River, Jefferson County. This stream rises on the northeast shoulder of Mount Jefferson and flows into Metolius River. It carries much glacial silt in suspension, and the name is descriptive. It was named many years ago, and for a time was known as Whitewater Creek, but this caused confusion with Whitewater Creek, a tributary of North Santiam River west of Mount Jefferson. As a result, the eastern stream is now generally known as Whitewater River.
WHITFORD, Washington County. This station was named for W. A. White and A. C. Bedford, prominent capitalists of New York City, who were directors of the Oregon Electric Railway Company during the early history of the line.
WHITNEY, Baker County. This town was named for C, H. Whitney, a pioneer land owner of the county. ​
WICHITA, Clackamas County. Wichita station is on the interurban line about two and a half miles northeast of Milwaukie at the extreme north edge of the county. The Wichita property was developed by George Parry, who had formerly lived in Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Parry applied the name of his old home in the Midwest.
WICKIUPS, Deschutes County. This is an old stockman's name for a point on Deschutes River south of Crane Prairie. The place was a camp ground for Indians who gathered there to hunt and fish in the fall. They left their wickiup poles standing which gave the place its name. Wickiup Butte, elevation 4913 feet, is nearby and got its name from the locality. Wickiup Dam, under construction during several years prior to 1942, is also named for the locality. In 1939 the USBGN adopted the spelling Wickiup rather than Wikiup.
WICOPEE, Lane County. Wicopee is a station on the Southern Pacific Company Cascade line, situated in the Salt Creek Valley southeast of Oakridge. It was named at the time the railroad was built. Wicopee is an Indian word transplanted from New York state. It is said to mean "long hill," and it probably refers to a long grade or steep climb, rather than to an elongated hill or mountain standing by itself. The compiler has no idea how the name happened to be dug up in far away New York. As far as the Indian meaning is concerned "long hill" is strictly accurate for the Lane County railroad station. It is about midway of the long climb from Oakridge up the summit of the Cascade Range. Wicopee in Lane County is not a community nor does it have a post office. It is just an operating point on the railroad with some company facilities. The name may be found in USGS Bulletin 258, Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, by Henry Gannett.
WIDBY Loops, Clatsop County. The lower Columbia River Highway climbs from river level up to Clatsop Crest and part of the ascent is made by a series of hairpin bends called the Widby Loops. In 1914 J. L. Widby was resident engineer of the Oregon State Highway Commission during the construction of these loops and an assistant, Earl Withycombe, prepared a sign reading "Widby Loops," which was nailed to a tree nearby. The name has become permanently attached to this interesting example of engineering. Widows CREEK, Grant County. This stream east of Dayville was named for a widow, Mrs. S. E. Heim, who lived on the creek, and was, according to reports, a typical frontierswoman.
WILARK, Columbia County. The name of Wilark post office was made by taking the first part of Wilson and the last part of Clark. These two names occur in the Clark & Wilson Lumber Company which operated a mill at Linnton and owned timber lands in Columbia County. The post office was established in 1924 and served the camp which was logging the company timber lands.
WILBUR, Douglas County. Wilbur was named for James H. Wilbur, D.D., who was born in Lowville, New York, September 11, 1811, and died at Walla Walla October 8, 1887. He was universally known as Father Wilbur and was one of Oregon's best known pioneer Methodist ministers. He came to Oregon by way of Cape Horn in 1846-47. He was instrumental in founding several educational institutions, among others Umpqua Academy at Wilbur. The first building was a rough log struc ​ture on Father Wilbur's land claim upon which he settled September 8, 1853. For short history of Father Wilbur and Umpqua Academy, see
OHQ, volume XIX, page 1. A pioneer post office with the name Laurel was established near the present site of Wilbur on October 14, 1854, with Willis Jenkins postmaster. It was discontinued in November, 1855. Wilbur MOUNTAIN, Umatilla County. Wilbur Mountain is a prominent feature in the Blue Mountains about ten miles east of Meacham. It is almost on the southwest corner of section 6, township 1 south, range 37 east. It was named for Erastus J. Wilbur, who, as a member of the firm of Wilbur and Son, cut and milled a great deal of railroad timber from the vicinity of Wilbur Mountain.
WILDERVILLE, Josephine County. Wilderville was named for Joseph L. Wilder, a local resident. Postal authorities inform the compiler that the first post office established at this place was called Slate Creek. It was established on September 30, 1858, with Oliver J. Evans first postmaster, The name of the office was changed to Wilderville on August 12, 1878. Joseph L. Wilder was then postmaster. WildHORSE CREEK, Umatilla County. This name is an old one. It occurs as Marron's Fork in Brouillet's Account of the Murder of Dr. Whitman, New York, 1853, page 55. Marron is a French word, meaning, among other things, a domesticated animal gone wild. Brouillet uses the name as of 1847. Kip, in Army Life on the Pacific, 1859, page 25, uses the form Wild Horse Creek. The origin of the name obviously had some connection with an early day experience with stock, probably by fur traders. Government map makers use the form Wildhorse. WildWOOD, Lane County. For a good many years Wildwood, with its descriptive rustic name, was an important locality in the Row River area. Wildwood post office was established January 6, 1888, with Sarah E. Kerr first of a long series of postmasters. The office was closed December 31, 1914, with papers to Disston. The office was a mile or so southeast of what was later Culp Creek post office.
WILEY CREEK, Linn County. This stream flows into South Santiam River near Foster. It bears the name of Andrew Wiley, a pioneer settler. It is also known as Rock Creek, but there are already too many creeks of that name in the state. C. H. Stewart of Albany wrote the compiler in 1927, as follows: "Andrew Wiley was a great hunter and was the pioneer explorer of the old Indian trail up the South Santiam River. Each year on his hunting expeditions he would penetrate farther into the recesses of the mountains, and in the year 1859, accompanied by two others, he made his way entirely across the Cascade Range and arrived in the locality of the present town of Sisters. He was thus the first man to discover the famous Hogg Pass. He was the chief pilot of the locators of the Willamette Valley and Cascade Moutain road project in 1866 and 1867, and the road followed the route of his memorable trip of 1859. Some surveyor has tried to change the name of Wiley Creek to Rock Creek, but the people of the vicinity still cling to the old name, and you never hear the other mentioned anywhere in this county." John Minto, in OHQ, volume IV, page 241, mentions this pioneer trail, but misspells it Wyley. County records substantiate the spelling Wiley. Wilhoir, Clackamas County. John Wilhoit took up a land claim at the present location of Wilhoit post office about 1866. There were at ​tractive mineral springs in the vicinity and Wilhoit took up the property on that account and operated a health and pleasure resort. The post office was established in 1882.
WILKESBORO, Washington County. The community of Wilkesboro was named about the time the United Railways was built through that part of Washington County. The post office was established in 1916, but the town was platted about four years before that. Wilkesboro was named for Peyton G. Wilkes, a pioneer of 1845, who settled at the present site of the community in pioneer days. Wilkins, Lane County. Wilkins is a station north of Coburg. It was named for Mitchell Wilkins, who settled near there in 1848. See OHQ, volume V, page 136.
WILLAMETTE, Clackamas County. This town is on the west bank of Willamette River at the mouth of the Tualatin. It takes its name from Willamette River, which see. The locality of Oregon City was first known as Willamette Falls, and in pioneer days a community was projected on the west bank of Willamette River not far from the mouth of Clackamas River, to be called Willamette. These two places should not be confused with the town now known as Willamette, which is farther south. See under WILLAMETTE River for information about the name. A post office named Willammette Forks was established on the Linn County list on January 10, 1851, with William Spore postmaster. It was changed to the Lane County list on March 4, 1852, with the style Willamette Forks, with Mitchell Wilkins postmaster. Preston's map of 1856 shows the place close to the foothills about three miles north of Coburg. The office was operated until about 1884. Willamette post office was established in Yamhill County March 14, 1851, with John M. Forest postmaster. It was discontinued July 27, 1852. A pencil correction in the postal records changes the spelling to Willammette. John M. Forrest, who spelled his name thus, had a claim at the north bend of Lambert Slough about four miles southeast of Dayton and the office was probably in that locality. A post office named Wallamette was established August 19, 1853, with Robert V. Short postmaster. It was on the Yamhill County list and was closed late in 1857. The Short claim was about a mile west of the present site of Wilsonville, in what is now Clackamas County.
WILLAMETTE River, Benton, Clackamas, Lane, Marion, Multnomah, Polk and Yamhill counties. This is the largest river entirely in the state of Oregon. Controversy over the spelling of the name continued many years. Wal-lamt was an Indian word, according to H. S. Lyman in OHQ, volume I, page 320, designating a place on the Willamette River near Oregon City, on the west bank. Three ways of spelling the name have had their respective champions: Willamette, Wallamette and Wallamet. Wilarmet is the form used in David Thompson's Narrative, Toronto, 1916, page 493, under date of July 9, 1811. Ross Cox, in his Adventures on the Columbia River, gives Wallamat (volume II, page 135), and Wallamut (volume II, page 164). Alexander Ross, in Fur Hunters of the Far West and First Settlers on the Oregon, gives Wallamitte; Franchere gives Wallamat and Willamett; Townsend's Narrative gives Wallammet; David Douglas, 1826, gives Willamette; Arrowsmith's map of North America, corrected to 1832-33, gives Wallamatte. A map of the Territory of Oregon, prepared by direction of Colonel J. J. Abert, U. S. Topographical Engineers, 1838, and attached to several government docu ​ments, shows the lower part of the stream as Multnomah or Wilhamet. The upper part is lettered Walla Matte. In 1841 Charles Wilkes used the spelling Willamette and this is the style throughout U. S. Exploring Expedition and atlas, 1845, as well as on the large charts prepared by Wilkes. Wilkes appears to have crystallized government use in favor of Willamette. For many references to the controversy over the spelling of the name, see OHQ, volume XLIV, page 360. The meaning of the word Willamette is not known, although there are several theories. Broughton discovered the river on October 29, 1792, and named it the River Mannings, possibly for Boatswain's Mate Samuel Manning, a member of Vancouver's expedition. Lewis and Clark did not observe the stream on their westward trip, nor on their eastward trip either until their attention was called to it by Indians after they had gone as far as Sandy River. Clark went back and entered the Willamette on April 2, 1806, calling it the Multnomah.
WILLAMETTE SLOUGH, Multnomah County. Willamette Slough post office was in service from February 10, 1873, to February 8, 1887, at a point on the mainland northwest of Linnton, and about opposite the south end of Sauvie Island. The office may have moved from time to time depending on who was postmaster. Thomas J. Howell, Oregon's famous botanist, was first to hold the office. The office was named for the channel on the west side of Sauvie Island, formerly Willamette Slough, now officially known as Multnomah Channel.
WILLAMETTE STONE, Multnomah and Washington counties. The Willamette Stone is a surveyor's monument at the intersection of the Willamette baseline and the Willamette meridian in the hills west of Portland. The mark was established on June 4, 1851, by John B. Preston, the first surveyor general of Oregon. The original mark was not a stone but a stake. This stake was officially replaced on July 25, 1885, by the present Willamette Stone. The replacement was carried on by another surveyor, W. B. Marye, and other officials, who made the replacement the occasion of a small ceremony. Preston selected the site of the Willamette Stone because it was thought at that time that the meridian surveved north from the stone would pass through the mouth of the Willamette River. The base line was established in its present location so that it would not cross the Columbia River and thus produce difficulties in surveying. In 1903 the USC&GS extended the triangulation net to include the Willamette Stone. The geographic position of the stone, based on the 1927 datum, is 45° 31' 10."831 in latitude and 122° 44' 33." 551 in longitude.
WILLAMINA, Yamhill County. The community of Willamina was named for Willamina Creek, and the stream was named for Mrs. Willamina Williams, who is said to have been the first white woman to ride a horse across it. Some written reminiscences of Enos C. Williams are on file at the Oregon Historical Society. He says that Mrs. Williams was born in 1817 in Ohio and was married to James Maley in March, 1837, apparently in Illinois. Mrs. Maley came to Oregon in 1845 with her husband and her stepdaughter and in the spring of 1846 the Maley family and a man named Burden went prospecting for land on which to settle. They found a stream flowing into South Yamhill River in the foothills of the Coast Range and named it in compliment to Mrs. Maley. Maley died in 1847 and on February 24, 1848, Enos C. Williams and ​
Willamina Maley were married, probably in Polk County. They settled on the land on which the town of Amity was built. They were much respected citizens of Amity and are buried at the old churchyard at that place. Willamina post office was established May 29, 1855, with James Brown first postmaster. The office was on the Brown claim about a mile east of the present town of Willamina. On January 1, 1863, Jeremiah Lamson became postmaster and the office was moved to his claim nearly two miles west of the Brown place. Brown had the office again on March 24, 1865. On April 4, 1866, the office was moved to and the name was changed to Sheridan, with Thomas N. Faulconer postmaster and there it has been ever since. This shift left Willamina Creek without a post office, and on August 29, 1878, a new office was established with the name Willamina and with Jackson Monroe postmaster. From December, 1880, to March, 1891, Willamina post office was operated just over the line in Polk County.
WILLARD, Marion County. The Willard area is about four miles east-southeast of Pratum and was named for Abner S. Willard, a pioneer of 1847. Willard was born in Ohio in 1827, and after reaching the Willamette Valley, settled near the middle of township 7 south, range 1 west. He died there in 1851. The Willard school district was organized as early as 1855 and in 1893 the Willard church was established. Willard post office was established in April, 1889, with Mary H. Starmer first postmaster. This office was finally closed in April, 1904. WillBRIDGE, Multnomah County. This station is the junction of the Astoria branch and the main line of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. It is southwest of the bridge over the Willamette River, and it has a composite name on that account.
WILLIAMS, Josephine County. Williams is one of three post offices in southern Oregon named because of the proximity of Williams Creek. See under WILLIAMSBURG and WILLIAMS CREEK in this series of notes. In 1948 Williams post office was situated six miles southwest up Williams Creek from Provolt. Williams post office was established October 11, 1881, with David John first of a long string of postmasters. The office is still in service as this note is being written. It is about two miles west of the Jackson-Josephine county line.
WILLIAMS CREEK, Jackson County. Williams Creek post office was established March 14, 1876. It was out of service for a time and the compiler does not know the dates of its later history. The first postmaster was John A. Lewman. This post office was very close to the center of the northwest quarter of section 7, township 38 south, range 4 west and was therefore about a quarter of a mile east of the present Jackson-Josephine county line. It was also about the same distance southeast of the present Provolt post office. See also under WillIAMS and WILLIAMSBURG, The Williams Creek post office was not exactly on Williams Creek but not far from it.
WILLIAMS CREEK, Josephine County. This stream flows into Applegate River. Walling, in History of Southern Oregon, page 458, says that it was named for Captain Robert Williams, an Indian fighter of local fame, who skirmished with the natives on the creek in 1853. Williams post office took its name from the stream.
WILLIAMSBURG, Josephine County. Williamsburg was a pioneer post office on Williams Creek, named in compliment to Captain Robert Wil ​th R. F. Lewmating correspondence War. In Jun liams, a well-known Indian fighter in the Rogue River War. In June of 1948, the compiler had some interesting correspondence about early post offices in this area with R. F. Lewman, an old time resident of the vicinity. Mr. Lewman wrote that Williamsburg was in the north part of the northeast quarter of section 26, township 38 south, range 5 west. Mr. Lewman says that at one time there were several hundred people in Williamsburg. The place was on a slight rise of ground at a point about three miles southwest of Provolt and about three miles northeast of the community presently called Williams. Williamsburg was a little to the east of the present highway from Grants Pass to Williams, but not much. Williamsburg post office was established November 16, 1860, with P. C. Wood first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued July 5, 1861. The compiler has been informed that there are a very few remains of the old post office structure, in fact just a little of the roof. The post offices called Williams Creek in Jackson County and Williams in Josephine County were also named for the stream and for Captain Williams, although they were not all in the same place.
WILLIAMSON MOUNTAIN, Deschutes County. Williamson Mountain, elevation about 6300 feet, is just west of Lava Lake and near the summit of the Cascade Range. It was named for Lieutenant R. S. Williamson for whom Williamson River was named. See under that heading. Williamson and Lieutenant P. H. Sheridan, attached to the Pacific Railroad Surveys, were in this part of central Oregon in the latter part of August, 1855, and Williamson Mountain was named to commemorate the event. The mountain was formerly known as Leloo Mountain. Leloo is the Chinook jargon word for wolf, derived from the French le loup. The name Williamson Mountain was adopted by the USBGN on March 4, 1931.
WILLIAMSON RIVER, Klamath County. Williamson River drains a large part of the Klamath Indian Reservation, and its enlargement forms Klamath Marsh. It empties into Upper Klamath Lake. The Klamath Indian name for the river was koke, and this word was generally used alone in referring to Williamson, Sprague, Lost and Klamath rivers, because of their importance. Sometimes the Williamson River was called Ya-aga-Koke, ya-aga being the word for willow trees not far from the mouth of the stream. This name was generally applied to that locality only. Lieutenant Robert Stockton Williamson explored parts of central Oregon for the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855, and Williamson River was named in his honor. He was the first man to determine with reasonable accuracy the height of Mount Hood, which he did in 1867. Fremont's party fought the Klamath Indians on this stream on May 12, 1846, and Fremont named it Torrey River for his friend Professor John Torrey, the botanist. See Fremont's Memoirs of My Life, pages 493-5. The battleground was up stream from the former highway crossing, probably near the old Indian trail ford. WillITS RIDGE, Jackson County. Willits Ridge is in the north part of the county a little southeast of Persist and about six miles airline west of Prospect. The ridge took its name from William W. Willits who in 1884 settled on a homestead at the place later called Persist. For a brief mention of Mr. and Mrs. Willits see under PERSIST.
WILLOUGHBY, Jefferson County. Willoughby post office was estab ​2 County Creek not far"tinued March was not in ce lished on the Wasco County list on May 20, 1872, with Robert Warren first of a series of five postmasters. The office was not in continuous operation, and was finally discontinued March 7, 1879. It served a locality on Willow Creek not far from what is now known as Grizzly, Jefferson County. The compiler has not been able to learn the reason for the name of the office, though it has been suggested that it represents a play on the words willow by, that is, by Willow Creek. No other explanation has been suggested. There seems to be no record of any family with the name Willoughby ever having lived in the district. Willow Bar Point, Columbia County. This point is on the northeast part of Sauvie Island. In the opinion of the writer, it was the place mentioned by Broughton in his report to Vancouver for the day of October 28, 1792, when he stated that "he proceeded up what he considered the main branch of the river, until eight in the evening; when under the shelter of some willows, they took up their lodging for the night on a low sandy point." This was just after Broughton had passed the lower end of Sauvie Island. Willow CREEK, Gilliam and Morrow counties. Lewis and Clark mention this stream as a "riverlit" in their journals for Sunday, October 20, 1805. On the sketch map by Clark, in Thwaites' Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, volume IV, page 308, it is shown as Choch. It has been known as Willow Creek since pioneer days. There are many Willow creeks in the state, which is not surprising, as Sudworth in Check List of Forest Trees of the United States, lists at least ten of this family that grow in Oregon. Willow CREEK, Jackson County. Willow Creek heads in the hills west of Central Point and flows northeast into Bear Creek. It received its name in the early '50s and it was a prominent locality in the early Indian wars and also in the mining days. After it flows out of the hills, it receives Lane Creek from the west and it was at this point that the pioneer community of Willow Springs was established. See Walling's History of Southern Oregon, page 377.
WILLOWCREEK, Malheur County. Willowcreek post office took its name from the natural feature, Willow Creek, one of the prominent streams of the county. Willow Creek got its name in pioneer days, and it is doubtless too late to learn the circumstances. Willowcreek post office was established August 19, 1937, at a point on Willow Creek about a dozen miles northwest of Vale. Mrs. Dorothy Sappe was the first postmaster. WiLLOWDALE, Jefferson County, Willowdale is in the north part of the county, a few hundred feet south of the bridge which carries the Dalles-California Highway over Trout Creek. The locality has been called Checkerboard because of the style of painting used on the service station at that point. Willowdale post office was established May 23, 1928, with Mrs. Edna Chesnut first of five postmasters. The office was closed to Gateway on March 11, 1937. Willowdale is in the same general locality as the pioneer post office Cross Keys. It was of course named for one of the many varieties of willow that grow in central Oregon. Willows, Gilliam County. Willows post office, named for the many trees of that species that grow in Oregon, was established December 17, 1878, on the Umatilla County list. Morrow and Gilliam counties had not then been created. The first Willows post office was very near ​
what was later to be the Gilliam-Morrow county line, and the exact location is not clear from available data, though it seems probable that the office was on the south bank of the Columbia River near the mouth of Willow Creek or just to the east. J. W. Smith was the first postmaster. This office was closed June 29, 1885, in the same year that Gilliam and Morrow counties were established. Willows office was reestablished on January 29, 1895, with James A. Vawter postmaster. This time it was in Gilliam County, and it was at or near the mouth of Willow Creek, sometimes a little to the west. The railroad station at the mouth of Willow Creek is known as Heppner Junction. WiLLSBURG, Clackamas County. Willsburg is a junction point on the Southern Pacific line between Sellwood and Milwaukie. It was named for George W. Wills and his son, Jacob Wills, who emigrated to Oregon in 1848 from Iowa. They took up adjoining claims near Johnson Creek, the Jacob Wills claim being near the present site of Eastmoreland. Jacob Wills was a pioneer sawmill operator along Johnson Creek. His father was a "hardshell' Baptist preacher, and he did not allow his business of farming and building to interfere with soul saying activities. Willsburgh post office was established nearby in Multnomah County on January 15, 1883, with Jacob F. Rhodes first postmaster. This office was in operation until September, 1900. The post route map for 1900 uses the spelling Willsburg for this office.
WILSON, Tillamook County. Wilson post office, named for Wilson River on which it was situated, was about twenty-five miles upstream from Tillamook and near the mouth of North Fork. The office was established in July, 1896, with Walter J. Smith first postmaster. The office was discontinued officially in December, 1917, when it was closed out to Gales Creek.Wilson post office was apparently served over nearly twenty-five miles of mountain road from Gales Creek. Wilson post office actually went out of service in 1916 because no one would make a bid to carry in the mail from the outside. It was feared that there might be too much parcel post for a bidder to take chances. Wilson post office served Glenora station of the United States Weather Bureau. Postal officials would not accept the name Glenora for an office because of possible confusion with such places as Glenwood, Glendale and others with similar names. See also under GLENORA.
WILSON CREEK, Clackamas and Marion counties. Wilson Creek is in the Molalla River drainage basin and in the south part of Clackamas County. It was named for an early day prospector who visited the vicinity of the stream and prospected there. His home was in the North Santiam Valley.
WILSON LAKE, Linn County. This lake is near the east bank of Willamette River north of Albany. It was named for a nearby resident, John P. Wilson. Stories to the effect that it was named for Woodrow Wilson are not founded on fact, because the lake was called Wilson Lake before President Wilson came into political prominence.
WILSON RIVER, Tillamook County. Miss Lucy E. Doughty, one of the early residents of Tillamook County, wrote the compiler in June, 1927, that much obscurity surrounded the origin of the name Wilson River. The stream was called Georgie or Georgia River in pioneer days. The name was later changed to Wilson River, in honor of an early settler who drove the first cows into the county from Seaside. Wilson was ​
driven the serie Septemfply with tember 9uestioned apparently the founder of the great Tillamook dairy industry. Warren N. Vaughn, a pioneer resident of the county, wrote a memoir in 1891-92, which was published in the Bay City Tribune, and in the series of articles mentions Wilson and tells about cattle being driven from Astoria about 1851. The story about Wilson is questioned in a letter on the edi. torial page of the Oregonian, September 17, 1927, signed Mary Alderman Bird. Miss Doughty's reply, with quotations from Vaughn, is printed in the Oregonian, September 26, 1927. Henry W. Wilson was an English printer. After leaving the Tillamook country, he moved to Salem, and was employed on the Oregon Statesman. There is a story to the effect that he secured the passage of the bill creating Tillamook County, but the compiler has been unable to secure confirmation. Wilson was not a member of the legislature in 1853, although his name is signed to the petition to establish the county. Miss Doughty calls the attention of the compiler to the fact that there was a Wilson River road project as early as 1875. After the plan was organized, a party consisting of William T. Baxter, Jacob E. Elliott and William T. Doughty explored the Kilchis and Wilson rivers, got lost, and nearly starved to death. The idea of a road was given up.
WILSONIA, Clackamas County. This stream north of Oswego was named for A. King Wilson, a well-known attorney of Portland, who made his home near the station. WilsonVILLE, Clackamas County. The name of this community was derived from a local resident, Charles Wilson. R. V. Short suggested the name. This was in 1880. A post office named Boons Ferry was established in this locality on December 7, 1876, with Charles Wilson postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Wilsonville on June 3, 1880. For information about the origin of the name Boones Ferry, see under that heading in this volume. The writer does not know why the style used by postal authorities did not agree with the family name. A post office called Boon was in operation in Clackamas County from April, 1868, to March, 1869. The writer has been unable to learn its location. It seems probable it was at Boones Ferry, but that is just an assumption.
WIMER, Jackson County. Wimer is a place on Evans Creek. On July 1, 1927, William M. Colvig of Medford wrote the compiler: "In 1886-7 William Wimer edited a paper at Grants Pass, 12 miles distant. He had something to do with getting a post office for the people there. He had a relative named Wimer who lived in the neighborhood. I do not know which one gave the name, but I think William Wimer did."
WINANS, Hood River County. Winans is a station on the Mount Hood Railroad near the forks of Hood River. It was named for Ross Winans who settled nearby about 1880, and operated a hotel for hunters.
WINANT, Lincoln County. Winant post office was named for Captain James J. Winant who made his home nearby. Winant was the post office name for Oysterville station. For biography of Captain Winant, see History of Benton County, page 530.
WINBERRY, Lane County. Winberry post office was near the mouth of Winberry Creek. Winberry is simply another name for whortleberry, and is applied more or less indiscriminately to various species of Vaccinium. The form windberry is wrong. Winberry Creek is an important ​
CUESTER, Douglas Colition of San Francisco Oregon, volume 11, tributary of Fall Creek, but Winberry post office was discontinued in 1933.
WINCHESTER, Douglas County. This place, which was founded by the Umpqua exploring expedition of San Francisco in 1850, was laid out by Addison R. Flint. See Bancroft's History of Oregon, volume II, page 183. For a number of years it was the largest settlement in the Umpqua Valley. It was the county seat until 1854, when Roseburg won that distinction. Winchester post office was established November 3, 1851, with A. R. Flint first postmaster. There were two Winchesters in the expedition, Heman and John. The party sailed from San Francisco on July 5, 1850. Heman Winchester was captain. The expedition was headed for Klamath River, but actually first landed at Rogue River, and later established a settlement at the mouth of Umpqua River. Nathan Scholfield, a member of the party, kept a diary and used the form Heman Winchester, which is also the form used by Bancroft, and it may be assumed that the spelling Herman is wrong. The compiler has been unable to substantiate stories to the effect that Winchester was named for the younger brother John. Attention is called to the fact that there is also a discrepancy in the name of the schooner used by the party, various accounts giving William Roberts and Samuel Roberts. George Davidson of the U. S. Coast Survey, authority on Pacific Coast marine history, used the name Samuel Roberts, Bancroft uses that form, and Samuel Roberts appears in Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, which seems conclusive. Nathan Scholfield's diary is in the State Library at Salem. His son, Socrates Scholfield, wrote a summary of this diary, which was published in OHQ, volume XVII, page 341.
WINCHESTER BAY, Douglas County. Winchester Bay is a town on Winchester Bay on the Umpqua River, near its mouth. Winchester Creek flows into Winchester Bay. These geographic features were all named for Heman Winchester, a member of the expedition that came to Oregon from San Francisco in 1850 and established itself on Umpqua River. See under WINCHESTER.
WINCHESTER CREEK, Coos County. Winchester Creek, which flows into South Slough, drains a considerable area southeast of Cape Arago. Its geography may be found on the USGS topographic atlas sheets for the Empire and Bandon quadrangles. It was named for T. D. Winchester, a pioneer who tried to develop a logging and milling project at the head of the slough. See Dodge's Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 16.
WINCHESTER LAKE, Lane County. Winchester Lake is northwest of Waldo Lake. Mrs. Lina A. Flock of Oakridge wrote the compiler in July, 1927: "I think Winchester Lake was named for a gun of that make that was found near the lake. It was lost by some prospector who was killed or lost near there."
WINCHUCK RIVER, Curry County. F. S. Moore, in Curry County Reporter, December 16, 1926, says this stream was called by the Indians Hasonta, for the tribe living nearby. Moore has a theory that the mod. ern name is derived from the Chinook jargon, wind chuck, or windy water. The compiler has been unable to identify the Hasonta Indians. Old maps show Windchuck, but modern use is generally Winchuck River, which seems to be the accepted local style. George Davidson in ​
the Coast Pilot, 1889, page 361, says that winchuck was the local Indian word for woman, and that the Indians called the stream Neh'-saw, but he does not explain that word. Davidson spent much time working on the Oregon coast and his observations are generally reliable. The compiler has been unable to reconcile the information under this heading.
WINDSOR ISLAND, Polk County. Windsor Island is in the Willamette River in the extreme northeast corner of the county. It bears the name of a family of pioneer settlers that lived in the locality.
WINDY, Harney County. Windy Point is a projection westward onto the floor of Harney Valley, just east of Malheur Lake. It bears a descriptive name. On August 3, 1908, a post office called Windy was established in this locality, with August Haarstuch postmaster. The order was rescinded October 9, 1908, and the office accordingly never functioned. Waverly post office had just been established a very short distance south, which may account for the failure of Windy to get blowing.
WINEGLASS, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. This peculiar rock slide on the northeast part of the inside rim of Crater Lake was named by J. S. Diller of the U. S. Geological Survey. From across the lake the slide looks like a huge wineglass.
WINEMA, Klamath County. The compiler does not know the exact location of Winema post office. It was some ten or twelve miles north of Kirk, but whether on the highway or on the railroad the compiler has not been able to learn, and there is nothing in the record to give a reason for its existence. Winema post office was established January 27, 1928, with Mrs. Mae Allen postniaster. The office was closed to Kirk November 30, 1929. Irrespective of its location there is no doubt that the office was named in compliment to Winema, otherwise Mrs. Frank Riddle, the Indian heroine of the Modoc Lava Beds massacre.
WINEMA PINNACLES, Multnomah County. These basalt spires high above the Columbia River Highway, are about half a mile east of Multnomah Falls. They were named for Winema, Mrs. Frank Riddle, the heroine of the Modoc Lava Beds massacre. For information about her, see Jeff C. Riddle's Indian History of the Modoc War. She did not live near the Columbia River, but the pinnacles were named because it was thought her memory should be perpetuated somewhere in the state.
WING, Baker County. This station is near the community of Wingville. See under that heading. The railroad company shortened the name because of awkwardness in telegraphing.
WING RIDGE, Wallowa County. This ridge, southeast of Wallowa Lake, was named by surveyors because of its shape. It lies between Sheep Creek and Little Sheep Creek.
WINGVILLE, Baker County. Major-General Sterling Price, of the Confederate army, was active in Missouri and Arkansas in 1861-64. He was finally defeated by the Union forces in 1864. Many Southern Democrats thereafter migrated to Oregon. Numbers of them had been soldiers in Price's campaigns. The newcomers in Oregon were derisively termed by Republicans, "The left wing of Price's army." They contributed largely to the southern admixture in the pioneer population of Oregon. A community of these people near Baker was referred to as Wingville. Wingville post office was established June 23, 1871, with John R. McLain first postmaster. The office was closed in July, 1879.
WININO, Lane County. The name Winino appears to be of Indian ​
Officeditions sont as origin, but the compiler cannot find it in any available Indian dictionary. The place is now known as McCredie Springs. The hot springs on Salt Creek have long been known. In 1914 John Harding of Portland obtained a lease on the springs property and applied the name Winino Later, Judge William Wallace McCredie of Portland acquired an interest in the springs and used the resort as training quarters for his Portland baseball club. For additional information, see under McCREDIE
SPRINGS. Winino post office was established July 8, 1924, with Vivian Cartwright postmaster. This office was discontinued December 31, 1925, with mail to Railhead. This was at the time of construction of the Southern Pacific Cascade line.
WINKLE Bar, Curry County. This bar on Rogue River was named for William Winkle, a pioneer prospector.
WINKLE BUTTE, Benton County. This butte is just east of the Pacific Highway West about nine miles south of Corvallis. It is on the donation land claim of Isaac W. Winkle, and was named for him. Winkle Lake, just to the east, is on the claims of Isaac W. Winkle and Wiley Winkle and may have been named for either or both of them. Winkle Butte has been known in the past as Irwin Butte for another pioneer family of the vicinity, but that name has not prevailed.
WINLOCK, Wheeler County. Winlock post office was named for Winlock Steiwer, a pioneer settler in eastern Oregon. Steiwer was instrumental in having the office established about 1888, but not at its later site. See under STEIWER HILL.
WINNIFORD, Douglas County. This office was just east of the Umpqua River at a point about eight miles west of Wilbur. It was established in April or June, 1890, with Thomas W. Winniford postmaster and was closed in January, 1891, with papers to Oakland. The office was situated in the Winniford home, which was still standing in December, 1945.
WINONA, Josephine County. A recent number of the Postal Guide shows more than a dozen post offices in the United States named Winona, a word of the Santee Indian dialect meaning first-born (if a girl). The name was well known for its use at Winona, Minnesota, and was apparently introduced to the reading public by Keating in his Narrative of Long's expedition, 1823. The musical sound of the word has made it popular as a name. The principal use of the name in Oregon has been for a place on Jumpoff Joe Creek, Josephine County, a few miles north of Grants Pass. A post office called Winona was established here in June, 1897, with Herbert M. Gorham first postmaster. The office was closed on January 31, 1905. The name Winona has also been applied to a place in Polk County between Salem and Eola.
WINOPEE LAKE, Deschutes County. This lake is just cast of the summit of the Cascade Range and northwest of Cultus Lake. Winopee is a Chinook jargon word meaning by-and-by or wait. The name was applied to the lake by someone who was in no hurry to leave the place. Winslow, Wallowa County. Winslow post office was situated in section 13, township 1 north, range 45 east, about ten miles northeast of Enterprise, airline. It was established in May, 1890, with Fannie Root postmaster. The office was discontinued in December, 1900. The office was named directly for Edward Winslow Rumble, a teacher in the neighborhood, and indirectly for a General Winslow who fought in the ​
Civil War. J. A. Rumble, father of E. W. Rumble, served under General Winslow and named his son for the officer. There were several generals named Winslow who served in the Civil War, but it may be presumed that the one complimented was Brigadier General Edward Francis Winslow, who entered the forces from Iowa.
WINSTON, Douglas County. Winston is a locality a couple of miles north of Dillard and just west of South Umpqua River. A little further north is the Pacific Highway bridge over the river, generally called Winston Bridge. Winston post office was established June 16, 1893, and bore the name of the first postmaster, Elijah Winston. The office was closed July 14, 1903. It was reestablished in 1948.
WINTER Ridge, Lake County. Winter Ridge is the rimrock west of Summer Lake. It was discovered and named on December 16, 1843, by then Captain John C. Fremont of the U. S. Topographical Engineers. Fremont applied this name because of the bad weather he encountered at the summit of the ridge, where he looked down to the sunshine on the green grass around Summer Lake. He named Summer Lake at the same time. See under that heading.
WINTERS SPRING, Wallowa County. This spring, sometimes called Mormon Spring, is in the northwest part of township 2 north, range 50 east. It was named for W. H. Winters, an early settler. Winters was of the Mormon faith and Mormon Flat in the same township was named on his account. The style Winter Spring is wrong. Wise, Clatsop County. Wise post office, south of Astoria, was in what is known as the Tucker Creek district. The office was established in June, 1895, with Hugh McCormick postmaster, and was discontinued in May, 1903. Herman Wise was the postmaster at Astoria when this office was established and it is more than probable that it was named in compliment to him. Wise was doubtless of help in getting this country office and it was named for him because of that fact. Witch HAZEL, Washington County. Witch Hazel is a place on the Tualatin Valley Highway and on the Southern Pacific railroad about a a mile west of Reedsville. Van B. DeLashmutt of Portland had a farm there in earlier days and is said to have named the place. In fact the writer once heard a statement to the effect that DeLashmutt named the farm for one of his racehorses. Oswald West is the authority on Oregon bang-tails and in October, 1945, told the writer that he never heard of an Oregon racehorse named Witch Hazel. That settles it as far as the writer is concerned. However Governor West says that Mayor DeLashmutt once owned a building at Southwest Front and Madison streets in Portland. called the Witch Hazel Building. DeLashmutt seems to have had a fancy for the name. The witch hazel tree or shrub, Hamamelis virginiana, is not native to Oregon and has nothing to do with the hazelnut bush. Witch hazel wands are said to have the power of pointing to buried gold and silver and even to underground water. Oddly enough Jonathan Carver was one of the very first American authors to mention this belief, which he did in 1778. A post office was established at Witch Hazel in August, 1904, with Earl W. Anderson postmaster. It was closed in November, 1905.
WITCHES CAULDRON, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. The crater at the top of Wizard Island was named Witches Cauldron on August 17, 1885, by Will G. Steel, because of its weird appearance. ​
WIYEAST BASIN, Hood River County. Wiyeast Basin is north of Mount Hood. Wiyeast is said to be a legendary name for Mount Hood, but the word does not appear in available books on Chinookan dialects. H. H. Riddle of Portland, an authority on the names of the Columbia River Gorge, told the compiler that he was unable to get facts about the origin of the name, but that it was used in Indian myths. Wiyeast Basin was named by an exploring party from Hood River in 1922, and that is the spelling used by USBGN. This information is from a letter from C. Edward Graves, Arcata, California, written in 1943. Graves was the organizer of the party and was in 1922 living in Hood River,
WIZARD ISLAND, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County. This island in Crater Lake has a weird appearance, and was named on that account by Will G. Steel on August 17, 1885. The top of the island is 763 feet above the surface of the lake. Wocus Bay, Klamath County. Wocus Bay, near the southeast part of Klamath Marsh, is named with the English form of the Klamath Indian word used to describe the seed of the yellow pond lily, Nuphar advena. This seed was roasted and ground for food. The Indians pronounced the word as though spelled wokash.
WOLFCREEK, Josephine County. Wolfcreek is the post office for Wolf Creek community and railroad station. The place is generally referred to as two words. There were plenty of wolves in Oregon in early days, . and a number of streams are known as Wolf Creek. Wolf Creek community was the locality of the famous Six Bit House, frequently mentioned in pioneer history. In 1936 James T. Chinnock of Grants Pass wrote the compiler about this establishment, transmitting information from James Tuffs and George Riddle of Grants Pass, both familiar with the history of southern Oregon. The original Six Bit House was built during the Indian wars, probably about 1853, within the sharp hairpin curve of the Southern Pacific Company railroad about a mile east of town. It was at the mouth of a gulch on the old road location north of the present Pacific Highway. There are several stories about the origin of the name. The most probable explanation is that 75 cents was charged for a night's lodging, compared with a dollar charged elsewhere along the road. Another story is that the proprietor interrupted some white men who were hanging an Indian nearby and declined to let them proceed with the business until the melancholy brave paid the inn-keeper six bits, then past due. This story seems fanciful to the compiler because of the improbability that a local Indian ever had six bits in currency. The building has long since disappeared, but Mr. Tuffs recalled seeing the remains during his youth. The second Six Bit House, built of logs, was in the north part of the town, close to the railroad. Mr. Tuffs lived in it several years. The present Wolf Creek Tavern was built later and had no connection with either of the Six Bit houses.
WONDER, Josephine County. About 1902 a man by the name of John T. Robertson started a store at the present site of Wonder. He began to call this store Wonder store because neighbors wondered where he would get his trade as the territory was sparsely settled. Later postal authorities used the name of the store for the name of the post office, which was established in December, 1903. Wood LAKE, Wallowa County. According to J. H. Horner of Enterprise, this lake in township 3 south, range 43 east, was named for John ​
Wood, who helped J. H. Jackson stock it with young salmon in 1914. Wood River, Klamath County. Wood River is part of the west boundary of the Klamath Indian Reservation and flows into Agency Lake. During the early days of Fort Klamath, contractors cut wood for the fort in a lodgepole pine grove on the banks of the stream, hence the name. The Klamath Indians called it Eukalksine Koke.
WOODBURN, Marion County. The compiler has been unable to secure satisfactory information about the origin of this name. It is said that the place was first called Halsey, presumably for a railroad official. See under Halsey. The railroad company changed the name to Woodburn. The common meaning of this name is a wood near a stream. Woodburn post office was established on December 28, 1871, with Adolphus Mathiot postmaster.
WOODCOCK CREEK, Josephine County. Woodcock Creek is about five miles south of Kerby and flows into the Illinois River. It was named for Horace Woodcock, a pioneer rancher. WoodLAWN, Multnomah County. Woodlawn was an outstanding separate community in the '90s and rated a post office of its own. It was an important stop on the steam, later electric, railway from Portland to Vancouver. Woodlawn post office was established December 24, 1890, with Hiram Parrish first postmaster. That was before the PortlandEast Portland-Albina consolidation. The office was finally closed on November 14, 1903. It was out of service for about a year in 1897-98. The name of the office followed Woodlawn addition, which was of course the product of real estate activity. The plat for Woodlawn was filed in October, 1889.
WOODLEY, Union County. Woodley post office was established February 1, 1896, with Daniel M. Griffith first postmaster. The compiler does not know when the office was discontinued, but apparently it did not last long. Woodley is not shown on the post route map of 1900. The post office was named for the Woodley mine, located by Frederick Woodley. The property was in the northwest part of township 6 south, range 26 east, near Grande Ronde River. Woodrow, Lake County. A post office named Woodrow, apparently in compliment to Woodrow Wilson, was in operation during the last wave of homesteaders in northern Lake County. It was situated about ten miles east of Fort Rock and was established April 24, 1914, with George W. Craig postmaster. The office was closed May 15, 1916.
WOODRUFF MOUNTAIN, Douglas County. This mountain is on the west side of the Umpqua River, west of Wilbur. It was named for Job Woodruff, a donation land claim owner nearby. His musical talents made him famous in pioneer days in Douglas County. Woods, Tillamook County. Woods was named for Joseph Woods, who settled there about 1875. The post office was established in April, 1886, with William Booth first postmaster. Booth suggested the name in honor of Woods. Woodson, Columbia County. Woodson got its name from Woods Landing on Westport Slough. Many years ago a man named Wood hauled logs to the locality and dumped them into the slough, where they were made up into rafts. Woodson post office was established April 2, 1929, with Mrs. Alice Brooks first postmaster. It is in the northwest corner of the county, about a mile east of Kerry. ​
WOODSTOCK, Multnomah County. Woodstock is a station of Portland postofhce. It bears the name of a real estate tract platted in 1889. At that time there was a vogue for naming tracts after Sir Walter Scott's novels, and in the southeast part of Portland we have Woodstock, Ivanhoe, Kenilworth, Waverly, sic., and even such flights of fancy as Waverleigh. The word stoc came from the Anglo-Saxon and means a stockaded place, and woodstock means a place fortified with wooden posts. Woodstock was an independent post office from 1891 to 1912.
WOODWARD CREEK, Coos County. This creek is a tributary to South Fork Coquille River. It was named for Henry H. Woodward, a pioneer settler nearby.
WOOLDRIDGE BUTTE, Lane County. This low hill, elevation 380 feet, is about a mile east of Cheshire and bears the name of a well-known pioneer family of the vicinity. The spelling Waldridge is wrong. Wooldridge Creek, a stream in Jackson County flowing into Slagle Creek, is named for members of the same family. See letter by Logan Wooldridge in Grants Pass Bulletin, June 4, 1937.
WOOLLEY, Douglas County. The Woolley family is very well known in northern Douglas County and when a post office was established September 20. 1905, with Anna L. Woolley first postmaster it was natural that the office should be given the family name. Woolley was about fifteen miles northwest of Drain on the Smith River road. It was also about eight miles east of Gunter. The office was discontinued June 30, 1912, In February, 1948, Mrs. May Brown Woolley of Drain, sent the compiler an interesting letter about early day conditions in the upper Smith River area. Mrs. Woolley's letter with other useful information will be found in the Roseburg News-Review, March 6, 1948.
WORDEN, Klamath County. William S. Worden was a member of a family of early settlers in Klamath County and during the time the Southern Pacific Company built a railroad into Klamath Falls Worden acted as right-of-way agent and while doing so purchased the land and laid out the present townsite of Worden. The post office was established in 1910. Worden was subsequently elected county judge of Klamath County.
WREN, Benton County. This place bears the name of George P. W'ren, a pioneer settler.
WRENTHAM, Wasco County. Wrentham was named by the Daniel Farrington family, which came to Oregon from Maine. It is said that the family had lived in New York near a point once known as Wrentham Hill and Wrentham, Oregon, was named on that account. Wrentham post office was established in 1900 but has been discontinued.
WRIGHT, Jackson County. Nicholas B. Wright was the only postmaster that Iright post office ever boasted and the place was named in his honor. It was about nine miles up Applegate River, or south, from the place called Uniontown, which was near the mouth of Little Applegate River. Wright post office was in service from April 25, 1878, to December 22, 1888, when it was closed out to Uniontown.
WRIGHT CREEK, Clackamas County, Wright Creek is a small stream just north of Liberal, flowing into Molalla River. It was named in compliment to Harrison Wright, a pioneer of 1844, who settled near the present site of Liberal. He was instrumental in getting a pioneer post office, which was named Molalla, and Wright was first postmaster. This ​
office was established April 9, 1850. The office was not at the present town of Molalla, but was moved to that place in the '70s. The highway bridge over the Molalla River north of Liberal is also named for Harrison Wright.
WRIGHT POINT, Harney County. This is a long neck of solid land extending into the flats north of Malheur Lake. It was named for Camp Wright, which was established in October, 1865, by Captain L. L. Williams, and named for Brigadier-General George Wright. For details concerning Captain Williams and his operations in the Shoshone War, see Bancroft's History of Oregon, volume II, page 514. George Wright was born in Vermont, and graduated from West Point in 1822. He served in various Indian campaigns and in the Mexican War, with distinguished gallantry, receiving three brevets. He came to the Pacific Coast in 1852, and was identified with operations in Oregon and Washington, finally reaching command of the Department of the Pacific in 1861, with the rank of brigadier-general. He and his wife were drowned in the wreck of the Brother Jonathan, which foundered off Crescent City, California, July 30, 1865, with a loss of about 300 lives. See under CAMP
WRIGHT. Wroe, Douglas County. Wroe post office was on North Fork Smith River about four miles up stream from the mouth. The office was named for the family of the first postmaster. It was established November 27, 1922, with Floyd A. Wroe first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued June 20, 1923. In April, 1948, William M. Wroe of Reedsport, brother of Floyd A. Wroe, wrote from Reedsport that by the time Wroe post office was set up for business it was found that a number of the prospective customers had moved away from the valley of the North Fork. In these circumstances it was concluded not to operate the office, so it never actually functioned.
WYETH, Hood River County. Oregon has seen fit to honor one of her notable explorers by attaching his name to a railroad station that achieved fame largely because it was for some years the site of a "tie pickling plant." Other than that, not much has been done to commemorate Nathaniel J. Wyeth. Wyeth, trader and patriot in one, had a definite plan to counteract the British fur-trading influence in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by Hall J. Kelley, but compelled to dissolve a compact with him because of Kelley's procrastination, Wyeth crossed the plains without the Boston school teacher in 1832, the first American after the Astor overlanders to make the journey to the Willamette. On a second expedition, in 1834, he convoyed the missionaries, Jason and Daniel Lee, built Fort Hall, near the present site of Pocatello, and named it for one of his financial backers. He established on Sauvie Island the trading post which he called Fort William. With him came Thomas Nuttall and J. K. Townsend, naturalists who share with David Douglas the honor of being pioneers in science in Oregon, and John Ball, first school teacher in the Pacific Northwest. Wyeth planned a more diversified program than that of the Hudson's Bay Company, studied salmon packing and visioned an American trade with the Orient by way of the Pacific Coast, asking no exclusive privilege for his company. "Nothing on our part is desirable," he wrote, "excepting aid to get men out there and enacting some laws for their regulation when there, and leave us to ourselves." Wyeth's Correspondence and Journals, edited by ​Professor F. G. Young, have been published by the University of Oregon. For other information about Wyeth, see editorial in the Oregonian, December 13, 1925. See also under KELLEY Point in this book.