# Oregon Geographic Names (1952)/B

​Baby Rock, Lane County. This rock is on the southwest shoulder of Heckletooth Mountain, and above the track of the Southern Pacific Company just southeast of Oakridge. It was named by the Indians. Mrs. Lina A. Flock has given the compiler an unusual legend about the name. Indians who slept near the rock were believed to have been bitten by some animals that left the footprints of a baby. The wounds were fatal. Finally two Indians determined to exterminate these peculiar animals, and hiding in the rocks above, they surprised the visitors, jumping down on them and covering them with blankets in such a way that they could not escape. The animals were twisted in the blankets and burned up. Indian Charlie Tufti would never go near this rock. Mrs. Flock's grandfather, Fred Warner, was of the opinion that the peculiar animals were porcupines, which make tracks not unlike a small baby. Indians asserted that the baby tracks remained about the rock for many years, hence the name.
Baca Lake, Harney County. This is a small overflow lake near Donner und Blitzen River south of Malheur Lake. It has an elevation of about 4160 feet. Baca, or vaca is the Spanish word for cow, and the lake was named by Mrs. Dolly Kiger because so many cattle watered there.
Bachelor Butte, Deschutes County. Bachelor Butte has an elevation of 9060 feet as determined by the U. S. Geological Survey, and is one of the imposing isolated peaks of the middle Cascade Range of Oregon. It is just southeast of the Three Sisters, and receives its name because it stands apart from them. John C. Todd of Bend told the compiler in 1928 that in early days Bachelor Butte was frequently called Brother Jonathan, in contradistinction to the Three Sisters.
Bachelor Flat, Columbia County. According to a news story in the St. Helens Mist, June 28, 1929, Bachelor Flat was named because of the presence of so many unmarried men in the locality, which is about three miles southwest of St. Helens. The news story contains an interview with Charles Gable, who in 1880, settled near the present Bachelor Flat School. Gable relates that there were five or six young bachelors in the neighborhood, who were cronies, and that at a gathering one night he suggested the name Bachelor Flat, which has prevailed through many years.
Bacona, Washington County. This community is in the extreme north part of the county. When the post office was established in May, 1897, it was named for a family of early residents by the name of Bacon.
Bade. Umatilla County. Bade is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad between Milton and Weston. It was named for William G. Bade, a nearby resident. For many years this station was called Bates, and it is said this was because a German section foreman misinterpreted Bade's name in transmitting it to the railroad company headquarters.
Badger, Sherman County. Badger, a post office in what is now ​
Sherman County, was not named for the animal that burrows in the ground, but for Thomas R. Badger, the postmaster. Badger post office was established on the Wasco County list on December 19, 1882. The name of the office was changed to DeMoss Springs on August 5, 1887, with Thomas J. Cocking as the new postmaster. Early in December, 1945, Giles L. French of Moro undertook to get together some of the history of the Badger office. According to Mr. French, Thomas Badger and a brother Ephriam came to what is now Sherman County from Illinois. They left after a few years but their later history is not available to Mr. French. In any event, Thomas Badger had his post office down Barnum Canyon a few miles from Moro. This would make the Badger place about a half mile south and west of DeMoss Springs. Doubtless the office was moved at the time the name was changed.
BADGER CREEK, Hood River and Wasco counties. The badger, Taxidea americana, is so plentiful throughout Oregon, especially in that part east of the Cascade Range, that it is not surprising that many geographic features were named for it. Badger holes are in evidence in many localities, and Badger creeks are particularly plentiful. The creek mentioned at the head of this paragraph has its source in Badger Lake, in Hood River County, with an elevation of 4435 feet. A mile southeast is Badger Butte, with an elevation of 5992 feet, a well-known landmark.
BAGBY HOT SPRINGS, Clackamas County. These springs are in township 7 south, range 5 east. They were named for Robert W. Bagby, a prospector and miner who frequented this part of the state. He lived between Molalla and Wilhoit. He died on October 8, 1927. For his obituary, see the Oregonian, October 9, 1927, section I, page 17. The spelling Bagsby is wrong.
BAGNELL, "Curry County. In pioneer days a man named William Bagnell operated a ferry on Rogue River about five miles northeast of Gold Beach, then known as Ellensburg. The compiler has been unable to get much of Bagnell's history. On June 7, 1894, Bagnell post office was established at the ferry, with John R. Miller first and only postmaster. The office was closed to Gold Beach, April 4, 1895.
BAILEY MOUNTAIN, Curry County. Bailey Mountain, elevation 3920 feet, is about 12 miles airline west of Kerby. The following quotation is from a statement made by the Forest Service to the USBGN, which adopted the name December 4, 1941: "The name suggested is in honor of one of the first miners to settle in this area. He had a claim and built a cabin nearby that is still known as Bailey Cabin. The date of his death is unknown."
BAIRD, Gilliam County. Baird post office was established December 8, 1884, and was named for J. C. Baird, the first and only postmaster. The office was discontinued February 8, 1886. In March, 1948, J. D. Weed of Condon wrote the compiler that he came to Gilliam County on January 17, 1899, and lived that winter at Shutler. Mr. Weed says that the Junction House was situated at Shutler Station and he was told that in early days there was a post office there called Baird. The Junction House was the point where emigrants from the east traveling the Oregon Trail reached Alkali Canyon. From this point the Oregon Trail went westward up Alkali Canyon and along Rock Creek to John Day River.
BAKEOVEN, Wasco County. During pioneer gold excitement in Canyon City, an enterprising trader started from The Dalles with a ​
pack train of flour. After crossing the Deschutes River Indians drove off his horses in the night and left him with his supplies. He constructed a rough clay and stone bakeoven and made bread which he sold to miners and prospectors going to the mines. The old oven was in existence for many years after the owner abandoned it. H. H. Bancroft, in his History of Oregon, volume I, page 787, says that the baker was a German and that the event occurred when Joseph H. Sherar took a party to the mines in 1862. The post office of Bakeoven was established December 1, 1875, with Mrs. Ellen Burgess first postmaster.
BAKER, Baker County. Baker was originally known as Baker City and it was, of course, named for Baker County. The post office was first established on March 27, 1866, with William F. McCrary as postmaster. In 1911 the name of the post office was changed to Baker to conform to the new style adopted by the incorporated community. For additional information about the origin of the name see under BAKER COUNTY and also editorial in the Oregonian, November 13, 1925, page 14. McCrary was the first postmaster at Auburn post office, which was established November 1, 1862. It is reported that McCrary moved the office to the present site of Baker in the fall of 1865 and opened a variety store. Whatever the facts are about this unauthorized move, the Baker City office was established March 27, 1866, with McCrary postmaster. Despite McCrary's move, Auburn continued to have a post office until October, 1903. Baker Bridge, Clackamas County. This bridge was named for Horace Baker, who took up a donation land claim nearby in pioneer days. His land office certificate was number 4967. The bridge is near Carver.
BAKER COUNTY. Baker County was created September 22, 1862, by the state legislature (General Laws of 1862, page 112). It was made from the eastern part of Wasco County. It was named for Edward Dickinson Baker (1808-61) who was elected United States senator from Oregon in 1860. He was killed at Balls Bluff just after he had been appointed a major-general. His biography appears in the Oregonian January 15, 1875, by Tom Merry; May 31, 1908, by Clark E. Carr; January 19, 1896. He first came to Oregon in December, 1859, and, in the following February, moved his family to Oregon. For the narrative of his death, ibid., July 16, 1893, page 4; October 21, 1906, page 49; tribute to his strong oratorical power, ibid., April 5, 1899, page 3, by P. B. Johnson; reminiscences of Baker, by George H. Williams, ibid., July 29, 1906, page 41; Baker's speech in Union Square, New York, in April, 1861, ibid., May 30, 1906, page 8; his oration over the body of Senator Broderick, ibid., October 14, 1883; his reply to Breckenridge, ibid., July 30, 1905, page 43; description of the grave of E. D. Baker at San Francisco, ibid., March 13, 1892; June 4, 1872, page 3. For biograph. ical narrative, by William D. Fenton, see OHQ, volume IX, pages 1-23. For a description of Baker County in 1880 see the Oregonian for December 28, 1880; in 1885, ibid., October 19, 1885, by Alfred Holman; in 1881, ibid., December 6, 1881, by George H. Atkinson. Details concerning the origin of Oregon counties may be obtained from OHQ, volume XI, No. 1, for March, 1910, which contains an address on the subject by Frederick V. Holman.
BAKER GULCH, Wallowa County. Baker Gulch drains into Joseph Creek in township 4 north, range 45 east. It was named for James, Sam For a bep 28. Decem of March, ​and John Baker who had a hunting camp there in the '90s. They were the sons of James T. Baker of Arkansas Hollow
Bakersfield, Washington County. Bakersfield post office was about five miles northwest of Thatcher. It was named in compliment to the family of the only postmaster, Sylvia S. Baker. The office was established December 2, 1899, and was ordered closed to Thatcher, December 16, 1901.
Balch Creek, Multnomah County. Danford Balch settled near what is now Willamette Heights in Portland in 1850. Balch was hanged October 17, 1859, for killing his son-in-law, Mortimer Stump, on the Stark Street ferry. For history of the tragedy of the Balch family, see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume III, page 352, and also story in Oregonian August 14, 1938, magazine section. Balch creek was named for this family. At one time the creek furnished the city water supply.
Bald Mountain, Curry County. Bald Mountain, elevation 2967 feet, is a prominent point about ten miles airline southeast of Port Orford, and has been so called since the days of the mining excitement in the '50s. Glisan in Journal of Army Life uses the name on March 15, 1856, and it is apparent that the name was in vogue before that date. On modern maps, Bald Mountain is the northwest end of a prominent ridge and Rocky Peak, elevation 3023 feet, is at the southeast end and about a mile away. It is possible that in early days the name Bald Mountain was applied to the ridge rather than to either of the two points. Davidson, in Coast Pilot, 1889, describes these features, though the wording is not entirely clear. He seems to call the northwest peak Pilot Knob and the southeast point Bald Peak, with an elevation of 3056 feet. He describes the ridge as a double peak above all the immediate mountains, and says the Indian name was Chus-suggel. In early days the expression Pilot Knob was used by mariners to describe all of the ridge referred to at the beginning of this paragraph. Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856, has the name Pilot Knob applied to the entire ridge, but that does not agree with Glisan.
Bald Mountain, Polk County. This is one of the higher peaks of the Coast Range, and is in the south part of the county. It bears a descriptive name, and has an elevation of 3246 feet, according to U. S. Army maps. It was formerly listed as Monmouth Peak. It is not now known by that name. There is probably a Bald Mountain in every county in the state, and more than one in some. The ease with which this descriptive name was applied does not speak well for the geographic imagination or ingenuity of early settlers.
Bald Peter, Jefferson County. Bald Peter, elevation 6540 feet, is a conspicuous landmark on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation about six miles east of Mount Jefferson. This mountain bears a descriptive name sometimes applied by surveyors to points, rocky at the top and bare of timber. While this name may be derived directly from the Latin word petrus, meaning rock, it is more probably an allusion to Saint Peter, the rock on which the church was founded. There is another point called Bald Peter Butte, elevation 3725 feet, on the north boundary of the reservation in Wasco County, doubtless named for the same reason.
Baldock Slough, Baker County, Baldock Slough is one of the ​channels of Powder River north of Baker. Hiatt, in Thirty-one Years in Baker County, page 36, has an account of William Baldock, who came into the Baker Valley from Colorado in the fall of 1862. He was attracted by the fine stand of wild hay growing in the valley, and worked up a market for it in Auburn. He got a scythe from some source and made pitchforks from forked willow sticks. He harvested the hay and found ready buyers in the mining camps. Baldock Slough was named for this man or some member of his family.
Baldwin CREEK, Hood River County. Baldwin Creek drains the northeast part of Upper Hood River Valley, and flows into East Fork Hood River. It was named for S. M. Baldwin, who, in 1878, homesteaded a tract through which the stream flows.
Baldy Lake, Grant County. This is a small lake on the north slope of Ireland Mountain, so named because at one time Ireland Mountain was known as Bald Mountain.
BALLARD LANDING, Baker County. Ballard Landing is a place on Snake River in the extreme northeast corner of Baker County, named for a local resident. A post office with the name Landing was in operation in this locality from December, 1900, until May, 1904, with Eli F. Ballard postmaster.
BALLSTON, Polk County. Ballston was named for Isaac Ball who took up a donation land claim where the town now stands. The post office was originally established as Ballsville on September 19, 1878, with Andrew N. Martin postmaster. The name was changed to Ballston on July 19, 1880. Isaac Ball was one of the early champions of the west side narrow gage railroad project. See OHQ, volume XX, page 144.
Balm, Tillamook County. Several varieties of cottonwood trees are called balm or balm-of-Gilead, and in consequence the name Balm has been applied geographically to places inhabited by these trees. A post office named Balm was in operation in Tillamook County from May, 1897, until December, 1911. Everett R. Bales was the first postmaster. The office was on Foley Creek, not far above the mouth and about two miles southeast of Mohler. The office moved about, depending on the postmaster. The office is supposed to have been named for some balm trees, which are not common in that part of Oregon, but the compiler does not know which variety. Mohler post office was established the day the Balm office was closed and it may be assumed that the Balm office was moved to Mohler and the name changed.
Balm MOUNTAIN, Douglas County, Balm Mountain is in the northeastern part of the county in the Calapooya Mountains and has an elevation of 6088 feet. It was named for a brushy plant known as mountain balm, or mountain lilac, Ceanothus velutinus. This plant is also called snow bush and sticky laurel.
BALTIMORE Rock, Coos County. Baltimore Rock is south of the entrance to Coos Bay and north of Cape Arago, not far from the lighthouse. George Davidson, in Coast Pilot, 1889, says it was named because the schooner Baltimore struck on it and was wrecked.
BAN, Multnomah County. Ban was a station north of Linnton. It was named for S. Ban, a Japanese merchant of Portland. He operated a shingle mill near the station for several years.
BANCROFT, Coos County. It is reported that the Post Office Department named this office, but the reason is not known. The post office was established July 28, 1891, with Burrel R. Banning first postmaster. ​
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BANDON, Coos County. Bandon is a community on the south side of the mouth of the Coquille River. It was named by George Bennett who settled not far from the present town in 1873. Bennett was a native of Ireland and named the new city for Bandon, on Bandon River, County Cork, Ireland. He married Katherine Ann Scott Harrison, and three children were born to them, two of whom have been prominent citizens of Coos County. Bandon was almost completely destroyed by fire on September 26, 1936, but is being rebuilt. For historical sketch of Bandon, see the Oregonian, September 28, 1936. For history of Bandon and Coquille River by George Bennett, see OHQ, volume XXVIII, page 311, and volume
XXIX, page 20. An Englishman, William Davidson, known locally as Billy Buckhorn, is said to have been the first resident. Bandon post office was established September 12, 1877, with John Lewis first of a long line of postmasters.
BANGOR, Coos County. Bangor was a townsite laid out on the west side of Pony Slough, now within the city of North Bend. "Major" L. D. Kinney, who came to Coos Bay about May, 1902, from Maine, promoted the townsite and also expected to build a belt line railroad at Coos Bay and a railroad from Coos Bay to the Willamette Valley. The promotions did not mature. Bangor was named for Kinney's former home in Maine. A post office with the name Bangor was established November 8, 1902, with Edwin H. Wall postmaster. The office was never in active operation and the order was rescinded March 10, 1903.
BANKS, Washington County. Banks was named in compliment to Robert Banks, a pioneer resident, and his father, John Banks. The name is said to have been selected by Joe Schulmerich and Joed Hartley. Banks post office was established January 21, 1902, with Ewell S. Turner first postmaster. It was at first planned to name the office Turner, probably for the first postmaster, but this could not be done because of duplication with Turner in Marion County. Banks post office was discontinued in December, 1904, and the business was turned over to Greenville. Early in 1907 the Greenville office was moved north a few miles to the location of the old Banks office. Local residents petitioned to have the old name Banks restored, which was done in April, 1907.
BARBER, Lincoln County. Barber post office was established March 30, 1911, and was discontinued January 31, 1912. Clarinda Barber was the only postmaster in the history of the establishment. The compiler is informed that the office was at or near the mouth of Wolf Creek, on Elk Creek about three miles downstream from Harlan. It was named in compliment to the family of the postmaster.
BARBRA, Clatsop County. Barbra is an unusual name for a place but that is the way it is in postal records. Barbra was in the extreme south part of Clatsop County, on North Fork Nehalem River, near the middle of section 28, township 4 north, range 9 west. In recent years the Markham and Callow logging camp has been in operation a little to the northeast on the Necanicum Highway. Barbra post office was established May 24, 1892, with Thomas Mitchell the first and only postmaster. The office was closed May 26, 1900, with papers to Nehalem. Mrs. Rose West Johnson, RFD Warrenton, Oregon, has written that Barbra post office was named for the wife of the postmaster, Thomas Mitchell. The Johnsons are old timers on Clatsop Plains and recall the days when carriers took the mail through from Seaside to Nehalem. ​
BARE CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream flows into Imnaha River from the west in township 2 north, range 48 east. It was named for Ike N. Bare who settled on its banks about 1887. He came into the Wallowa Valley in the late '70s, according to J. H. Horner of Enterprise, and formerly lived in Iowa and Colorado. Bare was a typical frontiersman and also a rustic fiddler and minstrel. Bare Creek was once known as Fall Creek, but that name has sunk into disuse.
BARE ISLAND, Klamath County. This island is in Upper Klamath Lake not far from Modoc Point. It was so named because it was bare of any considerable stand of timber. The Klamath Indian name of this island was Aushme. Those Indians had a legend that it was created by one of their deities who threw a game-stick into the lake.
BARITE, Wheeler County, Barite was a name once used for a post office in the extreme southeast corner of the county, probably on or near Birch Creek southeast of Antone. Barite post office was established March 22, 1901, with Reuben Fields postmaster. The office was closed August 20, 1906. Barite, also called barytes and heavy spar, is sulphate of barium, frequently used in paint making. In December, 1945, F. W. Libbey, director of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, wrote the compiler that he had no knowledge of barite in the locality mentioned, but as it is not an uncommon mineral, it is quite possible that it could have been found there.
BARK CREEK, Benton County. Bark Creek flows northward from the foothills of Marys Peak. In 1937 Mark Phinney of Philomath interviewed Jerry E. Henkle, a well-known Benton County pioneer, who said the stream was named in the spring of 1856 by a party of neighbors looking for grazing land. They tried to cross this stream at a place so miry that they had to lay large pieces of fir bark to keep their horses from sinking. They called the stream Bark Creek.
BARKLEY SPRING, Klamath County. Barkley Spring is on the east shore of Upper Klamath Lake between Algoma and Modoc Point. It is a well-known locality, and bears the name of James Barkley, native of Ireland, who served at Fort Klamath as sergeant in C Company, Ist Oregon Cavalry and was discharged there about 1866. He lived in a small cabin near the spring for some years, then moved to a home in Yonna Valley. Still later he was thrown from a cart near the spring and killed.
BARKLOW MOUNTAIN, Coos and Curry counties. This mountain with an elevation of 3559 feet was named for a well known pioneer family of Coos County. Barlow, Clackamas County. Barlow is on the main line of the Southern Pacific Company in Clackamas County, and also on the Pacific Highway East. It was named for William Barlow. He was a son of Samuel K. Barlow, who opened the Barlow Road. William Barlow's reminiscences are in OHO, volume XIII, page 240, where it is stated that he was born October 26, 1822, in Marion County, Indiana, and it was in that state that his father had married Susannah Lee. The Barlows came to Oregon in 1845, traveling over the Cascade Range by what was later known as the Barlow Road, and arrived in Oregon City Christmas night. William Barlow engaged in various enterprises, and among other things, started the first black walnut trees grown in Oregon in 1859. Samuel K. Barlow bought the donation land claim of Thomas McKay on September 17, 1850, and afterwards sold this place to his son William. The railroad
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BARVES waring for 5. Bam 2k who Rating Up print was built through the place in 1870, and the station was named for Wil. liam Barlow. For additional information about the Barlow family, see article by Fred Lockley, editorial page of the Oregon Journal, December 24, 1937.
BARLOW CREEK, Hood River and Wasco counties. This stream bears the name of Samuel K. Barlow, the builder of Barlow Road. See under
BARLOW Road heading for additional information. The Barlow Road followed along Barlow Creek between White River and Barlow Pass. For discussion of the use of the name Zigzag, describing this creek, See OHQ, volume XIX, page 75. The early use of the name Zigzag instead of Barlow for this stream seems to the compiler improbable.
BARLOW ROAD, Clackamas and Wasco counties. The Barlow Road was named for Samuel Kimbrough Barlow, a pioneer of 1845, who developed the first made road in the state of Oregon. For a description of the difficulties the Barlows had getting over the Cascade Range on what was later the Barlow Road, see OHQ, volume XIII, page 240. For a history of the road itself, see ibid., page 287. For story about the road and a map, see Sunday Oregonian, magazine section, May 29, 1938. Barlow started the work when he came over with the emigration, and finished it the following year. From the summit of the Cascade Range westward to Sandy the Mount Hood Loop Highway is in substantially the same location as the Barlow Road, though modern engineering has solved some of Samuel K. Barlow's greatest difficulties. East of the summit the Barlow Road has been in disuse for many years for a considerable distance down the eastern slope, especially where it traversed the canyon of White River. The Oak Grove Road from Salmon River Meadows to Wapinitia was not a part of the original Barlow Road, though frequently spoken of as such. On July 27, 1925, a memorial tablet was dedicated to Samuel Kimbrough Barlow at a point on the Mount Hood Loop Highway just east of Government Camp. This tablet, which is on a large boulder, was unveiled in 1923 but could not be put in place then owing to difficulties over the title to the site. On the same boulder is another tablet dedicated to Susannah Lee Barlow, wife of S. K. Barlow. Samuel K. Barlow was born in Nicholas County, Kentucky, on January 24, 1792. He died at Canemah, Oregon, July 14, 1867, and is buried beside his wife at Barlow.
BARNEGAT, Tillamook County. Barnegat is one of Oregon's ghost post offices, although the name is still used occasionally to refer to a locality on the narrow neck of land south of Bayocean. In September, 1943, O. K. Tittle of Tillamook wrote the compiler that Barnegat post office was first situated about two miles south of the place where the Bayocean Hotel was built later. The office was established at the instigation of A. B. Hallock, who was the first postmaster. When Hallock died October 30, 1892, the office was moved a mile south to the Bert Biggs place and was operated by Mrs. Biggs, who was a daughter of Webley Hauxhurst. It is said that Hallock named Barnegat for his former home on the Atlantic Coast. The only Barnegat on the Atlantic Coast is of course Barnegat Bay, a well-known inlet on the shore of New Jersey north of Atlantic City. However, the biographer of Hallock in the files of the Oregon Historical Society fails to show that he ever lived close to the Atlantic Ocean. In 1929 H. C. Sutherland of Portland told the compiler that his father, Thomas A. Sutherland, went shooting on Tillamook Bay in the '70s and named Barnegat Bay, Tillamook County, because of simsaras pa putable mis L.) i lapte 2. child na mea 21 10 ) Bland
CONCETTO જા.) tr se ela 1 Fatamed ​ilar activity on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. It was the impression of the Sutherland family that Thomas A. Sutherland applied the name to the southwest part of Tillamook Bay and not to a place on land. Barnegat Bay in New Jersey is said to have been named by Henry Hudson with the Dutch word "breaker's inlet." Barnegat post office in Tillamook County was not established until 1891, and it is possible that the post office was named for the Barnegat Bay designated by Sutherland. The name of this office was changed from Barnegat to Bayocean in February, 1909.
Barnes, Crook County. For some years, Barnes was a post office in the south part of Crook County. The office was discontinued July 31, 1925, and mail was then handled through Roberts post office. Barnes office was named for Harry Barnes as it was established at his ranch in May, 1909, and he was the first postmaster.
Barnes BUTTE, Crook County. Barnes Butte is a spur or ridge extending from the foot hills just northeast of Prineville. It was named for Elisha Barnes, a pioneer resident of Prineville.
Barnes Road, Multnomah County. This road leads westward from the head of West Burnside Street, in Portland. It was named for William Barnes, who came to Oregon in 1861, and took up land west of Portland in Washington County. He died April 4, 1909. An electric railway was opened up Barnes Road in 1893, but service was abandoned in the fall of that year. Traces of the old line are still visible. Barnes Heights in Portland got its name from the same source.
BARNES VALLEY, Klamath County. Barnes Valley is in the extreme southeast part of the county, very close to the Lake County line. In fact it is probable that part of the valley is in Lake County. Early in 1948 Miss Frances L. Barnes, of Portland, wrote that the valley was named for her uncle, Captain James Thornton Barnes, and that she lived thereabouts as a small child over sixty years ago. Captain James Thornton Barnes was born near Little Orleans, Indiana, in 1819, and later moved with his family to Missouri. He served in the Mexican War, went to California in 1850 and came to Oregon in 1851 to join his brother, Daniel P. Barnes, a pioneer of 1847. James T. Barnes served in the Rogue River War and reached the rank of captain. For many years he was actively engaged in the stock business in the Goose Lake and the Sprague River valleys. He died May 18, 1889, at Jacksonville.
BARNESDALE, Tillamook County. Miss Lucy E. Doughty, Bay City, told the compiler that this place, which does not now have a post office, was named for Frank Barnes, who settled in the valley of Foley Creek about 1910. Barnesdale post office was established April 18, 1912, with Frank Barnes first postmaster. The office was discontinued June 15, 1925.
BARNETT, Gilliam County. This is a railroad station south of Arlington. The correct spelling is Barnett and not Burnett, as is shown on some maps.
BARNEY, Crook County. Barney post office was in operation from September 6, 1913, to January 15, 1918, with William A. Barney postmaster, and the office was named in his honor. The place was on the upper reaches of Mill Creek, about where the stream crosses the line between townships 13 south, ranges 17 and 18 east. The Barney homestead was in section 25, township 13 south, range 17 east. The office served a small sawmill community about a mile north up Mill Creek. It is reported that most of the improvements were later destroyed by fire.
BARNHART, Umatilla County. The following information is paraphrased from a letter written the compiler by George A. Hartman of Pendleton, in 1947: Jeremiah Barnhart probably lived on the land ten miles west of Pendleton when the railroad established a siding, and his name was applied to the station. He did not homestead the place. He and Bob Thompson were partners in the sheep business for a number of years prior to the death of Thompson, who was killed by a sheepherder about 1894. The siding is on the Union Pacific Railroad and close to Umatilla River. A post office named Barnhart was established May 20, 1897, with Stella Jackson postmaster. This office was never in service and the order for its establishment was rescinded.
BARRETT, Hood River County. Dr. P. G. Barrett settled in the Hood River Valley in 1871, and for many years was the only physician in the valley and popular throughout the entire territory. He lived about threequarters of a mile south of the site of Barrett School, and at one time all the west side of the Hood River Valley was known as the Barrett District. He died in 1900. Barrett Spur on the north side of Mount Hood was also named for Dr. Barrett. Mrs. Barrett was interested in botany. She died in New York in 1924, aged 92 years.
BARRETT, Umatilla County. This is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad just west of Milton. C. A. Barrett, a pioneer stock raiser of the county, owned land at this point and the station was named for him. For Barrett's reminiscences of pioneer and farming conditions in this section of Oregon, see OHQ, volume XVI, page 343.
BARRON, Jackson County. Barron was a post office about ten miles southeast of Ashland, near to, but possibly not actually on the Southern Pacific railroad. It was named for a local family. The office was established June 18, 1875, with James Tyler first postmaster. That was of course before the railroad was built. The office was closed October 15, 1910.
BARSTOW, Multnomah County. This station on the Oregon Electric Railway, just east of Garden Home, was named for W. S. Barstow, of New York City, a prominent engineer and public utility operator, who was interested in the construction of the railroad. He died on December 26, 1942, at Great Neck, Long Island.
BARTLETT, Wallowa County. Bartlett was named for Theron A. Bart. lett, who owned the land on which the post office was situated. The office was established on May 14, 1904, and Bartlett was the first postmaster.
BARTON, Clackamas County. This place was named for Barton, Wisconsin, by an old resident, E. H. Burghardt, who had formerly lived there. He settled near the mouth of Deep Creek and started a small flour mill and store, and later had the post office established with the name of his old home in the East. His daughter, Mrs. Anna Burghardt Davis, was living at Tangent, Oregon, in 1925. Her father was born in 1851 and died in 1912. He came to Oregon about 1876. Barton post office was established May 16, 1896, with Burghardt first postmaster.
BARTON LAKE, Harney County. Barton Lake was named for an early settler nearby. It is about ten miles south of Malheur Lake.
BARVIEW, Tillamook County. This community was named in 1884 by L. C. Smith. It is just north of the bar at the entrance to Tillamook Bay and affords a fine view of the bay, bar and ocean. The style Barview has been adopted by the USBGN and not Bar View.
BASHAW CREEK, Marion County. Bashaw Creek drains Ankeny Bot. ​
tom in the extreme southwest part of the county and flows into the Willamette River. It was named for Joseph Bashaw who was born in France in 1820 and settled on the land October 1, 1851. The Land Office plat of this township indicates the spelling Bashan, but this is an error as the original application for the donation land claim is made out Bashaw.
BASIN, Grant County. Butler Basin is a prominent expansion of the John Day Canyon just north of Picture Gorge and is notable for being the site of some of the most remarkable of the John Day fossil beds, A post office with the name Basin was established in this area on July 10, 1907, with William B. Bales postmaster. The office was closed out to Dayville in April, 1916. It was about seven miles south of Kimberly.
BASKETT SLOUGH, Polk County. This slough originates in the intermittent Boyle Lakes about two miles northwest of Rickreall. It flows eastward several miles and joins Mud Slough. It was named for George J. Baskett who was born in Kentucky in 1817 and who settled on a donation land claim near this slough in October, 1850. Baskett spelled his name with two "t's" as indicated and this style of name for this geographic feature has been officially adopted by the USBGN.
BASTENDORFF BEACH, Coos County. Bastendorff Beach is on the west part of Coos Head, south of the entrance to Coos Bay. It bears the name of a local family. The spelling Bastendorff appears in signatures to deeds in the files of the Oregon State Highway Commission. Bates, Grant County. This post office is in the east part of the county near Austin. It was named for Paul C. Bates, an insurance man of Portland. Bates was instrumental in negotiating the purchase of timber lands by the Oregon Lumber Company, and when that company began operations, it suggested the name of Bates for the post office. Paul C. Bates was born in Massachusetts in 1874 and came to Portland in 1896. He died in Portland February 4, 1943. For obituary, see the Oregonian, February 6, 1943. For biography, see Carey's History of Oregon, volume III, page 20.
BATES BUTTE, Deschutes County. Bates Butte is west of Deschutes River and north of Fall River. It received its name from George Bates, a homesteader who settled nearby.
BATTERSON, Tillamook County. The railroad station Batterson on Nehalem River about six miles east of Mohler bears the name of S. M. Batterson, a local landowner. See under the heading ANGLERSVALE.
BATTLE Ax, Marion County. This mountain is in the eastern end of the county on the western slopes of the Cascade Range, and has an elevation of 5547 feet. There are two stories as to how it received its name. One is to the effect that it is sharp and has the appearance of a battle ax, while the other is that it was named by an old woodsman of the North Santiam Valley for a brand of chewing tobacco which was popular in the '90s, and which he used liberally while exploring in the neighborhood of the mountain.
BATTLE Bar, Curry County. On April 27, 1856, there took place one of those indecisive skirmishes that characterized the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-56. This fight lasted all day. The Oregon volunteers were on the north side of Rogue River about a mile west of what is now the east boundary of Curry County. The Indians, men, women and children were on a bar on the south bank of the river, now called Battle Bar, in section 17, township 33 south, range 9 west. Neither side was able to cross the river, so the combatants spent the time taking pot shots. See Walling's History of Southern Oregon, pages 266-68. ​
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BATTLE CREEK, Clatsop County. This stream is situated about six miles southeast of Astoria on the Tucker Creek road. J. B. Kilmore of Astoria informed the compiler that it was named because of a boundary dispute between two farmers.
BATTLE CREEK, Grant County. This stream flows into John Day River west of Dayville. J. E. Snow told the compiler that about 1870 two bands of Indians had a fight about two miles up this creek, near the canyon, hence the name.
BATTLE CREEK, Jackson County. Battle Creek and Battle Mountain are in the northwest part of the county near the headwaters of Evans Creek. These features are named for the battle of Evans Creek, fought against Rogue River Indians in this locality August 24, 1853.
BATTLE CREEK, Marion County. This stream heads on the east slopes of Prospect Hill about eight miles south of Salem and flows eastward to Mill Creek near Turner. Its name commemorates one of the few conflicts between settlers and Indians in the Willamette Valley. It was at a point near this stream that a party of Oregon Rangers engaged in a minor encounter with a band of eastern Oregon Indians in June, 1846, as a result of cattle depredations. Only one Indian was killed in the excitement, and peace was finally restored by gifts.
BATTLE CREEK, Wallowa County. This small stream flows into Snake River in township 3 south, range 49 east, east of Lookout Mountain. It was named because of a squabble and fight between two old prospectors who were living near its mouth in the early '80s. Each went up and down the river to tell his version of the row, and other prospectors soon had a name for the creek.
BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Umatilla County. Battle Mountain, about 25 miles south of Pilot Rock on the Pendleton-John Day Highway, was named for a fight of whites against Indians in 1878, said to have been the last of such battles in Oregon.
BATTLE RIDGE, Crook and Wheeler counties. Battle Ridge is at the county line between Crook and Wheeler counties and just southwest of the headwaters of Beaverdam Creek. It is mostly in township 15 south, range 25 east, in Crook County. The ridge is said to have received its name as the result of the shooting of a large number of W. R. Mascall's sheep by cattlemen in the range wars in the '90s.
BATTLE Rock, Curry County. This historic landmark is at the shore line of Port Orford and is a massive block of rock standing well above the water. In June, 1851, Captain William Tichenor, who was at that time in command of the steamer Sea Gull operating between the Columbia River and San Francisco, endeavored to establish a commercial enterprise at Port Orford. He engaged J. M. Kirkpatrick and a number of others to go to Port Orford where the party was landed and provisioned on what is now known as Battle Rock. The party was besieged by Indians and an actual battle was fought on June 10, 1851, at which time seventeen Indians were killed, mostly by fire from a small cannon. Kirkpatrick and his party finally succeeded in stealing away from the rock after several days' siege and made their way north along the coast until they reached settlements of the whites. When Captain Tichenor's representative returned by sea he found the contingent gone and assumed it had been murdered by the Indians. For an account of this battle see Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, chapter III, which consists of a statement by Captain Kirkpatrick. 2005 Tubes Burs. T manbronn 1321 and and he ​
Baty BUTTE, Clackamas County. Baty Butte is near the headwaters of a branch of Molalla River. It was named for Andrew Jackson Baty. He was a farmer who lived on Dickey Prairie, about five miles southeast of Molalla. He was a pioneer settler in this locality, and spent much of his time hunting in the Cascade Range. This mountain was named for him, probably by the U. S. Geological Survey party which prepared the maps accompanying Professional Paper Number 9, Forest Conditions in the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, Washington, 1903. The mountain was at one time known as Whitespot.
BAXTER CREEK, Tillamook County. This stream was named for William T. Baxter, a pioneer of Oregon, who settled in Tillamook County about 1871. The stream is tributary to Kilchis River. Bay City, Tillamook County. For many years that part of Tillamook County around Bay City has been known as "down the bay," and when the county was first organized, the voting precinct for that section was called Bay Precinct. The town was established in 1888 and named by Winfield S. Cone. It is said that Cone came from Bay City, Michigan, and that he thus had a double reason for naming Bay City, Oregon, as he did. The post office at Bay City was established June 17, 1889, with Onslow Young first postmaster. Bay View, Lincoln County. Bay View is on the northeast part of Alsea Bay. The post office was established about 1901, and the name was chosen by Daniel M. Oakland, the first postmaster, because of the view of Alsea Bay that could be had from where the office then stood. In 1941 the post office was listed in one word, Bayview, but maps use two words.
BAYOCEAN, Tillamook County. This place is on the long neck of land lying between Tillamook Bay and Pacific Ocean. It was named in 1907 by the Potter-Chapin Realty Company of Portland, which established it as a summer resort, and named it because of its proximity to the two features mentioned. Bayocean post office was established in February, 1909, by change of name from Barnegat. See under that heading. Bays. The important bays and harbors of the Pacific Ocean in Oregon from north to south, are: Columbia River, Nehalem River, Tillamook Bay, Netarts Bay, Nestucca Bay, Siletz Bay, Yaquina Bay, Alsea Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, Coos Bay, Coquille River, Port Orford and Chetco Cove. It is an interesting fact that while most of the capes and headlands of Oregon were discovered and named before Lewis and Clark arrived, few of the harbors had been seen by white men up to that time. On August 17, 1775, Captain Bruno Heceta anchored off the mouth of the Columbia River, the entrance to which he gave the name of La Asuncion, apparently because of the celebration of the Asuncion de Nuestra Senora, or the Assumption, on August 15. Although the currents led him to believe he was near a river, he did not make the entrance, and thus lost the honor of discovering the Columbia. He named the north cape of the entrance Cabo San Roque and the south Cabo Frondoso, now Point Adams. John Meares was the next explorer to make any important mention of Oregon bays and harbors. For details of Meares' voyage off the Oregon coast see the information under CAPE
MEARES. Meares passed the mouth of the Columbia on July 6, 1788, and while he recognized the fact that he was off a bay, he failed to identify . the place as the mouth of a river. By nightfall of the same day he discovered and named Quicksand Bay, and while he says that the bay had ​
a sand bar closing its mouth, yet his other observations indicate without much doubt that he had found Tillamook Bay. During the same year Captain John Kendrick and Captain Robert Gray brought the first American fur trading enterprise to the north Pacific Coast in the Columbia Rediviva and the Lady Washington. Robert Haswell, second mate of the Lady Washington, kept a diary, but notwithstanding the latitudes and landmarks mentioned along the Oregon coast, it is impossible to trace the course of the vessel with accuracy. Bancroft, in his History of the Northwest Coast, volume I, page 188, indicates some of the difficulties in interpreting the writing. It is possible that Alsea Bay or Yaquina Bay was seen by the ship. On August 12, 1788, the Lady Washington anchored off Tillamook Bay. On August 14 the ship crossed the bar, and at first the Americans had no trouble with the natives but on August 16, the Indians made a murderous assault and killed a member of the crew. Two days later the ship got away, and in his diary Haswell makes the following observation: "Murderers Harbour, for so it was named, is I suppose the entrance of the river of the West it is by no means a safe place for aney but a very small vessell to enter the shoal at its entrance being so aucwardly situated the passage so narrow and the tide so strong it is scarce possible to avoid the dangers." Data on other bays in Oregon will be found under their respective headings. B. C. CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream is near the south end of Wallowa Lake and drains B. C. Basin. It bears the initials of Breeden and Camp, who located some silver claims in the basin about 1905.
BEAGLE, Jackson County. Beagle was named for William Beagle, an early settler and one-time postmaster. The community is a few miles north of Upper Table Rock and west of Rogue River.
BEAGLE CREEK, Union County. Beagle Creek near Medical Springs, bears the name of one Beagle who kept a little inn on the stream in 1864, on the pack trail between Columbia River and the Boise mines. Oliver H. P. Beagle came to Oregon in 1843 when he was eleven years old and had many stirring adventures, some of which are described in an article by Fred Lockley in the Oregon Journal for July 13, 1927. He operated a pack train in northeast Oregon in the '60s and he and his wife lived there for a time. Beagle Creek was probably named for him.
BEAR CREEK, Jackson County. This is an important tributary of Rogue River, draining the valley in which Medford and Ashland are situated. It was for some years known as Stuart Creek, but is now called by a name of little significance. Stuart Creek, and Camp Stuart, a pioneer military establishment, were named by then Captain George B. McClellan, for his brother officer Captain James Stuart, who died June 18, 1851, not far from the stream. Stuart was wounded the day before near Rogue River while leading a charge against a band of hostile Indians. For additional data, see under CAMP STUART. For story about the origin of the name Bear for this creek, see the Oregonian, November 9, 1913. Bear Creek flows through Medford, and that city was named for the middle ford of the stream.
BEAR CREEK, Wallowa County. This important tributary of Wallowa River heads in the Wallowa Mountains in township 3 south, range 43 east, and flows into the Wallowa just west of the town of Wallowa. The name, Bear Creek, for this stream has been adopted by the USBGN. The principal tributary of Bear Creek is Little Bear Creek, flowing in Rist, and no creo ​
from the east. Pioneer settlers in the Wallowa Valley found many bears along this stream. The wild animals were very destructive of cattle.
BEAR CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream heads near the OregonWashington state line and flows southeast into Grande Ronde River in township 6 north, range 43 east. In 1931 J. H. Horner told the compiler that the stream was named by a sheepherder employed by Judge Chester F. Miller of Dayton, Washington, who ran into nine bears all at one time, frolicking on its banks. This sounds like a record.
BEAR Flat, Wallowa County. Bear Flat is about on the line between township 1 north, ranges 48 and 49 east, on the ridge between Horse and Pumpkin creeks. It was named because Ben Johnson and Waldo Chase killed several bears there, among them two grizzlies. Charles and Guy Horner built the first cabin and corrals on this flat, according to information from J. H. Horner in 1931.
BEAR GULCH, Wallowa County. Bear Gulch is an important canyon in the east part of township 1 south, range 47 east, and empties into Little Sheep Creek. It was named by George A. Wilson who had a remarkable experience with a bear in this gulch. Wilson's dogs chased a bear, and the excited animal jumped on a pack horse. This was too much for patient nag, who bucked the bear off and then scattered the pack down the canyon. Wilson was a stock man with a place at the mouth of the gulch.
BEAR ISLAND, Benton County. This island in Willamette River, and Bear Chute just to the east, were named for Owen Bear, a nearby pioneer settler. The record of his donation land claim is in land office certificate 327.
BEARDSLEY Bar, Marion County. Beardsley Bar is on the east bank of Willamette River, about three miles northwest of Salem. It was named for W. W. Beardsley, who owned a farm near the bar.
BEATTY, Klamath County. Annie E. Taylor, postmistress at Beatty, reported in 1925 that this place was named for the Rev. J. L. Beatty, a missionary who lived in that section of the Klamath Indian Reservation. Beatty is on Sprague River, on the highway between Klamath Falls and Lakeview.
BEATYS BUTTE, Harney County. This prominent butte is in the southwest part of the county, and Beatys Springs are nearby. These features were named during Colonel C. S. Drew's Owyhee Reconnoissance with the 1st Oregon Cavalry in 1864, and serve to perpetuate the memory of Sergeant A. M. Beaty, who is especially mentioned in Drew's report for the zealous performance of his duties. The USC&GS gives the elevation of this butte as 7916 feet.
BEAVER, Tillamook County. It is not surprising that the name of the animal that exercised such influence in the history of the West should be attached to so many geographic features. There are three post offices in Oregon with Beaver as the dominant part of the name, and a score of creeks, mountains and buttes. The American beaver (Castor canadensis and its sub-species) occupied a wide field on this continent and existed in great numbers. Beavers are heavily built, and are covered with long, coarse hairs overlying the short, dense and silky underfur to which beaver skins owe their value. The abundance and high value of this fur had a great influence in the early exploration and development of North America. Beaver skins were the one ready product of the ​
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TON cat Preu ice na and be Re a chat western world which the merchants elsewhere were eager to purchase, and as a consequence the competition in trapping was keen to the point where it caused international complications. Beaver skins passed as a standard of barter, Beavers belong to the rodent family, a group notable for low mental powers. Beavers are an exception to this rule, however. They have extraordinary intelligence, though probably not as great as sometimes stated. They apparently understand something about hydraulic operations and save themselves much labor by digging canals for floating and transporting sticks and branches needed for food. They live entirely on twigs and bark, and have a gnawing capacity that is startling. There appears to be no truth in the reports that they use their flat tails as trowels, and they do not transport mud thereon. This is done by means of their front paws. The beaver is considered to be a symbol of industry, and pioneers of Oregon were quick to associate this idea with the new commonwealth. The first money was known as "Beaver Money."
BEAVER CREEK, Clackamas County. The name of Beaver Creek community was first used for a school district in the early '50s, and came from the name of the stream that flows into the Willamette River near New Era. Beaver Creek community is south of Oregon City and is a rather loosely defined area or district adjacent to the stream. In 1945 its commercial activity was centered at the Beaver Creek crossroads, elevation 528 feet, where the Beavercreek post office was in operation. The postal history of this area is complex. A post office named Beaver was established in December, 1868, with James K. Graham postmaster. The office was closed in September, 1871. Beaver post office was reestablished in March, 1882, with C. F. Vonderahe first postmaster, and operated until February, 1883. In 1945 the writer was told that this office was near the present locality of the Carus School. A post office called Mink was in service from February, 1886, until May, 1894. This office was about three miles southeast of the present Beaver Creek store, possibly on the Highland road. It was named by using an adaptation of the name of a local family, Moehnke. In fact Charles Moehnke was at one time postmaster of this office. The locality of Mink post office was later served by an office called Shubel, which was operated from December, 1897, until September, 1904, with Gustav A. Shubel postmaster. In the early '90s a post office named Beaver Creek was established, although the writer does not know its exact location. The name was changed to Beavercreek, probably in 1896. This office was in operation well after the turn of the century, and during its later life it may have been at the Beaver Creek store. Joseph R. Hoff took over this store and petitioned for a post office. An office with the name Hoff was established in April, 1916, with Hoff postmaster. Later Hoff disposed of the store and the name of the office was changed to Beavercreek December 15, 1922, and that was the style used in 1945. There are streams called Beaver Creek in almost every county in the state. The beaver were very numerous through early days in Oregon, a fact that is attested by an examination of the journals of the various fur hunters. For instance, on Sunday, April 22, 1827, Peter Skene Ogden mentioned in his diary that McKay had taken 735 beaver and otter skins on two small streams discharging into Clammitte (Klamath) River in about three weeks. No wonder we have so many Beaver creeks, and so few beaver. Hill mon. istert-live to loft may be trawn pla can Beave Ta og Beaver ) aliforn Ce the days "CUNG a robust 9.10 the e The to
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BEAVER Hill, Coos County. For well over half a century Beaver Hill has been a well-known name in western Oregon because of its application to the Beaver Hill coal mine about 12 miles airline south of the city of Coos Bay. The mining community Beaver Hill had a railroad, but never had a post office with its own name. The place is shown with fidelity on the Geological Survey atlas sheet of the Coos Bay area mapped in 1895-96, but there is nothing on the map to indicate that the name was used for a hill or other topographic feature. The name was obviously applied because the mine is or was on one of the upper tributaries of Beaver Slough which drains south into Coquille River. There is a good deal of interesting information about the mine in the Nineteenth Annual Report of the USGS, from the pen of Dr. J. S. Diller. In 1942-43 the Coos Bay area was remapped by the Geological Survey and the locality of Beaver Hill mine is shown on the northeast part of the Bandon atlas sheet, but the topographic engineers report that little is left of the place, and the only thing to identify it is a bench mark in the east part of section 17, township 27 south, range 13 west. It is about two miles airline west of Coaledo. If the mine is ever reopened doubtless it will be in the news. Mrs. Mary M. Randleman of Coquille, authority on the history of that part of Oregon, calls attention to the fact that Preuss post office was established at the mining community of Beaver Hill, April 17, 1917, with Cora E. Holmes first of two postmasters. The office was discontinued February 15, 1924. Preuss post office was named for Rosa Preuss, a school teacher of the neighborhood. It is probable that the post office department would not accept the name Beaver Hill because of possible confusion with other post offices such as Beaverton, Beavercreek, et al.
BEAVER LANDING, Columbia County. Beaver Landing was the name of a short-lived post office established March 21, 1879, and discontinued on May 1 of the same year. Jacob S. Rinearson was the only postmaster and it may be assumed that the post office was somewhere near the Rinearson place northwest of Rainier. There has been a railway station in this locality called Rinearson and of course Rinéarson Slough is well known. Beaver Landing was doubtless named because it provided an easy way of getting from the Columbia River up to the headwaters of Beaver Creek in the hills above the river.
BEAVER Marsh, Klamath County. Beaver Marsh is a place on The Dalles-California Highway about six miles south of Chemult, prominent since the days of stagecoaches and freight wagons in central Oregon. The topographic feature bears a descriptive name. The community has never had a robust growth, as may be seen from its postal history. Beaver Marsh post office was established June 30, 1927, and was discontinued August 22, 1928. William Zumbrunn was the only postmaster. Miller Creek flows through the place.
BEAVERTON, Washington County. Beaverton received its name because of the existence nearby of a large body of beaverdam land. Soil of this character was sought for by pioneer settlers because of its productivity. The town was laid out in 1869 by George Betts, Joshua Welch, Charles Angel, W. P. Watson and others. Beaverton post office was established in March, 1872, with George W. Betts, first postmaster.
BECKLEY, Harney County. Beckley is in Catlow Valley, and in 1911 Charles D. Beckley started a general store where the post office was established in April, 1912. The community was named for Beckley. ​
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BEDFIELD, Klamath County. Bedfield, a locality in the Poe Valley a few miles southeast of Olene, was named for Bedfield, near Framlingham, Suffolk, England. Edward Freuer came to Klamath County from the Bedfield in Suffolk in 1882 and engaged in the stock business. He named his new home in compliment to his former English home, and when a post office was established in March, 1892, Freuer was the postmaster and named the office, which was in his house at first. The post office was in operation until August, 1909. The Freuer place was also called the Seven-springs Ranch.
BEECH CREEK, Grant County. This post office is about ten miles north of Mount Vernon. B. C. Trobridge of John Day, who settled in the John Day Valley July 19, 1862, wrote the compiler that Beech Creek was named for a pioneer settler who lived near the mouth of the stream. The post office was established January 26, 1900, by James T. Berry, and it seemed appropriate to name it after Beech Creek because it was near the headwaters of that stream.
BEELER Ridge, Wallowa County. This ridge is just west of Imnaha River. It was named for Jake Beeler, of Joseph, a freighter.
BEERMAN CREEK, Clatsop County. Beerman Creek flows into Necanicum River south of Seaside. It was named for Fred Beerman, who took up a donation land claim in the vicinity.
BEETLES REST SPRING, Klamath County. This is the well-known spring at Klamath Agency. The stream formed by this spring is quite short. The Klamath Indian name for the stream was Tgulutcham Kshuteleh. The first part of the name is descriptive of a small beetle with a green or purple shell. The second part of the name indicates to "live underneath or live below," indicating that the beetles lived in this particular locality. The stream flows into Crooked Creek.
BELKNAP CRATER, Deschutes and Linn counties. This is one of the important features of the Cascade Range, and lies just north of McKenzie Pass. The crater and its enormous lava fields are easily seen from the McKenzie Highway and produce a spectacle that is awe inspiring to say the least. The crater has an elevation of 6877 feet. It was named for J. H. Belknap, an early resident along the McKenzie River, and a son of R. S. Belknap who developed Belknap Springs. J. H. Belknap was interested in the toll road that was built over McKenzie Pass in the early '70s.
BELKNAP SPRINGS, Lane County. R. S. Belknap located these springs in November, 1869, and conceived a plan for developing them. They now bear his name. Salt Springs post office was established October 26, 1874, with Belknap postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Belknaps Springs June 15, 1875. About 1891 the name was changed to Belknap Springs.
BELLAMY, Lincoln County. Information about Bellamy post office is unsatisfactory, but the following data are the best that the compiler can lay hands on. Bellamy office was established May 24, 1898, with Ola A. Tveitmoe first postmaster. The office was four or five miles north of Toledo on the road to Siletz and the postal facilities were intended for a small colony of Scandinavians living in the vicinity. It was closed to Toledo on June 15, 1899. The compiler has had no success in getting the reason for the selection of the name for this office. It may have been intended to compliment a local resident or even someone living at a distance. fengs post office for developing these sprin ​gs
BELLE, Lane County. Belle post office was established at the main forks of Indian Creek in western Lane County on August 25, 1906, with Daisy Belle Wilkinson first and only postmaster. The office was closed August 31, 1908. Belle post office of 1906 was in the same locality as Hermann post office when that office was first established in 1889. In January, 1947, Smith L. Taylor of McKenzie Bridge, formerly a resident of western Lane County, informed the compiler that Belle post office was named with the postmaster's middle name.
BELLE Passi, Marion County. This is one of Oregon's ghost towns, situated about a mile south of Woodburn. The name came before the public in February, 1942, as the result of the erection of an historical marker by members of Belle Passi chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Woodburn. The marker is on the Pacific Highway East, and commemorates the establishment of a pioneer community that eventually succumbed probably because of the development of Woodburn, which had the advantage of railroad service. The Rev. Neill Johnson located at the place about 1851. He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, and he soon built a church and later a school. In 1857 a contract was let to carry mail by stage from Portland to Sacramento, and this furnished an opportunity for a post office. Johnson suggested the name Groveland for a place in Illinois, but authorities objected because the name was too common. The Oregon Historical Society has a letter written by John L. Johnson, son of Neill Johnson, in which it is said that Johnson then recommended a name he had found, possibly in Humboldt's Cosmos, describing a place in Italy. J. L. Johnson gives this as Bell Passi, meaning good pass or beautiful place. Now the place in Italy, which is on the island of Sicily, is Belpasso. The post office in Marion County was officially Belpassi. The younger Johnson calls it Bell Passi and the marker uses the spelling Belle Passi. This selection of styles seems reasonably ample. Postal authorities inform the compiler that the post office at Belpassi was established on June 15, 1860. The name was changed to Gervais on November 6, 1871.
BELLE VUE POINT, Multnomah County. This point is on the east shore of Sauvie Island and the west bank of Columbia River, just north of the mouth of Willamette River. The name Belle Vue Point was adopted for this feature by USBGN on February 7, 1934. Belle Vue Point was named by Lt. W. R. Broughton, R.N., of the Vancouver expedition, on October 29, 1792. It seems certain that at that time the arrangement of islands and channels at the mouth of Willamette River differed from the condition that now exists. About 1930 Mr. J. Neilson Barry of Portland made an extensive study of the problem and it was his conclusion that the locality that now bears the name Belle Vue Point was the proper place. Federal agencies accepted his recommendations.
BELLEVUE, Yamhill County. This community is on the Salmon River Highway about nine miles southwest of McMinnville. The name is descriptive but the compiler does not know who applied it. The place is on the Hathaway Yocum donation land claim. Yocum came to Oregon in 1851 from Illinois. Records at the Oregon Historical Society indicate that Bellevue was settled about 1860. Muddy post office was established in this locality in May, 1855, with George Davis postmaster. It may have been on Muddy Creek a little northeast of Bellevue. The name was changed to Bellevue in April, 1869. The records do not indicate exactly ​
where pioneer post offices were situated and frequently they were moved around to fit the convenience of the postmasters.
BELLFOUNTAIN, Benton County. H. L. Mack, county clerk of Benton County, informed the compiler in December, 1926, that he lived in Bellfountain for thirteen years and there was no question in his mind but that it was named for a town of the same name in Ohio by local residents who had previously lived in the Ohio town. In Ohio the name is spelled Bellefontaine. A post office called Dusty was established in this locality December 6, 1895, with Helen Elgin first postmaster. The name of the office was not satisfactory, for obvious reasons. Postal records are not entirely clear, but it seems apparent that the name of the office was changed to Bellfountain July 31, 1902. The office was closed in January, 1905.
BELMONT, Douglas County. Belmont post office was named with the middle name of Durward Belmont Hunt, the first and only postmaster. The office was established July 5, 1913, and was discontinued August 15, 1914. Durward B. Hunt, then living at Redmond, wrote on February 28, 1947, substantially as follows: "Belmont post office was situated in section 31, township 24 south, range 3 west, on the Nathaniel H. Rone homestead, thirteen miles east of Oakland. As far as I know the name Durward Belmont originated in the novel Lena Rivers, written by Mary J. Holmes."
BEN JONES Bridge, Lincoln County. This concrete structure carries the Oregon Coast Highway over Rocky Creek north of Newport. It is named for the late Ben F. Jones, who is considered to be the father of the plan to build the coast highway. The span was dedicated to Jonesmemory on September 17, 1927. For account of dedication and picture, see the Oregonian, September 18, 1927, section I, page 1.
BEND, Deschutes County. This city derived its name from Farewell Bend, a point on the Deschutes River, which received its descriptive name because it was at this place travelers over the pioneer roads had their last view of the river. For a considerable distance Deschutes River occupies a canyon in central Oregon, and there are comparatively few places where it would have been easy in pioneer days to get a wagon down to the water's edge and ford the stream. The most accessible of these places, and the point where a canyon was not in evidence was at a pronounced double bend in the river where the city of Bend is now situated. It afforded a good place to camp in pleasant surroundings. It is certain that it was thus used in the days of the emigrations, but just how early cannot now be determined. It was also used when the road was opened over McKenzie Pass. The place began to be known as Farewell Bend, and the name was appropriate irrespective of the destination of the traveler, north, south, east or west. This origin of the name has been objected to on the ground that emigrant travelers would not say farewell when they meant goodbye, for farewell meant a place where the fare was good. Nevertheless the compiler is of the opinion that farewell in the sense of goodbye was not an uncommon use of the word, and meant that the emigrants were sorry to leave the pleasant spot. Bend was platted by Pilot Butte Development Company, and the plat was filed for record on June 7, 1904. The history of Bend post office is a little complex, and is given under the heading DESCHUTES in this volume. See also under Pilot
BUTTE. In November, 1927, Captain 0. C. Applegate of Klamath Falls ​
informed the compiler that the Warm Springs Indian name for the ford where the city of Bend is now situated was Wychick. Captain Applegate was unable to secure a translation of the word.
BEND GLACIER, Deschutes County. This glacier lies on the north slope of Broken Top. It was named in 1924 by Professor Edwin T. Hodge of the University of Oregon in honor of the city of Bend.
BENDIRE CREEK, Malheur County. Bendire Creek and Bendire Mountain are in the north end of the county and were named for Captain and Brevet Major Charles Bendire, U.S.A. Major Bendire was a noted ornithologist and pursued the study of bird life in many parts of the Pacific Northwest. After retirement from the army he was honorary curator of the department of Oology of the National Museum at Washington. He was the author of Life Histories of North American Birds, published in special bulletins of the Smithsonian Institution in 1892 and 1895.
BENEKE CREEK, Clatsop County. Beneke Creek flows into Fishhawk Creek from the north at Jewell. The name has been spelled in various styles, but recent government maps use the form Beneke. The name is that of a family of early settlers and the spelling Beneke is furnished by county authorities.
BENHAM Falls, Deschutes County. These falls were named for J. R. Benham, who filed on land nearby about 1885. The government rejected his filing. Benham was born in Oregon, and settled in Prineville in 1876. He moved to what is now Deschutes County in 1879. The falls were named for Benham by a Mr. Hutchinson, who was at the time promoting central Oregon irrigation enterprises.
BENJAMIN SPRING, Wallowa County. This is a spring on the Summit Trail about a half mile north of Lookout Mountain in township 3 south, range 49 east. The spring was named for Benjamin Marks, a pioneer settler, who died in 1913. The name has been approved by decision of the USBGN.
BENNETT BUTTE, Coos County. This butte, elevation 2185 feet, is in Coos County, near the northeast corner of Curry County. It is a wellknown point about 10 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. In November, 1943, Mrs. Mary M. Randleman of Coquille wrote the compiler that the mountain was probably named during the Coos County gold rush. Two prospectors, Hudson and Bennett, operated in the locality and the butte was apparently named for Bennett. The butte was a meeting place for Indians, as it was on the dividing line between tribal hunting grounds. Mrs. Randleman is also authority for the statement that Bennett Prairie, near the mouth of Johnson Creek, was named for the same miner.
BENNETT CREEK, Lane County. This creek is tributary from the west to Coast Fork Willamette River. It originates in the hills north of Cottage Grove and flows into the Coast Fork just north of McFarland Butte. It was named for Scott Bennett, a land owner near its banks.
BENNETT Pass, Hood River County. This pass is the highest point on the Mount Hood Loop Highway, and has an elevation of 4673 feet. It lies about six miles southeast of Mount Hood on the ridge dividing the drainage of Hood River from White River. It is not on the main summit of the Cascade Range. The pass was named for Samuel Bennett, a Wasco County stockman. Benson GLACIER, Union and Wallowa counties. Benson Glacier is an ice field on the northeast and east sides of Eagle Cap in the Wallowa ​
BETH Mountains. It is impossible to determine from existing knowledge just what county it is in. It was named about 1914 by a party of climbers and the name was suggested by Clyde B. Aitchison in compliment to Governor Benson. Frank W. Benson was born at San Jose, California, March 20, 1858. He came to Oregon with his parents in 1864 and except for a short time lived most of his life in Douglas County. He taught school, and was county clerk from 1892 to 1896. He served as secretary of state for Oregon from January 15, 1907, until his death on April 14, 1911. During that time he was governor from March 1, 1909, to June 17, 1910. He was a citizen of high character, and was greatly esteemed.
BENTON COUNTY. Benton County, which is in the west part of the Willamette Valley, was created December 23, 1847, by the provisional leg. islature (General and Special Laws of 1843-9, page 50). It was named in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, who was born in North Carolina on March 14, 1782, and died in Washington, D. C., April 10, 1858. For 30 years he was a member of the United States Senate from Missouri, and one of the great events of his active life was his espousal, with his colleague, Senator Lewis F. Linn, of the extension of the control of the United States into the Oregon country. For an excellent short biography of Senator Benton, see the Encyclopedia Britannica. See also Scott's History of the Oregon Country. Benton County has an area according to the U. S. Bureau of the Census of 647 square miles, and an excellent map of the county is published in the Benton County Soil Survey by the U. S. Bureau of Soils of the Department of Agriculture.
BERDUGO, Harney County. Berdugo post office was situated in the Catlow Valley near the Roaring Springs Ranch and was named for Joaquin "Chino" Berdugo, one of Peter French's early vaqueros. The post office was established August 17, 1915, with Rita M. Kiphart first and only postmaster. The office was closed September 29, 1927, with papers to Blitzen.
BERKLEY, Lane County. Berkley post office was established March 1, 1907, with David B. Allison first and only postmaster. The office was closed December 31, 1908, but the record fails to show what other office fell heir to the business. Berkley post office was situated a little northnortheast of the present location of Noti. The place was named with the second name of the postmaster, David Berkley Allison.
BERKLEY, Umatilla County. Berkley post office was named for a small community in Boone County, Iowa. The Umatilla County office was in the farm home of Thomas Coleman Gettings, who, with his family, came from Iowa to Umatilla County in 1902. Berkley post office was established July, 1903, and operated until February 28, 1905. It was in section 20, of township 4 north, range 37 east, about ten miles east of Weston.
BERLIN, Linn County. Berlin is a community near Hamilton Creek, about seven miles southeast of Lebanon. In the early days of the county the Bellingers, Burrells and other pioneer families living in the vicinity were admirers of fine racing stock. The annual fair at Albany did not seem to satisfy their sporting spirit, so they began to hold their own races near the residence of Mr. Burrell. Burrell entertained all comers with true western hospitality. Finally the attendance was so large that he was forced to make a charge for meals and his home was referred to as Burrell's Inn. When the post office was established it was decided to name the place Burl Inn. This was cumbersome and the consolidation, in hogy a loy 11 pred 500 14 pa 99 ​
Berlin, was adopted. Early in October, 1944, residents of Berlin were astonished to learn that arrangements had been made to change the name of their community to Distomo for the place in Greece so horribly treated by the Germans. This change in name, to be accompanied by a blast of nation-wide radio and other publicity, was said to be in the interest of democracy, but the promoters of the plan were not sufficiently interested in practical democracy to ask the local residents for their views about the business. These local citizens promptly organized a democratic revolt and the scheme was abandoned. A project to change all the names in this country so as to eliminate those commemorating places and people of nations with which the United States had at one time or another been at war would have surprising results.
BERRY, Marion County. Berry is a station on North Santiam River a few miles southwest of Detroit. It was named for a family of early settlers on the river. Berry post office was established June 8, 1893, with Ira S. Hatheld first of four postmasters. The office was closed January 13, 1906.
BERRY CREEK, Benton and Polk counties. This creek flows through the donation land claim of Thomas W. Berry, and it was named for him. The record of his claim is in land office certificate 2323. Berry Creek is southeast of Airlie.
BERRY CREEK, Marion County. This stream was named for Press Berry, an early resident in the North Santiam Valley. Berry Creek flows into North Santiam River southwest of Detroit.
BERTHA, Multnomah County. This was the name of a railroad station on the Southern Pacific West Side branch southwest of Portland where the line entered the Tualatin Valley. It was named for Mrs. Bertha Koehler of Portland, wife of Richard Koehler, for many years manager of the Southern Pacific Lines in Oregon and their predecessors. The early name of the community and later the post office was Hillsdale, but the railroad was unwilling to adopt that name for the station on account of possible confusion with Hillsboro on the same line. See editorial page of Portland Telegram, January 18, 1926. This section of track has been abandoned and Bertha station is a thing of the past. Mrs. Koehler died in Portland November 20, 1943. For many years after the West Side railroad was built, the station on the watershed between the Willamette and Tualatin drainage was called Summit, but there were several other places in Oregon known as Summit, and this fact led railroad authorities to change the name. The change from Summit to Bertha took place about 1890.
BESTERS FORD, Tillamook County. About 1880 Stephen D. Bester took up land on Wilson River about five miles east of Tillamook and for many years the Bester family made the place its home. A ford was developed for the use of settlers further up the stream and later when a wagon road was built the Besters kept the toll gate. An interesting account of these matters is contained in a letter by Frank D. Bester printed on the editorial page of the Oregonian, April 8, 1945. As a youth, Frank Bester, son of Stephen, operated a boat at the ford and accommodated the travel. This ford was a mile downstream from the new Wilson River Highway bridge over Wilson River.
BETHANY, Marion County. Bethany is a cominunity about two miles west of Silverton on the road west to Chemawa. The locality was named in pioneer days, possibly as early as April, 1851, when Bethany Christian the life of Portlandic Lines in ore the post offiches ​
Church was organized. However, Silverton outgrew Bethany. Bethany School serves to keep the name alive. For a history of the locality and of a proposed college, see Salem Statesman, October 30, 1931. See also Down's History of the Silverton Country. Efforts made by members of the Christian Church to establish a college or institution at Bethany failed for lack of funds. The churches continued their interest in the project and it is possible that the development of Bethel Institute at Bethel in Polk County was a result of the earlier effort. Bethany is a Hebrew word meaning "House of Poverty" and the name was applied to a place in Palestine not far from Jerusalem. The word has been used as a placename in many parts of the United States, frequently as part of some church activity.
BETHANY, Washington County. The name Bethany is applied to a crossroads trading center about four miles northwest of Cedar Mill, but in earlier days Bethany was at the crossroads about two miles northeast of the present community of that name. Ulrich Gerber came to Oregon from Switzerland in the middle '70s and settled on North Plains in the south part of section 17, township 1 north, range 1 west. He was instrumental in getting Bethany post office established in July, 1878, at a point about a mile east of the present Bethany School. He suggested the name and was the first postmaster. The office was later moved to the crossroads on the west line of section 19. Bethany post office was discontinued in 1904 but the name for the community is still in use. A Presbyterian church stands at the northwest corner of the original Bethany crossroads of Ulrich Gerber. The Bethany Baptist Church is about a mile south of these crossroads.
BETHEL, Polk County. All that remains of this community is a school, situated at the base of the Eola Hills about a mile east of McCoy. Bethel is in a little vale called Plum Valley, and the locality was named in 1846 by the Rev. Glen O. Burnett for Bethel Church in Missouri where he had served as pastor. John E. Smith's booklet Bethel, published by the author in 1941, gives an account of this and subsequent events. Dr. Nathaniel Hudson settled nearby in 1851 and in 1852 opened Bethel Academy, a private undertaking. Bethel Academy was short lived. In 1854 Dr. Hudson moved to a new claim west of Dallas. In 1855 G. O. Burnett and Amos Harvey organized a new school called Bethel Institute. A building was erected and the institute opened in October of that year. In January, 1856, the legislature officially chartered the school with the name Bethel Institute and it operated with that name until October, 1860, when the legislature granted a new charter with the name Bethel College. The college failed financially in 1861, and efforts to turn it over to the Christian Church were unsuccessful. See under MONMOUTH. Bethel Institute and Bethel College seem to have been community affairs and while the Christian Church gave moral support, it does not appear that the church actually furnished funds. Bethel is a Hebrew word meaning "House of God." The name was applied to a holy city of Palestine originally known as Luz.
BETHEL SCHOOL, Marion County. Bethel School is on the south side of the Penitentiary road about six miles east of the business section of Salem. In early days Dan Early operated a sawmill in this locality, cutting some of the fine timber that grew there. Soon after the mill was torn down a group of Dunkards settled in the place and built a church on the ma, a due ma island ba .ch maal
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site of the mill. This they called the Bethel Church. The Dunkards lived a quiet life there for some years but the group gradually dwindled to the point where the church could no longer be maintained. The building was sold to the newly formed Bethel school district, made up from parts of other districts. The old building was used until about 1925, when a new school was built. There is more information about the name and place in a short neighborhood story by Mrs. J. R. Carruthers in the Salem Statesman, October 1, 1931.
BETZEN, Lane County. Betzen station on the Southern Pacific between Mapleton and Cushman was named for Betty Zentner, daughter of one of the engineers on the construction of the railroad.
BEULAH, Malheur County. Beulah was named for Beulah Arnold, daughter of the first postmaster. She was later Mrs. Roy S. Rutherford. Beulah post office was established December 16, 1884, with Thomas L. Arnold first postmaster. The use of Miss Arnold's name is said to have been suggested by a family friend, J. C. Roberts, an early stockman of the Harnessted by a team. The used Decembater Mrs. Por Beulah a.
BIBLE CREEK, Tillamook and Yamhill counties. A. S. Bible was born in Tennessee March 16, 1834. He established a store in Sheridan in 1879 and was also a merchant in Willamina. He retired from these activities in 1898. See Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley, page 570. He operated a ranch near the Tillamook-Yamhill line · north of Willamina and the names Bible Ranch and Bible Creek resulted from this activity. The stream flows into Nestucca River.
BIDDLE Pass, Jefferson County. Biddle Pass, elevation about 5450 feet, is due east of Mount Jefferson. East of the pass the ground rises sharply to the southeast to form Bald Peter, a well-known landmark on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. In 1920, Henry J. Biddle of Portland and Vancouver, who was an enthusiastic sportsman and naturalist, decided to investigate the feasibility of building a trail around the east base of Mount Jefferson. He made up a small party, including himself, Charles C. Giebeler of Detroit, the compiler of these notes and three amiable packhorses. As the result of two weeks in the field, enlivened by minor misadventures, excessively rough lava fields, fallen timber, boulders and yellowjackets, Mr. Biddle concluded that the territory was not suitable for the type of construction he had in mind. The party camped at the south end of the pass on the night of August 14, 1920, and went through the pass next day. At that time there was no evidence that a white man had been there before. Mr. Biddle died September 27, 1928, and the compiler suggested to the USBGN that the pass should be named in his honor, which was done on March 6, 1929.
BIG BUTTE, Jackson County. Big Butte post office took its name from Big Butte Creek. The post office was established May 9, 1878, with George W. King first postmaster. Henry H. Pope was appointed postmaster July 11, 1882, and John A. Obenchain on October 6, 1888. The office was closed to Brownsboro on March 31, 1908. It is reported to the compiler that Big Butte post office was moved several times, though it was generally in the neighborhood of township 35 south, range 2 east.
BIG BUTTE CREEK, Jackson County. Mount McLoughlin was known by the early settlers in the Rogue River Valley as Snowy Butte. Big Butte Creek had its rise near Snowy Butte and was so named on that account. It flows into Rogue River. A smaller stream rising in the same vicinity was ​
christened Little Butte Creek. The name Butte Creek when applied to Big Butte Creek is incorrect. Big CANYON CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream flows into Wallowa River just east of Minam. It has been shown with various names on older maps, including Bear Creek, Deep Canyon Creek, Little Minam Creek and Sheep Creek. The USBGN has officially named it Big Canyon Creek.
BIG CREEK, Clatsop County. Big Creek has been known by that name for many years, and yet at one time it must have had another name. Old maps show it as Tillasana Creek, changed later to Tilly Ann Creek and even Tilly Jane Creek. The writer has been unable to determine where these older names originated. H. S. Lyman in OHQ, volume I, number 4, says that the Indian name for the locality near Knappa was Tle-las-qua, which may have been the same as Tillasana. Big EDDY, Wasco County. Big Eddy is at the western end of the obstructions in the Columbia River at The Dalles. It was at this point that travelers and freight began the portage around these obstructions. As far as the writer can determine the name was not used in the days of exploration but probably came into use at the time of gold discoveries in eastern Oregon just after 1860.
BIG HOLE, Lake County. Big Hole is a sunken spot in the northwest part of the county, with an area of about a quarter of a square mile. It is roughly circular, and its bottom is about three hundred feet below the surrounding land level. The name well describes it. Big Hole Butte lies just to the northeast. Big MEADOWS, Curry County. This descriptive name for an area in the northeast part of Curry County has been in use since the days of the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-56. Big Meadows are near the southeast corner of township 32 south, range 10 west, about two miles airline north of Rogue River. Fort Lamerick was established in this locality May 1, 1865. According to L. J. Cooper, Forest Service ranger at Galice, this stockade was near the quarter-corner between sections 1 and 2, township 33 south, range 10 west. The Big Meadows referred to above are not the same as Big Meadows at the Big Bend of Rogue River near Illahe, where there was a sharp engagement with the Indians at the end of May, 1856. BiG Noise CREEK, Clatsop County. This stream is about 20 miles east of Astoria. It was named in early days because of the fact that there was a sluice gate near its mouth used to control the water for floating logs. This sluice gate made an excessive noise and the stream was named on that account.
BIG PRAIRIE, Lane County. Big Prairie post office was probably the first post office in the upper valley of Middle Fork Willamette River. This ofhce was established July 14, 1873, with Addison Black first postmaster. The office operated until December 10, 1879, with one intermission. The name was descriptive of the locality. Old maps show Big Prairie at or near the present locality of Westfir. The modern name for the plateau northeast of Westfir is High Prairie, and that was probably the reason for the name of the post office. The compiler does not know if the post office Big Prairie was near the Middle Fork or up on the plateau. Biggs, Sherman County. Biggs is the junction of the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad and the branch south into Sherman County. It was ​
named for W. H. Biggs, a nearby land owner. It is on the south bank of the Columbia River. W. H. Biggs was born in Belmont County, Ohio, May 12, 1831, and came to Sherman County in February, 1880.
BILLY MEADOWS, Wallowa County. These meadows are about 25 miles northeast of Enterprise. They were named in the '80s for William Smith, better known as Billy. He was a pioneer sheepherder employed by R. Frank Stubblefield and is said to have been a native of England.
BILYEU CREEK, Linn County. This stream rises on the northwest slope of Snow Peak and flows northwestward into Thomas Creek. It bears the name of the Bilyeu family, members of which have lived on its banks since 1852. The stream is sometimes called Neal Creek, but that is not the name originally applied.
BINGER, Douglas County. The place once called Binger was in the upper Cow Creek Valley, near The Meadows and also near the place later called Anchor. Binger post office was established July 16, 1894, with Isaac N. French postmaster. The office was closed September 20, 1902, and mail was sent to Galesville. Binger Hermann was representative in Congress from the first Oregon district when the office was established and it may be assumed that it was named in compliment to him.
BINGHAM Lake, Klamath County. Bingham Lake is south of Crescent Lake. It was named for Cy J. Bingham, for many years connected with the Forest Service and later sheriff of Grant County.
BINGHAM MOUNTAIN, Coos County. This mountain which has an elevation of 2287 feet, is in the valley of South Fork Coquille River. It was named for Isaac Bingham, a pioneer settler, and a conspicuous figure in the Indian fighting near Port Orford.
BINGHAM SPRINGS, Umatilla County. Bingham Springs are in the east part of the county, on Umatilla River, eight miles east of Gibbon, and well up in the Blue Mountains. The springs have had a number of names. In earlier days the style Warm Springs was generally used for the place and a man named Tip Parrent is said to have owned or operated them. He sold to John B. Purdy, who had been ranching near Athena. Purdy built a log hotel or stage station at the springs, and secured a post office called Purdy on June 9, 1881, with William Parrent postmaster. This sounds as if Tip Parrent and William Parrent were the same man. Purdy became postmaster August 7, 1882, and ran the office until September 17, 1891, when it was closed. During Purdy's ownership, the place was known as Purdy Springs. . The place was for a time a station on the Thomas and Ruckel stage line through the Blue Mountains, and there was a toll gate at the stage house. About 1892 Dr. John E. Bingham of Walla Walla bought the springs and changed the name to Bingham Springs. A number of improvements were made and the place served as a popular resort for Portland, Pendleton and Walla Walla people. The writer of these lines spent many happy days there swimming in the pool, fishing in the Umatilla River and setting up pins in the bowling alley for guests who were willing to spend small sums for the service. The Union Pacific Railroad changed the name of Gibbon station to Bingham Springs, but the post office at Gibbon, which served the springs, continued with the name Gibbon. After the turn of the century the springs were called Wenaha Springs, probably for the Wenaha River in the Blue Mountains, but the name Bingham Springs has been restored and is in use at this writing. Many years ago the railroad changed the name of its station from Bingham Springs back to Gibbon. ​
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BIRCH GULCH, Wallowa County. Birch Gulch drains into Snake River in township 4 north, range 49 east. The place is named for the birch trees that grow there. These trees are probably the red birch, sometimes called the water birch, Betula fontinalis.
BIRD BUTTE, Clackamas and Wasco counties. This butte is in the Cascade Range, north of Frog Lake. It was named for George Bird, a forest ranger, who bled to death nearby as the result of an accident.
BIRDSEYE CREEK, Jackson County. This stream flows into Rogue River two miles south of the town of Rogue River. It was named for David Birdseye, a pioneer settler near its mouth.
BIRKENFELD, Columbia County. Anton Birkenfeld, a native of Germany, settled in the Nehalem Valley in 1886 and founded the community of Birkenfeld about 1910. The place was named for him.
BISHOP CREEK, Columbia County. This stream, tributary to Tide Creek from the southwest, is sometimes shown on maps as Bashop Creek. In 1943, Wales Wood of Saint Helens wrote that the correct spelling was Bishop. Wood got his information from James Anlicker of Goble, member of a pioneer family of Columbia County, who was conversant with the matter.
BISHOP MEADOWS, Wallowa County. These meadows are in township 3 north, range 42 east and were named for Oliver N. Bishop who settled in the middle Wallowa Valley in the '80s. He wintered stock on the meadows, as there was a good crop of wild hay there.
BISSELL, Clackamas County. In 1927 it was reported by old residents that this town was named for W. S. Bissell who was postmaster general of the United States from 1893 to 1895. Wilson Shannon Bissell was born in New London, New York, in 1847, and when appointed to the cabinet was a practicing lawyer at Buffalo, where he was a partner of Grover Cleveland. During his incumbency as postmaster general a number of improvements were made in the postal service, including a cut in transcontinental mail time, and the turning over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing the work of printing postage stamps, previously done by private agencies. In 1902 he was made chancellor of the University of Buffalo, and died in 1903.
BITTER LICK, Jackson County. Bitter Lick is in the north part of the county about four miles northwest of Persist. The name is descriptive, and was given because of the strong taste of a fairly large spring. Bitterlick Creek, which took its name from the lick, flows southward into Elk Creek at a point close to Bitter Lick.
BLACHLY, Lane County. Blachly is three miles from Triangle Lake, a well-known place in the Coast Range. Residents of the neighborhood formerly received their mail at Franklin post office, now discontinued. The office at Blachly was established June 27, 1892, and named for William Blachly, a local resident. William Blachly was born in Illinois in tas na Becau 026 ve SATELE thank chem Pi 2. The mon posterio to 3117224 1934. See the Oregonian, February 19, 1934, page 8.
BLACK BUTTE, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. This imposing butte is one of the most important landmarks in the Deschutes Valley, not only on account of its characteristic dark color, but also on account of its symmetry. It stands well apart from the peaks of the Cascade Range, and has an elevation of 6415 feet, with a Forest Service lookout at the summit, which is in Jefferson County. From its north base flows the Metolius River, full bodied from a giant spring. It is not known who named Black *19 ​Butte, but the title is fitting. It had this name as early as 1855, and an interesting picture of it is shown in Pacific Railroad Surveys Reports, volume VI, page 90. In the diary of Lt. Henry L. Abbot in OHQ, volume XXXIII, page 19, Black Butte is called Pivot Mountain, also an appropriate name. Abbot was one of the engineers connected with the Pacific Railroad Surveys. He did not use the name Pivot Mountain in the printed report, but Black Butte.
Black Butte, Lane County. The geographic feature Black Butte is at the headwaters of Coast Fork Willamette River, about 20 miles south of Cottage Grove. The mountain was named for its characteristic color. A post office named Harris was established near the butte on December 28, 1898, with William Harris postmaster, and it was named in compliment to the official. On August 10, 1901, the name of the office was changed to Blackbutte and it is still operating with that name.
Black Hills, Klamath County. These hills occupy a number of square miles in the southeastern part of Klamath Indian Reservation and were named on account of their characteristic color. They have a maximum elevation of about 6300 feet.
Black Rock, Polk County. Black Rock is on the western end of a branch line of the Southern Pacific Company extending southwest from Dallas. It is on the Little Luckiamute River. It is generally believed this town was named because of a ledge of black shale rock which is exposed nearby.
Blackhorse Creek, Wallowa County. Blackhorse Creek flows into Imnaha River in the extreme southwest corner of township 4 south, range 48 east. It was named in the late '90s by Horace J. Butler for a horse that strayed into the canyon and wintered there.
Blacklock Point, Curry County. Blacklock was the name of a pioneer settler of the county. It is assumed the name of the settler was applied to this point, which is about three miles north of Cape Blanco, but the compiler does not know the circumstances.
Blackmore Creek, Wallowa County. Blackmore Creek is a small stream flowing into Imnaha River in township I south, range 48 east. It was named for Fred Blackmore, a homesteader.
Blacks Island, Douglas County. Blacks Island is a small, marshy tract of land in the mouth of Smith River northeast of Reedsport. The Southern Pacific Company railroad trestle crosses the west end of the island. The name is said to be in commemoration of Arthur Black of the Jedediah S. Smith party which was massacred by the Indians in this vicinity on July 14, 1828. Black was one of the four who escaped. Fifteen members of the Smith party were killed. Black escaped alone and made his way to the Tillamook country, thence to Vancouver. For details of this outrage, see under Smith RIVER. The compiler does not know who applied the name Blacks Island or when it was done, but it is in general use.
Blaine, Curry County. Blaine post office is listed in Curry County for a few months in 1891. It was closed to Ophir. Eliza Woodruff was the only postmaster. The compiler has not been able to turn up much information about this office although it seems probable that it was named for James G. Blaine, candidate for the presidency of the United States in 1884. The Woodruff family lived not far from Ophir but early residents of the locality are of the opinion that Blaine post office was never in actual operation. That, of course, may be true.
​BLAINE, Tillamook County. Blaine is on the Nestucca River. It was named by the first postmaster, William Smith, for James G. Blaine (1830-1893), at one time republican candidate for the presidency of the United States. Smith was appointed postmaster of Blaine in 1892 by John Wanamaker.
BLAIR LAKE, Lane County. Blair Lake northeast of Oakridge was named for Frank Blair of Lowell, who at one time ran some cattle near the lake. He is said to have discovered it.
BLAKELEY, Umatilla County. This station was originally called Eastland for Robert E. Eastland, who received a patent to land nearby on March 30, 1880. The name was later changed to Blakeley for William M. Blakeley, a wheat grower in the vicinity.
BLAKES, Baker County. This station east of Huntington was named for Thomas J. Blake of the Iron Dyke mine at Homestead, who was instrumental in securing the construction of the Homestead branch of the Union Pacific Railroad.
BLALOCK, Gilliam County. Blalock was named for Dr. Nelson G. Blalock, a pioneer citizen of Walla Walla and a veteran of the Civil War. He was ambitious of developing an extensive horticultural establishment along the Columbia River in the neighborhood of Blalock Island. He died in Walla Walla March 14, 1913, aged 77 years. Blalock has an elevation of 216 feet.
BLALOCK MOUNTAIN, Umatilla County. Blalock Mountain lies in the northeast part of Umatilla County, between North and South forks of Walla Walla River. It has an elevation of over 4500 feet. It was named for Dr. Nelson G. Blalock whose name is attached to the community of Blalock, Gilliam County. For information about Dr. Blalock see under that heading. At one time Dr. Blalock cut timber and wood on top of Blalock Mountain and flumed it down into the two forks of the Walla Walla River. It is on that account that Blalock Mountain bears its name.
BLANTON, Grant County. Blanton was a post office in Bear Valley, named for David Blanton, the first postmaster. The office was established June 9, 1888, and was closed September 14, 1891. It was reestablished March 15, 1892, with Madison Waddell postmaster and was closed again June 12, 1895. In September, 1946, Edward I. Southworth of Seneca wrote the compiler that the Blanton post office was on the old BurnsCanyon City stage road about four miles north of the present town of Seneca.
BLAZED ALDER BUTTE, Clackamas County. This butte is in the extreme northeast corner of the county. It was named in the fall of 1906 by R. S. Shelley of the Forest Service because of a prominent tree that was blazed as a landmark during a bad forest fire.
BLIND SLOUGH, Clatsop County. Blind Slough opens off the Prairie Channel of the Columbia River about midway between Knappa and Brownsmead. The slough wanders about a good deal and gets nowhere in particular. One fair sized branch pinches out suddenly and that was probably the reason for the name. Blind Slough post office was established near this water on May 2, 1910, with John W. Crow first of four postmasters. The office was closed out to Brownsmead December 15, 1924.
BLITZEN, Harney County. This post office was named for the Donner und Blitzen River which fiows nearby. The river was named during the ​
Snake War of 1864, when troops under the command of Colonel George B. Currey crossed it during a thunder storm, and gave to it the German name for thunder and lightning.
BLODGETT, Benton County. Blodgett is said to have been named for a pioneer settler, William Blodgett. The post office was established with the name of Emrick early in April, 1888, with James A. Wood first postmaster. The name was changed to Blodgett on May 8 of the same year. Emrick was the name of a local family.
BLOODY RUN, Josephine County. This stream is three miles east of Grants Pass. It was so called because of an incident in the Rogue River Indian War in the '50s. In 1944 W. A. Moxley of Lebanon wrote that there was a sharp skirmish at this point and one of the white men, separated from his companions, was shot while he was stopping to get a drink from the stream. His blood ran into the water and this gave rise to the name of the run.
BLOOMING, Washington County. Blooming is a locality about two miles south of Cornelius but not a commercial community. Many years ago it was known as the German Settlement. In December, 1945, Ed Demmin of Hillsboro wrote the compiler that the Rev. Mr. Paul of the Lutheran Church wanted a better name for the community and selected the title Blooming, which he thought descriptive of the floral conditions and pleasant prospects generally. Blooming post office was established February 27, 1895, with Heinrich Paul first postmaster. The office was closed November 28, 1904, because of the extension of rural delivery. The writer has been told that it was a residence post office, not in a store. It seems probable that the man who named the place was the same person as the first postmaster, but the compiler has no proof of it.
BLOOMINGTON, Polk County. Postal authorities have informed the compiler that this post office was established May 25, 1852, with Eli W. Foster first postmaster. Preston's Map of Oregon of 1856 shows Bloomington in the site of the community now known as Parker. Bloomington post offce was closed in June, 1863. The descriptive name seems to have been tinctured with too much optimism.
BLOUCHER, Hood River County. This is a station on the Mt. Hood Railroad west of Odell. It was named for H. E. Bloucher, a local resident.
BLOWOUT CREEK, Wallowa County. Blowout Creek empties into Bear Creek in the southeast part of township 2 south, range 42 east. It was named by Leander McCubbin and others who camped near the stream in pioneer days and had trouble getting a fire started because the wind blew so hard.
BLOWOUT LAKES, Linn County. These lakes are on Blowout Creek, south of Detroit. They were so named because of a great landslide nearby resembling a blowout of the mountain side.
BLUE MOUNTAIN, Umatilla County. This is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad southwest of Milton. It is on Dry Creek just north of the horseshoe curve made by the railroad in getting from Weston down into the Walla Walla Valley. When the railroad was being extended south from Walla Walla it was for some time dead-ended at Blue Mountain, and as the station was the last one on the way into the Blue Mountains, it was named for those features, although no one seems to know just why the singular form was used. ​
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BLUE MOUNTAINS. The Blue Mountains constitute one of the largest uplifts in the state and the main range together with its spurs and offshoots extends into several counties. The backbone of the Blue Mountains begins in Grant County and runs northward through Baker, Union, Umatilla and Wallowa counties in Oregon and into Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties in Washington. The Blue Mountains are separated from the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon by Powder River and Grande Ronde River. The highest point in the Blue Mountains is Rock Creek Butte, a peak on Elkhorn Ridge a few miles west of Baker. Rock Creek Butte has an elevation of 9097 feet. Strawberry Mountain near Prairie City is the highest peak in the southwest part of the Blue Mountains. It has an elevation of 9052 feet. One of the first references to these mountains is by Gabriel Franchere, one of the Astorians. On arriving at the Walla Walla River, he wrote: "A range of mountains was visible to the S. E., about fifty or sixty miles off." He does not give the mountains a name. On July 9, 1811, David Thompson of the North West Company of Montreal, refers to them as Shawpatin Mountains, but in his entry for August 8, 1811, he says: "Beginning of course to see the Blue Mountains between the Shawpatin and the Snake Indians." In a footnote, T. C. Elliott, editor of the Thompson Journal, says: "Apparently the first record of this name Blue as applied to these mountains." (OHQ, volume XV, pages 57 and 121.) Alexander Ross, J. K. Townsend, David Douglas, Peter Skene Ogden, John Work and other early travelers continued to use the name Blue Mountains. One of the early references is by the Rev. Gustavus Hines (Oregon: Its History, Condition and Prospects, 1851, page 323): "As you approach the Blue Mountains on the south, particularly on the Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers, the hills disappear, and you find yourself passing over a beautiful and level country, about twentyfive or thirty miles broad, on the farther borders of which rise with indescribable beauty and grandeur, that range which, from its azurelike appearance, has been called the 'Blue Mountains.'"
BLUE RIVER, Lane County. Blue River is remarkable in color, and is well named. The Blue River mines were discovered in 1863, and the stream was doubtless named about that time. Large stamp-mills were installed, but the ore was low grade, and the mills have not been operated for some years. See the Oregonian, December 8, 1863; November 2 and December 17, 1889, and July 3, 1897. Blue River post office is near the mouth of Blue River where that stream flows into the McKenzie. It was established January 18, 1886, with J. M. Davis first postmaster.
BLUEBUCKET CREEK, Grant and Harney counties. This stream rises just west of Antelope Mountain in the southeastern part of Grant County, and after flowing through Antelope Swale in Harney County, joins a tributary of Malheur River. The name has been applied in recent years to preserve an interesting Oregon romance. The mystery of the location of the real Bluebucket Creek will probably never be solved. Members of the Meek party of 1845 picked up yellow pebbles and hung them under a wagon in a blue wooden bucket. The bucket was either lost or abandoned later, and it was not until some time had elapsed that the emigrants realized that they had possibly found gold. An interesting discussion of the episode and possible locations of Bluebucket babait
INC .
BAROM Bali ina 361 River, Lancen called the that range stream was ed. The Blue River Blue River is bread, bu . Biardi ​au 19
County.be far froscovery, bthe name ect. As on Novenpost officekmi was also", Creek may be found in Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume
III, page 336. It is generally thought that the discovery must have been on a tributary of either the John Day or Malheur River, though suggestions that the locality was near Steens Mountain and also Tygh Valley have also been advanced. Columns have been written on the subject. As far as the writer knows there is nothing to connect the name of the stream in Harney County with the gold discovery, but it is used to preserve the tradition, and may not be far from the true locality.
BLUEJOINT LAKE, Lake County. This is one of the lakes of the Warner Valley. It was named for the bluejoint grass that grows nearby in great profusion.
BLY, Klamath County. Bly was a word of the Klamath Indians meaning up or high. According to Captain 0. C. Applegate of Klamath Falls, it meant the old village up Sprague River from Yainax. White people appropriated the name and applied it to a town east of the Klamath Indian Reservation. A. S. Gatschet in his Dictionary of the Klamath Language (U. S. Geographical and Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., 1890) gives the word as p'lai, and says that it meant among other things the Sprague River Valley and sometimes simply the Sprague River as distinguished from the lower country along the Williamson River. P'laikni were people living high up, or along the upper reaches of Sprague River. Plaikni was also used to mean heavenly, or the Christian God. A post office called Sprague River was established in this vicinity on November 12, 1873, with John W. Gearhart first postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Bly January 31, 1883.
BLYBACH, Tillamook County. Blybach post office was on Nehalem River, about four or five miles east of what is now Mohler, about a half a mile east of the place later called Foss and just east of the E. H. Lindsey ranch. It was established September 5, 1892, and was named for the postmaster, Hattie Blybach. The office was closed March 5, 1896.
BOARDMAN, Morrow County. Boardman is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad not far from the Columbia River. It was named for Sam Boardman, a well-known resident of Oregon. Boardman has an elevation of 250 feet. S. H. Boardman was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, and for some years followed the construction and engineering business. In 1903, while stationed at Leadville, Colorado, he became interested in the Pacific Northwest and came to Oregon. He got a job with A. M. Drake at Bend, but on the way to central Oregon, he ran into smallpox at Shaniko, and lost interest in the Deschutes country. He returned to Portland. In the same year he filed on a homestead where the town of Boardman is now situated. For thirteen years Sam and Mrs. Boardman snuffed sand and worked to develop irrigated land. At odd times he was engaged in railroad and highway construction and Mrs. Boardman taught school to help with the expenses. The town was platted in 1916. S. H. Boardman was continually interested in the phenomena of nature. and as a result of employment by the Oregon State Highway Department about 1916, he put his attention to roadside improvement and state park development. He has been engaged in this activity for many years and the splendid results of his work are too well known to require comment. Boaz MOUNTAIN, Jackson County. Boaz Mountain, elevation about 3500 feet, is in the south part of township 39 south, range 3 west. It was named for Kinder Boaz who homesteaded nearby in 1876. The name is sometimes spelled Boaze in official records. ​
BOB CREEK, Wallowa County. Bob Creek flows into Snake River in section 10, township 3 north, range 50 east. J. H. Horner of Enterprise told the compiler in 1928 that the stream was named because Lu Knapper and some companions had an experience with several wildcats in this canyon in the late '80s.
BOHEMIA, Lane County, Bohemia Mountain in the Bohemia mining district is a well-known geographic feature in eastern Lane County. It was named for a wandering prospector and miner called Bohemia Johnson. For nearly thirty years there was a Bohemia post office serving this neighborhood. The office was established on the Douglas County list on April 26, 1893, with John B. McGee first of seven postmasters. The office oscillated back and forth between Douglas County and Lane County and for the last fifteen years of its life it was in Lane County. It was discontinued December 7, 1922, with mail to Disston. It is possible that some of the change in county lists was due to the moving of the Douglas-Lane boundary in this area.
BOHEMIA MOUNTAIN, Lane County. This mountain is one of the summits of the Calapooya Mountains, a spur of the Cascade Range, and is in what is generally referred to as the Bohemia mining district. It was named for a wandering mountaineer and prospector, James Johnson, who was supposed to have been born in Bohemia. He was popularly known as "Bohemia" Johnson. He discovered the Bohemia mines in 1863. See the Oregonian, January 20, 1900, and Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume I, page 343. Bohna, Malheur County. Railroad company records indicate that this station near Malheur River was named for Ernest Bohna, who formerly owned land nearby. The siding is between Juntura and Harper.
BOILER BAY, Lincoln County. From time to time the Oregonian prints an editorial about an Oregon geographic name. These editorials, which are of a nice reading length, are frequently erudite and accurate, but beyond all that, they are always sprightly. Such an editorial appeared on November 10, 1942, and the secondary subject was Boiler Bay, though the title was otherwise. Boiler Bay, as many people know, is a little more than a mile north of Depoe Bay and is bounded on the west by a long, low promontory known as Government Point. The bay takes its name from a marine boiler "fast on a rocky shoal that is prolific of butter clams at low tide." The boiler and a shaft are the remains of a small freighter, the J. Marhoffer, built at Aberdeen, Washington, in 1907, and engaged in the coastwise trade. She was lost on May 18, 1910, enroute from San Francisco to the Columbia River, as the result of the explosion of a gasoline torch. The skipper brought the flaming ship to shore, and the crew, with one exception, was saved. The cook died of exposure. The captain had his wife along, and there are stories to the effect that she greatly inspired the shipwrecked sailors by her courage. A letter in the Oregonian for January 10, 1943, says that the early name for Boiler Bay was Briggs Landing, for a pioneer family. However, a bay and a landing are not exactly the same. Boiling Point, Umatilla County. Boiling Point, elevation about 3250 feet, is a place on the Oregon Trail on Emigrant Hill southeast of Pendleton. It got its name because it was the locality where the old teapot automobiles began to boil over on a hot day. Boiling Point post office was in service from November, 1932, to December, 1935. Arthur G. Greer was the only postmaster. ​
BOLAN CREEK, Josephine County. At one time maps showed this stream, together with a lake and a mountain nearby, as Bolland and Bollon. The Forest Service investigated the spelling and recommended Bolan, which was adopted by the USBGN. It is said to be an Indian name, but the compiler has been unable to learn about its origin. These features are between the Oregon Caves and the California line.
BOLON ISLAND, Douglas County. Bolon Island is in the Umpqua River north of Reedsport. This island has apparently had several names including Bone, Bowline and Dewars, but Warren P. Reed of Reedsport says that there is no doubt but that it was originally called after a settler by the name of Bolon. The USBGN has adopted the form Bolon. Bolt, Jackson County. Bolt is on the south side of Rogue River about six miles east of the west boundary of Jackson County, at the point where the Pacific Highway crosses Foots Creek. This place together with Bolt Mountain on the Applegate River about seven miles southwest of Grants Pass, was named for John Bolt, a member of the firm of Kubli and Bolt, pioneer packers and merchants of southern Oregon.
BONANZA, Klamath County. Bonanza is a Spanish word meaning prosperity. This place is said to have been named because of a number of fine springs in the vicinity. Good water is always a source of prosperity in a country that needs irrigation.
BONER FLAT, Wallowa County. Boner Flat is in the Wallowa Mountains, in the east part of township 5 south, range 45 east. It bears the name of George W. Boner who ranged sheep in the vicinity about 1889. Boner Spring in township 3 north, range 45 east, is named for the same man. The spelling Bonner is wrong.
BONEYARD CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream flows into Sheep Creek in section 16, township 1 south, range 48 east. One Charles Holmes lost most of his cattle in the canyon during a hard winter in the '90s and the bleached bones became a landmark.
BONIFER, Umatilla County. Bonifer is a railroad station about two and a half miles southeast of Gibbon. It bears the name of a well-known rancher of the vicinity. The station was named in 1928.
BONITA, Lane County. Bonita is a Spanish word meaning pretty. The compiler does not know why it was applied to a Lane County post office on Brice Creek. It may have been in compliment to a girl or possibly because of a pleasing outlook. Bonita post office was established March 2, 1904, and operated until February 20, 1908. Fred W. Lee was the first postmaster. Bonita was a little to the southeast of the center of township 22 south, range 1 east.
BONITA, Washington County. This is a station on the Oregon Electric Railway a short distance south of Tigard. It was named by a Diwashington lounty: 118 local resident, Geo. W. Cassaday, who was of a romantic turn of mind and selected the Spanish word for pretty or graceful.
BONNEVILLE, Multnomah County. This is an historic spot in Oregon, and for many decades it was a popular picnic grounds for people living along the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles. The railroad company maintained an "eating house" at Bonneville, where tired travelers paid a modest sum for all they could eat. The station was named for Captain (later Brigadier-General) Benjamin L. E. Bonneville, the hero of Washington Irving's The Adventures of Captain Bonneville. He was born in France in 1795, graduated from West Point * and pleasing oudhave been applied ​
genera's ship 2 Col. Of construo feet and fought with gallantry through the Mexican War. He explored the west from 1832-5, and visited many parts of Oregon and may have been the first white man to go into the Wallowa country. He died in 1878. For details of his life and travels see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume I, pages 170 and 297. The locality of Bonneville has become nationally known as the site of the Bonneville Dam, construction of which was started in September, 1933, by the U. S. Army Engineers. The main features are a dam, a powerhouse, a ship lock and fishways. The dam is across the main or north channel of the Columbia River and is 1090 feet long. The powerhouse is built across the channel south of Bradford Island and contains generators with a total rated capacity of 518,400 kilowatts. The ship lock is south of the powerhouse and is 76 feet wide by 500 feet long. At normal river stage the lift is 59 feet. For details of construction and equipment of Bonneville Dam. see article by Col. C. R. Moore, Oregon Blue Book, 1941-1942, page 191. In 1925 the USBGN, at the suggestion of J. Neilson Barry of Portland, applied the name of Mount Bonneville to a conspicuous peak about three miles south of Wallowa Lake, previously known as Middle Mountain.
BONNEY BUTTE, Hood River County. This butte is in the extreme southwest part of the county, and has an elevation of 5593 feet. Just east of it is Bonney Meadow. These two features were named for a Wasco County stockman, Augustus A. Bonney. He was born in Marion County, Oregon, April 14, 1849, graduated from Willamette University in 1871, and settled in Tygh Valley in 1875.
BOONES FERRY, Clackamas County. Alphonso Boone brought his family to Oregon in 1846 by the Applegate route. He was a grandson of Daniel Boone. About 1847, his son Jesse V. Boone, began to operate a ferry across the Willamette River just east of the present site of the Oregon Electric Railway bridge at Wilsonville. A road leading south from Portland to this ferry was, and still is, known as Boones Ferry road. Another son, Alphonso D. Boone, became associated with his brother Jesse in the ferry. Jesse was killed in 1871. Chloe Donnelly Boone, daughter of Alphonso Boone, married George L. Gurry, one time governor of Oregon, for whom Curry County was named. For post office history, see under WILSONVILLE. Booneville CHANNEL, Benton County. This is a branch of the Willamette River flowing on the west side of John Smith Island and Kiger Island, a few miles south of Corvallis. Early maps of the Willamette Valley show the community of Booneville near this point and it is presumed that the channel was named for this community. The name should not be spelled Boonesville.
BOOTH, Douglas County. Booth is a station on the Southern Pacific Company line from Eugene to Coos Bay. It is near the extreme south end of Siltcoos Lake. In June, 1948, Mrs. F. K. Davis of Eugene, daughter of the late Robert A. Booth, wrote the compiler that this station was named for her father. He was one of the most prominent western Oregon lumber men and was a founder of the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company of Eugene and elsewhere. Mrs. Davis wrote that R. A. Booth and A. C. Dixon of Eugene bought an island in Siltcoos Lake and that was the reason the railroad station was named Booth. The railroad station was named prior to 1918 but the compiler does not know just when. Booth post office was established near the railroad station in September, 1934, ​
with Mrs. Clara P. Law first postmaster. It is reported that there has been some lumbering activity at this place. The post office has been discontinued but the compiler does not know the date. The place called Booth in western Douglas County should not be confused with Booth post office in the upper Cow Creek valley, which was named for Winfield S. Booth. That post office was in service from 1907 to 1914. It had previously been called Starvout and in 1914 the name of the office was changed to Azalea.
BOOTH, Josephine County. Booth was named for its postmaster, Henry E. Booth. The office was established January 22, 1897, and was closed December 31, 1898. An old map shows the place on Rogue River a few miles northwest of Grants Pass and about the same distance southwest of Merlin. The writer does not know the reason for the establishment. Booth Hill, Hood River County. Named for George Booth, an early settler in the Hood River Valley, who is said to have set out the first commercial orchard in the valley and who sent 20 boxes of Newtowns to the Buffalo fair in 1901 and received a gold medal and sold the apples for $7 a box. It is reported that Booth settled near the foot of the hill in 1885. For many years travelers hesitated to attempt the muddy road up Booth Hill in the winter, but the Mount Hood Loop Highway has solveď the difficulty with some change in location from the old road. The name Booth Hill is now applied to the butte or hill that separates Hood River Valley from the Parkdale district.
BORING, Clackamas County. The town of Boring was named for W. H. Boring, an old resident of the neighborhood. The district was known to old settlers as the Boring neighborhood, and in 1903 a townsite was platted and called Boring Junction. The Post Office Department and the builders of the interurban railway adopted Boring as the official name of the community.
BOSLEY BUTTE, Curry County. Bosley Butte is in the southwest part of the county. F. S. Moore of Gold Beach informed the compiler that this peak was named for Julia Bosley, a young woman, who in early days was a member of a party that made a trip to the large prairies lying south of and extending across to the east side of the peak. Miss Bosley was one of the few of the party to ascend to the top of the mountain and it was named in her honor.
BOSTON Mills, Linn County. About 1858 R. C. Finley and associates established a community and grist mill on Calapooya River about a mile and a half east of the present town of Shedd. They called the place Boston Mills, presumably because one or more of the proprietors came from the Massachusetts city. A small butte nearby was named Bunker Hill. The community became a stage stop and made a little growth. Boston Mills post office was established on September 22, 1869, with William Simmons postmaster. Efforts to get the railroad through the place were unsuccessful and Boston Mills began to decline. The railroad was built through Shedd and the post office was moved to that place and the name changed to Shedds on August 28, 1871. Shedds post office was changed to Shedd in 1915. BosweLL SPRINGS, Douglas County. Boswell Springs are situated just west of the Pacific Highway at a point about three miles south of Drain. They were named for the owner, Captain Benjamin D. Boswell. Boswell -petak of the South -road rother 300, ght on was Dregtie idol ​
I see ..1801 CE SITE mostat Coffice never waounty. Bourbo Southern, a a na 205 ha lla Car. B. Bo mong T425 01 post office was established April 9, 1895, with B. F. Sanders postmaster. The office was closed sometime between 1906 and 1909, but the writer cannot tell the exact date.
BOULDER CREEK, Marion County. Boulder Creek flows into the North Santiam River east of Detroit, Boulder Creek was named in 1874 by T. W. Davenport of the Marion County road surveying party. See
OHQ, volume IV, page 248.
BOUR, Josephine County. The mining locality called Bour was given the family name of David, John and George Bour who were engaged in placer operations shortly after the turn of the century. Bour post office was established in May, 1906, with Geneva M. Bour first postmaster. The office was discontinued in February, 1907. The Bour placer was situated on Illinois River about midway between the mouths of Deer Creek and Josephine Creek, a little downstream from Kerby. Nobody seems to know whether the post office was ever in actual operation but merely authorized. George Bour, living near Kerby in 1948, is of the opinion that the post office never was in service.
BOURBON, Sherman County. Bourbon is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad, originally the Columbia Southern, about seven or eight miles southeast of Grass Valley. The station was established for a wheat shipping point. Giles French of Moro wrote the compiler about this name on June 1, 1946, as follows: "The name originated directly from that of the famous early-day tipple, which has been preserved to this time and is, in normal times, in conflict with Scotch and Rye. Bourbon you will recognize as the drink of the frontier, the product of good American corn, the elixir of the common man. Some say that when the first construction crew went to Bourbon to stake out the site of the first warehouse they found a bottle that once contained Bourbon and named the place for that reason. Another story is that the crew built the warehouse a little askew of the railroad and the reason for such lack of constructive ability was laid to a superabundance of Bourbon. Bourbon attained some local fame during World War I because Charles (Puss) Schwartz, an elderly bachelor, retired from farming, always gave his occupation as an employee of the 'shipyards at Bourbon.' Even yet Grass Valley residents use it as an occasional excuse for their vagrancy." The compiler thinks that Mr. French is well acquainted with the subject and that this account should be given great weight. It is pleasing to know that these historic names are being preserved in Sherman County.
BOURNE, Baker County. Bourne was named for Jonathan Bourne, Jr., of Portland, who was at one time interested in eastern Oregon mines. He was United States senator from Oregon from 1907 to 1913. He was born in New Bedford, Mass., February 23, 1855, and graduated from Harvard in 1877. He came to Portland in the following year and in 1880 was admitted to the Oregon bar. After his term in the Senate, he lived in Washington, D. C., and died there September 1, 1940, Bourne post office was established in March, 1895, and discontinued May 31, 1927. Bowden CRATER, Malheur County. Bowden Crater is a characteristic volcanic vent in the south-central part of the county about six miles northeast of the old Bowden ranch on Rattlesnake Creek. The crater got its name from the ranch, and the title was applied by Dr. Israel C. Russell of the United States Geological Survey about 1902. See USGS 1, Ben in was estat 3. Cover the placa little bility, Waame ** sout bac alexco ser lille Dufour
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Bulletin 217, Geology of Southwestern Idaho and Southeastern Oregon, page 57. Dr. Russell gives an interesting description of this crater, which is unusual in that there seems to be a complete absence of the products of explosive eruptions such as lapilli and volcanic bombs. Bowden Crater is an isolated example of volcanism and Dr. Russell says that the adjacent lava flow, covering about a hundred square miles, apparently all came from the single crater. In 1902 the remains of the raised rim of the central elevation of Bowden Crater was about 600 feet in diameter enclosing a basin about 40 feet deep. The Bowden ranch was on Rattlesnake Creek a little to the south of the center of township 34 south, range 41 east. A post office named Bowdens was in operation here from October, 1890, until April, 1898. John B. Bowden was the first postmaster.
BOWERS SLOUGH, Benton County. This slough joins Willamette River from the north about four miles west of Albany. Two brothers of the name of Bowers lived in this vicinity in pioneer days and the slough was named for them. BowlllS Hill, Umatilla County. This hill is just north of the forks of Walla Walla River. It was named for Lewis Bowlus, a nearby landowner.
BOWMAN CREEK, Wallowa County. Bowman Creek is in township 3 south, range 43 east and flows into Lostine River. It was named for Robert B. Bowman, who traveled over the trail along the stream to get to his mining claims. This was an old elk trail, and in early days the stream was sometimes called Elk Trail Creek. Box, Benton and Lincoln counties. A post office with the terse name Box was established on the Lincoln County list January 28, 1897, with Mary J. Grier first postmaster. It was on or near Lobster Creek in the extreme southeast corner of the county. This office seems to have oscillated back and forth across the Benton-Lincoln county line, for it was first in one county, then the other. It was on the Benton County list as of July 21, 1906, but the writer cannot learn what happened to it after that except that it was not a post office in 1913. Polk's Oregon and Washington Gazetteer for 1907-08 says that the locality served by Box post office was frequently called Lobster Valley. John E. Davis of the Oregon Department of Agriculture at Salem has been kind enough to send in the following story: "Before the post office was established a big box was placed beside the road and when any of the neighbors went to or from Alsea, the nearest post office, they carried the mail for all in Lobster Valley. Mail for those in the valley was placed in this box, from which it found its way into the various homes. None of the names first submitted for the post office was acceptable to the department and it occurred to someone to call it Box. This information came from Thomas Taylor who was postmaster at two different times." Boyd, Wasco County. This name is reported as being derived from T. P. Boyd who settled in the vicinity about 1883 and with his sons operated a flour mill. When the post office was established March 6, 1884, G. H. Barnett, a local merchant, suggested the name of Boyd as being both short and appropriate. John E. Barnett was the first postmaster.
BOYER, Lincoln and Tillamook counties. John and Julia Boyer were among the early settlers on Salmon River and they operated the Salmon ​
River toll road 1908-1920. The predecessor of this toll road was called the Elk Trail and it was used at a much earlier date. A post office called Boyer was established August 18, 1910, with Mervin O. Boyer first of three postmasters. The compiler is informed that M. O. Boyer was a son of John Boyer and that the post office was in John Boyer's house. It was in the extreme north end of Lincoln County, probably not more than a mile from the county line. This office was discontinued March 31, 1915. At a much later date the name Boyer was applied to a community on the Salmon River Highway in the extreme southeast corner of Tillamook County and about four miles northeast of the former Boyer post office. This little community now called Boyer is about a half mile northeast of the stone monument erected on the highway in 1926 to John and Julia Boyer. It is where the highway crosses Little Nestucca River. Boyer community does not have a post office as this paragraph is written in May, 1948. For information about Salmon River Highway and John Boyer, see Leslie M. Scott's article "Military Beginnings of the Salmon River Highway," OHQ, September, 1934.
BOYLE LAKES, Polk County. These are intermittent ponds about two miles northwest of Rickreall, and they are generally dry in summer. They were named for Dr. James W. Boyle, a pioneer of Oregon, who was born in Virginia in 1815, and came to this state in 1845. Dr. Boyle settled on the land near these lakes in 1850. He married Josephine P. Ford. For additional information about Dr. Boyle, see article by Fred Lockley on editorial page of Oregon Journal, July 27, 1927.
BRACKET MOUNTAIN, Clackamas County. This mountain, elevation 5018 feet, is in township 6 south, range 5 east. It was named by W. B. Osborn, Jr., of the Forest Service, because it resembled a printer's bracket, or brace, placed horizontally with the point up, as follows: +
BRADBURY, Columbia County. This station and a slough in the Columbia River nearby were named for C. A. Bradbury, an early settler. Wilkes shows this slough as Kinak Passage, in an atlas accompanying U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume XXIII, Hydrography, but does not explain the name. The name of the railroad station was later changed to Locoda. For information about C. A. Bradbury, see Fred Lockley's story in the Oregon Journal, April 15, 1945.
BRADEN, Umatilla County. Braden post office was in operation on the extreme north border of the county from March, 1891, to September, 1891. Jennie Braden was the postmaster. The post office was a room in the Braden home, which was on the lower Walla Walla road about four miles north of Milton. The house disappeared some years ago. It was near what was later called the Engel Chapel. It was in section 13, town. ship 6 north, range 45 east. * BRADFORD ISLAND, Multnomah County. This island in the Columbia River has become very well known as a result of the Bonneville Dam. The south end of the dam itself is on the island, and much of the fish ladder structure. The north end of the powerhouse is also on the island. The island was named for Daniel F. and Putnam Bradford, brothers, who were pioneer steamboat operators on the Columbia River. Among other things they rebuilt the portage road at the Cascades in 1856. Later another portage road was built on the south side of the river, and ​
eventually both were absorbed by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. For details of fight with Indians on this island see OPA Transactions for 1896. Assertions that Bradford Island is the Strawberry Island of Lewis and Clark are not substantiated by the maps of the explorers. It is apparent from both text and maps that Lewis and Clark used the name Brant Island for what is now known as Bradford Island. Their Strawberry Island is now Hamilton Island, close to the north bank. However, on the return journey, Patrick Gass used the name Strawberry Island in error for what was then Brant Island, now Bradford. This was on the evening of April 9, 1806. The Astorians had the Gass journals but not those of Lewis and Clark, and as a result applied the name Strawberry Island to the wrong landmark. This error has been perpetuated by several subsequent editors and writers.
BRADLEY TRAIL, Douglas County. This trail is a well-known route of travel along the North Umpqua River in the eastern part of the county. It was named for William Bradley, a pioneer trapper and mountain stockman, who is said to have been born near Oakland, and to have worked his way into the headwaters of the North Umpqua River as early as 1875, when he was a young man. He traded deer meat and hides with the Indians, taking ponies in return, which he sold in Eugene and other points. This trade opened up a trail across the Cascade Range, which has ever since been known as the Bradley Trail, and much of it has been put on modern standards by the Forest Service. Bradley Creek, a tributary of the North Umpqua rising west of Windigo Butte, also bears the name of the same man. Bradley was killed by a horse in 1909, dying near his lonely cabin at Illahe.
BRADWOOD, Clatsop County. The Bradley-Woodard Lumber Co. was incorporated July 15, 1930, and one of its activities was the development of a mill and community on the south bank of the Columbia River about two miles upstream from Clifton. The name of the new town, Bradwood, was made synthetically from the name of the company.
BRANDY Bar, Douglas County, Brandy Bar is in Umpqua River about fifteen miles east of Reedsport. On August 6, 1850, the schooner Samuel Roberts of the Klamath Exploring Expedition grounded on this bar and the party was forced to spend the night there. There was some brandy aboard ship which was used too freely during the night to the exasperation of the owner. The place was called Brandy Bar because of this incident. See OHQ, volume XVII, page 355.
BRAUNSPORT, Columbia County. Braunsport post office was established in November, 1891, with Johann B. Braun postmaster. The office operated under Braun's guidance until November 9, 1901, when it was discontinued. In December, 1945, Omar C. Spencer of the Portland bar wrote the compiler that Braunsport was on Beaver Creek approximately five miles southwest of Vernonia, and that it was named for the first postmaster, who was a native of Germany. Mr. Spencer added the historical fact that there was a school at this placed called Braunsport School, where he, Mr. Spencer, taught four months during the summer of 1897. An Army map of the Vernonia quadrangle shows Beaver Creek School in the approximate location of the old locality of Braunsport. The place on the map shown as Braun is a little to the northeast of Braunsport. Bray Point, Lane County. Bray Point was named for a local family. ​
The promontory is about a third of a mile south of Bob Creek and just north of Agate Creek. While not large, Bray Point presents a bold front to the sea and affords a fine view to travelers on the Oregon Coast Highway.
BRAYMILL, Klamath County. This post office had a comparatively short life. The name of the office was coined by taking the last name of W. M. Bray, principal owner of the Sprague River Company, which operates a sawmill at that point, and combining it with the word "mill." Surely ingenuity could go no further. Braymill station was formerly called Meva.
BREITENBUSH, Marion County. Breitenbush post office and Breitenbush Hot Springs, on Breitenbush River about ten miles northeast and upstream from Detroit, got their names from the river. Breitenbush post office was established March 21, 1928, with Merle D. Bruckman postmaster.
BREITENBUSH RIVER, Marion County. Breitenbush River was named for John Breitenbush, a pioneer hunter of the North Santiam River region. The name was applied in the fall of 1873 by John Minto's official exploring party. See OHQ, volume IV, page 248.
BREWSTER, Linn County. This station north of Lebanon was named for Alexander Brewster, on whose land it was situated.
BRICE CREEK, Lane County. This stream rises on the western slopes of the Cascade Range and flows into Row River. It was named for Frank Brass, a prospector of early days. Brass fell into the stream on a prospecting trip and a companion named the creek for him. Time has brought about the change in spelling. The stream was formerly called Frank Brice Creek, but in 1943, the USBGN, in the interest of simplicity adopted the style Brice Creek. Brice Creek seems to be the form used locally. Bridal Veil Falls, Multnomah County. The romantically inclined never fail to name at least one important waterfall in a state Bridal Veil. The falls in Oregon bearing this name are quite attractive during the higher stages of water, even though they are to a certain extent obscured by the bridge of the Columbia River Highway. They have borne this name since pioneer days. There is a community nearby named Bridal Veil. The creek forming the falls is also known as Bridal Veil Creek. It heads on Larch Mountain.
BRIDGE, Coos County. Bridge is a post office and community on Middle Fork Coquille River about eleven miles east of Myrtle Point, named for a nearby bridge over the stream. A post office named Angora served this locality, in part, in earlier days. It was established in August, 1883, and was closed in May, 1894. Bridge post office was established July 6, 1894, with Thomas E. Manly postmaster. An effort was made to call the reestablished office Angora but for some reason the Post Office Department did not approve of the suggestion. It seems probable that the office at Bridge was not in the same place as the former office of Angora, but the records are not clear.
BRIDGE CREEK, Grant County. Bridge Creek lay along the first route of travel from northeastern Oregon into the John Day mines. This route was at first nothing more than a trail. During the mining excitement of the early '60s, the packers made some improvements so their work could be carried on more expeditiously, and among other things they built ​
some pole bridges over what is now Bridge Creek. This fact gave rise to the name. The stream is southwest of Austin.
BRIDGE CREEK, Marion County. Bridge Creek is a stream southwest of Silverton, the waters of which find their way into Abiqua Creek, but the compiler does not know just how. He has been told that the stream was named in pioneer days because of a convenient bridge, but he does not know its location. Bridge Creek post office was established near this stream in November, 1919, and operated until November, 1923, when it was closed to Hullt. Edward Trenter was the only postmaster. This office was a little to the east of Hullt, near the north quartercorner of section 9, township 8 south, range 2 east. It was very close to the old Bridge Creek school and the two establishments were both named for the stream. In 1932-33 a new post office called Cedar Camp was in service in the same location with Mrs. Edith M. Filer postmaster. Cedar Camp was apparently named because of the cedar lumber and shingle making in the vicinity.
BRIDGE CREEK, Wheeler County. This stream heads in the mountains in the south part of the county, and flows into John Day River. One branch flows through Mitchell. H. H. Bancroft in his History of Oregon, volume I, page 787, says that it was named because Shoeman and Wadley, California prospectors, built a small bridge over it of juniper logs, while enroute to the John Day mines. This was about 1862. On July 2, 1868, a post office named Bridge Creek was established in what is now Wheeler County with Alfred Sutton postmaster. Sutton was a prominent Wasco and Wheeler county pioneer. Sutton Mountain north of Mitchell bears his name. Bridge Creek post office, which was finally closed in 1882, was on the Sutton place, which was very close to the mouth of the stream, where it joined John Day River.
BRIDGEPORT, Baker County. C. A. Moore, of Baker, in a letter in the Oregonian, August 7, 1926, page 8, gives the early history of this community. In 1861-63 considerable placer gold was discovered at Clark Creek, several miles southeast of Bridgeport. Supplies were packed from Baker over the old Creighton road, crossing Burnt River near where Hereford now is, and then down the river on the south side to these mines, where there were some stores and a post office. Bridgeport is on the south bank of the river, which could not then be forded. The need for a wagon road and a shorter route to Clark Creek led Dr. Jacob M. Boyd and James W. Virtue and associates, in 1868, to begin the construction of a toll road from Baker to what is now Bridgeport, and in 1869 this road was made passable for the entire distance. At the south end of the road, where it crossed the river, there was a bridge some 200 feet long, and since this bridge was the terminus of the toll road, it was decided to call the place Bridgeport.
BRIDGEPORT, Polk County. Bridgeport is an unorganized locality on Little Luckiamute River about three miles east or downstream from Falls City. It is said to have been named for a pioneer bridge over the stream, but the compiler does not know the exact location of the structure. Bridge Port post office was established June 1, 1854, with Samuel T. Scott first postmaster. The name of the office was very soon changed to Bridgeport. It continued in operation until January 13, 1874.
BRIEDWELL, Yamhill County. Briedwell was a station on the Oregonian Railway narrow gage line, later the Southern Pacific, at a point about two miles west of Amity, in the south part of the county. It was ​named for John W. Briedwell, a local resident, who was the first postmaster. Briedwell post office was established August 16, 1887, and discontinued October 31, 1888. Recent maps show a Briedwell School at this place, but the rest of the community is a thing of the past.
BRIGGS LANDING, Lincoln County. Briggs Landing, in Boiler Bay, was named for Joe Briggs, who lived nearby.
BRIGGSON, Umatilla County. Briggson post office served an area about eight miles east-southeast and up in the Blue Mountains from Weston in what is known as the Wildhorse Mountain district. One Dan Briggs fostered the idea of an office in this locality, but it was decided to put it at the McCorkell place rather than at the Briggs ranch, as Briggs lived too far back in the mountains. However, when the office was established, it was named in his honor. Briggson post office was established June 2, 1896, with William McCorkell first and only postmaster. The office was closed April 30, 1909, with papers to Weston.
BRIGHAM CREEK, Wallowa County. Brigham Creek flows into Bear Gulch from the west in section 26, township 1 south, range 47 east. It was named in pioneer days because of an event that suggested Mormonism, hence the use of Brigham Young's first name.
BRIGHTON, Tillamook County. This post office and railroad station are near the mouth of Nehalem River, in the northwest part of the county. The town was platted about 1910 with the name of Brighton Beach although it is not directly on the ocean. This place, together with many others in the United States, was named for Brighton, the fashionable seashore resort on the south coast of England.
BRIGHTWOOD, Clackamas County. Brightwood is said to have been named by a Mr. Alcorn, a property owner, because of the pleasing effect of the sun shining on the cottonwood trees in the spring. The first local post office was called Salmon, because it was very close to Salmon River, a stream named in pioneer days. Salmon post office was established in April, 1891, with Winnie McIntyre first postmaster. The name of this office was changed to Brightwood on May 6, 1910. Brightwood is about a quarter of a mile east of Salmon River on the Mount Hood Loop Highway. The compiler does not know if the post office was moved this distance when the name was changed in 1910, or at some other time.
Bristow PRAIRIE, Lane County. This prairie on the summit of the Calapooya Mountains was named for Elijah Bristow, the founder of Pleasant Hill, near Goshen. See under PLEASANT HILL. Bristow used to go hunting on the prairie. He was born in Virginia in 1788, and came to Oregon in 1846. For his biography see Walling's History of Lane County, page 475.
BRITTEN, Baker County. Britten was a post office in the mining district in the Blue Mountains between Baker and Sumpter, named for a local family. The office was established September 25, 1884, with Elizabeth E. Britten postmaster. Britten post office was discontinued May 9, 1893.
BROADACRES, Marion County. About the time the Oregon Electric was opened for service between Portland and Salem in 1908, a station with the descriptive name Broadacres was established at a point about three miles west of Hubbard. There was not a great deal of business there at first, but in a few years it was necessary to have a post office. This office called Broadacres was opened in June, 1914, and was discontinued in December, 1928, with the business turned over to Hubbard. John R. Foulds was the first postmaster.
BROADBENT, Coos County. Broadbent was named for C. E. Broadbent, who built a cheese factory in the community some time prior to the date the post office was established, which was in 1916.
BROADMEAD, Polk County. Mead is the Anglo-Saxon word for meadow, and Broadmead means Broadmeadow. The post office was established January 8, 1915, with Wm. H. Morris postmaster.
BROADY CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream is in the northeast part of the county. It was named for a broad-horned cow that belonged to Tom Green, She ranged along this stream.
BROCKWAY, Douglas County. Brockway, a little to the southwest of Roseburg, was once known as Civil Bend, a name said to refer to the boisterous activity of visitors to the horseraces, Civil Bend post office was in service from September, 1881, to October, 1888. When the office was reestablished in 1889, postal authorities objected to a name with two words, so a new name was selected in honor of B. B. Brockway, a pioneer resident. See under Civil BEND.
BROGAN, Malheur County. This town was started by D. M. Brogan and was given his name in 1909. It is in the northern part of the county at the north end of the Union Pacific Railroad Company's branch from Vale.
BROKEN TOP, Deschutes County. Although badly shattered, this mountain is one of the important peaks in the Cascade Range. It is southeast of South Sister and has an elevation of 9165 feet. From the aspect of its jagged summit it is not difficult to see why it was named. On its northern slope is Bend Glacier, on its south slope is Crook Glacier.
BROKENCOT - CREEK, Curry County. This stream is in the southeast part of the county in the Siskiyou Mountains. It rises east of Chetco Peak, and flows northward into Chetco River. It was named for Brokencot Camp, an old stopping place near its headwaters, distinguished by some worn out camp equipment.
BROOKINGS, Curry County. This post office was named for Robert S. Brookings, of St. Louis, Missouri, about 1913, He was the largest stockholder in a lumbering enterprise that started the town.
BROOKS, Marion County. This is a station on the main line of the Southern Pacific Company nine miles north of Salem. It was named for Linus Brooks, who was born in Ohio in 1805, and came to Oregon from Illinois in 1850 and settled near the present site of the community. For additional information about the Brooks family see editorial page of the Oregon Journal, June 25, 1927.
BROOKS MEADOWS, Hood River County. Brooks Meadows are drained by one of the branches of Dog River. These meadows were named for Caleb G. Brooks, who began to run cattle there about 1877. Brooks was a native of Iowa, and came to The Dalles with his family about 1870. He died in 1899, but his sons continued to use Brooks Meadows for cattle until about 1920.
BROTHERS, Deschutes County. This is a post office on the Central Oregon Highway between Bend and Burns, in the southeast part of the county. It is said to have been named Brothers in contradistinction to Sisters, a well-known community northwest of Bend, which was named for the Three Sisters mountains. Brothers post office was established in September, 1913, with Patrick H. Coffey first postmaster.
BROUGHTON, Lane County. Broughton post office was named for the family of Thomas Broughton, the first and only postmaster. He was ap ​pointed May 8, 1891, and served until May 1, 1893. Despite diligent effort the compiler has been unable to get information about the location of this post office.
BROUGHTON BLUFF, Multnomah County. Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, commander of the armed tender Chatham of the Vancouver expedition, explored the Columbia River in the fall of 1792, and as far as known, was the first white man to visit the vicinity of the mouth of Willamette River. Broughton reached a point east of Troutdale on October 30, 1792. He wrote quite accurately of the geography of the mouth of Sandy River, and his maps, though on a small scale, were carefully made. The bluff east of Troutdale has always been a prominent landmark, but bore no name until 1926, when at the request of the Girl Scouts of Portland, the USBGN officially adopted for it the name of Broughton Bluff. It seems to the compiler that Broughton, who was one of Vancouver's principal assistants, should have his name perpetuated on the maps of the country he was the first to explore. For the history of Broughton, see Meany's Vancouver's Discovery of Puget Sound, page 264.
BROWER, Multnomah County. Brower was the name of a post office in the hills about two miles south-southeast of Bridal Veil and at the north base of Pepper Mountain. It was named for a pioneer local settler, about whom the compiler has been unable to get further information. Brower post office was established December 20, 1889, with Robert C. Bell first postmaster. The compiler does not know the closing date, but it was probably about 1895.
BROWN, Benton County. Brown post office was established July 5, 1902, with Clara Huggins first and only postmaster. The office was closed March 10, 1903. Robert Johnson informed the compiler that the office was situated at the home of William and Clara Huggins on the Brown place some eight or ten miles southwest of Corvallis.
BROWN MEADOWS, Wallowa County. These meadows are in section 16, township 4 north, range 41 east. They bear the name of John Brown, a homesteader.
BROWN MOUNTAIN, Wallowa County. This is a high peak in the Wallowa Mountains northwest of Eagle Cap. It was named because of its characteristic color near the top.
BROWNLEE, Baker County. Two men named Brownlee, uncle and nephew, settled on the Idaho side of Snake River in the '60s. When the railroad was built down the Oregon side, the company named the station Brownlee, and the post office used the same name. Browns MOUNTAIN, Deschutes County. Browns Mountain, elevation 5370 feet, is south of Crane Prairie, and Browns Creek is nearby. These features were named for a negro homesteader who settled in the neighbor. hood. Judge H. C. Ellis told the compiler in 1932 that Brown ran cattle near Crane Prairie, and eventually left the country. However, C. J. Keefer is authority for the statement that Brown was a trapper and hunter, and always paid his bills in gold. This led to the notion that there was gold buried near the old homestead, but no one has reported finding it. Keefer is also authority for the story that Brown was buried near the remains of the cabin. The reader may take his pick of these stories, or wield his pick for Brown and the gold.
BROWNSBORO, Jackson County. This place was named in 1853 for Henry R. Brown, on whose land the community was established. Browns ​Duy. boro is on Little Butte Creek. A post office was established in the locality in February, 1873, with the name Brownsborough and with John Bilger first of a long list of postmasters. The name of the office was changed to Brownsboro on June 25, 1892,
BROWNSMEAD, Clatsop County. This community has developed on the bank of the Columbia River as the result of diking and reclamation, carried on by W. G. Brown, a well-known engineer of Portland. His name coupled with the Anglo-Saxon word for meadow formed the name of the community. It was formerly known as Brody.
BROWNSVILLE, Linn County. Brownsville is on the Calopooya River near the foothills of the Cascade Range, and has an elevation of 356 feet. It was laid out in 1853, and named by James Blakely in honor of Hugh L. Brown, who started the first store there. Both these men were pioneers of 1846. Blakely built the first house in the fall of 1846. For biography and portrait of Blakely, see the Oregonian, April 17, 1901, page 10. For description of Brownsville in 1889, ibid., January 18, 1890. For description in 1894, ibid., January 1, 1895, page 11. Postal officials inform the compiler that Brownsville post office was established on January 8, 1850, with the name Calapooya, with H. H. Spalding first postmaster. This was changed to Brownsville on May 18, 1859.
BROWNTOWN, Josephine County. This place is a relic of the past. It was a mining town on Althouse Creek, about three miles south of Holland. Walling, in his History of Southern Oregon, page 455, says that it was named for one Webfoot Brown, the pioneer Brown of the vicinity, and that at one time the place had 500 inhabitants.
BRUCE, Benton County. Bruce is the name of a small community on the Pacific Highway West about ten miles south of Corvallis. It is on the Major James Bruce land claim and was named on that account. A post office named Bruce was established in July, 1900, with Lucinda Norwood first postmaster. The office was closed in May, 1905.
BRUSH CREEK, Curry County. Brush Creek drains an area southeast of Port Orford and flows into Pacific Ocean just north of Humbug Mountain. It seems to be the consensus in Curry County that this stream was named for Gilbert Brush, a young Texan, who was a member of the T'. Vault exploring party in those parts in 1851. To say that he had hairraising adventures is apposite, since Coquille Indians "lifted" part of his scalp. See Bancroft's History of Oregon, volume II, pages 196-200, and Dodge's Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 26. Preston's Map of Oregon, 1856, shows this stream as Savage Creek, but Preston possibly confused it with Euchre Creek, a little further south, which George Davidson, in Coast Pilot, 1889, says was called Savage Creek. See under
EUCHRE CREEK. Preston's knowledge of Curry County geography was necessarily sketchy. Brush COLLEGE, Polk County. Brush College is situated in the southeast part of the Eola Hills. It was named because of the character of the nearby ground cover. For story about Brush College school and community by Mrs. W. N. Crawford, see Salem Statesman, October 8, 1931,
BRUSHY CREEK, Wallowa County. Brushy Creek flows into Little Sheep Creek about twelve miles east of Enterprise. It was named because of the unusually dense brush growing along its banks. The first homesteader on this stream was William Waln.
BRYANT LAKE, Linn County. This is a small slough lake about a Postmaster. Ich was establim an Of Oregong sibly conforegon, 185story of ​
DELITTII. mile west of Albany. It was named for Hub Bryant, a pioneer resident. Bryant Park, in Albany, was given to the city by the same man. He owned considerable land in the vicinity of the lake.
BUCHANAN, Harney County. Buchanan is a locality about twenty miles east of Burns on the Central Oregon Highway where the highway begins to climb up out of Harney Valley. The place bears the name of a local family. Buchanan post office was established May 1, 1911, with Hattie E. Buchanan first postmaster. The office was closed June 30, 1919, but the place is still referred to as Buchanan. For biography of Joseph W. and Hattie E. Buchanan, see History of Baker, Grant, Malheur and Harney Counties, page 715.
BUCK CREEK, Multnomah County. This stream flows into Sandy River just north of Gordon Creek. It has also been known as Trapper Creek, but the U. S. Geological Survey has adopted the name Buck Creek, which seems to represent the best local use.
BUCK FORK, Douglas County. Buck Fork was the name of a post office on Buck Fork, a tributary of North Myrtle Creek. Buck Fork stream was probably named for Buck Peak, a prominent landmark south of Lane Mountain, as it heads near the peak. Buck Fork post office was in operation from September, 1910, until August, 1927.
BUCK ISLAND, Klamath County. Buck Island is near the lower end of Upper Klamath Lake. It is one of many features in Oregon named for some event connected with a deer. In pioneer days it was called Rattlesnake Island.
BUCK ROCK, Jackson County. Buck Rock is a well-known landmark northeast of Trail. It was named in 1860 by Albert Winkle, a pioneer hunter and trapper. Its top was frequented by deer.
BUCKHORN SPRINGS, Wallowa County. Buckhorn Springs are well known. They are in township 3 north, range 48 east. The place was frequented by deer and many horns were shed there. Campers found the horns and made piles of them.
BUCKNECK MOUNTAIN, Douglas County. This mountain is on the divide between Rogue River and North Umpqua River, northwest of Crater Lake, and has an elevation of 6173 feet. The origin of the name is not known, but it was applied by a sheepherder some time prior to 1906.
BUCKSKIN PEAK, Curry and Josephine counties. This peak, elevation 4088 feet, is in the Siskiyou Mountains about four miles north of the Ore. gon-California state line, The summit of the peak is covered with the socalled "buckskin boulders." They are of many sizes but all of peculiar buckskin color. BudD CREEK, Coos County. Budd Creek bears the name of an early settler. It flows into Cunningham Creek northwest of Coquille.
BUELL, Polk County. Buell is in the northern part of the county, and was named for Elias Buell, who started a mill there and a small store in pioneer days. Elias Buell's land office certificate was numbered 4165. Buell post office was established in March, 1900.
BUENA Vista, Polk County. The compiler is informed by E. M. Croisan, of Salem, that Buena Vista was named by his grandfather, Reason B. Hall, whose donation land claim formed the site of the community. Hall was born in Georgia in 1791, and settled on his land claim in 1847. He named Buena Vista about 1850, because some of his relatives participated in the battle of Buena Vista in Mexico. About the time he ​
named the community, he started Halls Ferry across Willamette River. James A. O'Neal built a warehouse in Buena Vista, the first mercantile establishment, about 1850. Later one of Reason Hall's sons started another Halls Ferry north of Independence. Buena Vista is Spanish for beautiful view or good view.
BUFFALO, Lake County. Buffalo was a post office in the northeast part of the county, just northwest of the center of township 27 south, range 21 east, about a dozen miles east of Christmas Lake. It was established April 11, 1913, with Samuel W. Stanton first of four postmasters. The office was discontinued June 29, 1918. A news item in the Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, February 13, 1947, says that the office was named because a nearby juniper tree was so shaped that it looked like a buffalo. The story is credited to S. V. Carroll, well-known resident of the county.
BUFORD CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream rises in Oregon a little north of Flora, and flows northward into Washington, where it drains into Grande Ronde River. It was named for Park Buford, a pioncer settler nearby. The locality has become important because Buford Canyon will be used for the new highway being built from Enterprise to Lewiston. Part of the Buford Creek section has already been graded. Park Buford is reported to have died as the result of rattlesnake bite, which he received while reaching under his cabin trying to find a pup.
BUG BUTTE, Klamath County. On March 1, 1926, L. D. Arnold of the Indian Field Service wrote the USBGN from Klamath Agency as follows: "Bug Butte, not Big Butte, is a newly coined name for the butte two miles southeast of Council Butte is sections 24 and 25. It has been so named because bark beetles have in the past five years killed nearly all the pine trees." This insect is the western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis. See Essig's Insects of Western North America, page 514, and news article in Bend Bulletin, July 14, 1927.
BUGBY HOLE, Clatsop County. Bugby Hole is the name of a very deep place in the Columbia River about midway between Wauna and Bradwood, close under the precipitous cliffs to the west of the stream. There is a railway flag stop nearby known as Bugby Hole. In September, 1943, Seth F. Michael of the U. S. District Engineer office in Portland wrote the compiler that Bugby Hole was named for an earlyday settler who carried on some logging operations in the vicinity. Bugby Hole has a depth of over 100 feet at low water and is remarkable on that account.
BULL MOUNTAIN, Washington County. This mountain is situated about three miles southwest of Tigard and has an elevation of 711 feet, G. W. Tefft of Beaverton told the writer in 1927 that it was named for a band of wild cattle that ranged on the hill in pioneer days. These cattle were gradually killed off with the exception of one bull and thus the descriptive name was attached to the hill in question.
BULL OF THE Woods, Marion County. This peak, elevation 5510 feet, is in the northeast part of the county but a short distance from the Clackamas County line. It was named for a nearby mining claim or prospect.
BULL RUN LAKE. Clackamas and Multnomah counties. Will G. Steel is authority for the statement that the Klickitat Indian name for Bull Run Lake was Gohabedikt, meaning Loon Lake. It is not surprising that such a name was not used by white men. The lake undoubtedly received its present name from Bull Run River, not vice versa. The compiler has ​
no evidence that the lake was called Chitwood for an old settler, as it seems improbable that any one could have settled in such a locality. Bull Run Lake has an area of about .6 of a square mile, and an elevation of 3161 feet. The outlet is through underground springs forming Bull Run River, but a dam now regulates part of the leakage. Contrary to general belief, no drainage from melting snow or ice on Mount Hood enters Bull Run drainage basin. A chemical description of the water may be secured from USGS WSP 363. The intake of Portland water supply is about 20 miles down stream from the lake. Economically, Bull Run Lake is the most important lake in Oregon, for it is the source of water supply for about a third of the population of the state.
BULL RUN RIVER, Clackamas and Multnomah Counties. George H. Himes, late curator of the Oregon Historical Society, said the name of Portland's water supply, Bull Run, may have started from the presence of wild cattle on that river in the pioneer period (1849-55). According to Charles B. Talbot, who arrived in Oregon in 1849, cattle escaped from immigrants in that vicinity and ran wild a number of years. The place was called by the settlers Bull Run. For further history of the name Bull Run, see the Oregonian, March 29, April 5, 1897, page 8; July 30, 1901, page 12. The locality called Bull Run is about three miles northeast of Sandy, in Clackamas County, and near Bull Run River. The first post office was Unavilla, established in May, 1893. The compiler does not know the reason for selecting this odd word. The name was changed to Bullrun in November, 1895, and to Camp Namanu in January, 1939. See under that heading.
BULLARD CREEK, Lake County. M. W. Bullard moved into the Goose Lake Valley in 1869 and settled at the present site of Lakeview. Bullard Creek and Bullard Canyon, just east of the town, bear his name. For a description of his activities, see History of Central Oregon, page 844. Bullard Creek and the Bullard ranch played a prominent part in the county seat squabble of 1876. The legislature created Lake County in October, 1874, and named Linkville, now Klamath Falls, temporary county seat until an election to be held June 5, 1876, at which time a permanent county seat was to be selected by majority vote. At the appointed election Bullard Creek rolled up a count of 120 against 88 for Linkville, but 120 was not a majority of the 384 votes cast. About 75 votes were cast for Goose Lake, Goose Lake Valley, Bullard's Ranch and Bullard's Creek in Goose Lake, which were not counted for Bullard Creek. On August 10, 1876, the county commissioners ordered the scattered votes to be included in the Bullard Creek total and directed that the county seat be set up at the Bullard house. However, the county clerk would not comply. In accordance with the legislative act, the election was held again on November 7, 1876. By that time the town of Lakeview had been organized, and it carried the election. Six years later the people of Linkville and the Klamath Valley succeeded in getting a county of their own cut off from Lake, and called it Klamath.
BULLARDS, Coos County. This town is near the mouth of Coquille River and was named for Robert W. Bullard, who was born in Iowa November 26, 1857, and died July 11, 1925. In 1882 he established a general merchandise store at what is now Bullards, and also a ferry across the river. The post office was named for him. He came to Coos County in 1877. He married Malinda A. Hamblock. Bulldog Rock, Douglas County. This rock is near the summit of ion of his activitard ranche poslat ure created Falis, tempi poinkville, cast for in Gom the conullard 76; the ake, whe, Lake ​
the Calapooya Mountains in the northeastern part of the county and has an elevation of 5801 feet. It was named by Forest Supervisor E. H. McDaniels on account of the prominence with which the bluff stood out from its immediate surroundings, in defiance of the elements. .
BULLY CREEK, Malheur County. There are several stories concerning the origin of the name of this stream, all apparently revolving around the fact that when a man fell into its waters many years ago, his friends stood about and cried out "Bully! Bully!" T. T. Geer, in the Oregonian, February 9, 1921, says that during a debate on a bill to change the name of the stream in the legislature in 1889, David P. Thompson told the story and said that the incident happened while he, Thompson, was engaged in surveying townships for the government. In a letter in the Oregonian, April 21, 1927, Glen Livingston relates the story, saying that it came from D. P. Thompson, and that it applied to Bull Run River. On April 27, 1927, Henry Ē. Reed, in the Oregonian, replied to Livingston, saying that the incident did not happen on Bull Run River. He says that Thompson told him it happened to some soldiers in the '50s. The legislature of 1889 changed the name of this stream from Bully Creek to Alder Creek, and Thompson was a member of the house of representatives at the time. It seems probable to the compiler that the story told by Governor Geer is the correct one, and that the incident happened while Thompson was surveying. It does not seem probable that there were soldiers on Bully Creek in the '50s. Despite the act of the legislature, the name of the stream has remained Bully Creek, and it is universally so known. The act is printed on page 158 of the Laws of Oregon, fifteenth legislative assembly, 1889. A post office called Bully was established near this stream April 3, 1882, with Nancy Kime first postmaster. This office did not operate continuously. The name was changed to Westfall in February, 1889. The office was doubtless moved from time to time.
BUNCHGRASS CREEK, Wasco County. This stream is in the extreme northwest part of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and flows into Warm Springs River. There are a number of geographic features in Oregon named for bunchgrass, a valuable natural forage of the eastern part of Oregon. Charles V. Piper lists two varieties:Festuca ovina ingrata, the blue bunchgrass of the prairies, which is densely tufted, and Agropyron spicatum, the wheat bunchgrass which is taller and grows generally on dry hills.
BUNKER Hill, Coos County. Bunker Hill is a community and post office in the south part of the city of Coos Bay, and is remarkable for the fact that it was not named for the historic spot in Boston. Prior to 1900 it was just another timbered hill rising above tidewater near the mouth of Coalbank Slough. It was called Bunker Hill because of the coal bunkers nearby and the application of the name came without formality. About 1906 the area was platted for homes by the Flanagan estate and the title Bunker Hill seemed natural. The coal bunkers were principally on Isthmus Slough to the east of Bunker Hill, but there were also some on Coalbank Slough to the west. It was here that the ocean vessels took on their cargoes of coal from the Newport mines.
BUNKER Hill, Linn County. About 1858 R. C. Finley and associates established a community and grist mill on Calapooya River about a mile and a half east of the present town of Shedd. The locality was called Boston Mills. Just southeast of the site of the Finley enterprise was a small ​
butte, which took the name Bunker Hill because it was so close to the Boston Mills. This little butte is about a half mile west of Saddle Butte and south of the east-west road.
BUNKER Hill, Marion County. Bunker Hill is one of the highest points in the group of hills south of Salem. It has an elevation of 956 feet, and lies about two miles west of the Pacific Highway East and a mile north of Ankeny Bottom. In a letter written to Ladd & Bush, Bankers, dated February 1, 1915, John W. Jory gives information about the origin of this name. The letter was published in the Ladd & Bush Quarterly, April, 1915. Jory wrote that in pioneer days Bunker Hill was known as Bald Hill to distinguish it from other hills in the vicinity. He was of the opinion that the name was changed to Bunker Hill either by Perry Il'atson or by Henry E. Ankeny. The name Bunker Hill has been in general use since about 1870. Stories to the effect that the hill may have been named for a local resident seem to be erroneous, and Bunker Hill near Boston, famous in the American Revolution, is no doubt the origin of the name.
BURGHARDTS MILL, Clackamas County. This little settlement is about a mile west of Barton and is near Clackamas River. It was named for Ernest H. Burghardt, one of the early settlers in that community. It was he who secured the establishment of the Barton post office. The mill is occasionally referred to as Burkhards Mill but that form is incorrect. For additional information see under BARTON.
BURKEMONT, Baker County. Burkemont is a locality in the extreme northern part of the county, about 20 miles northeast of Baker. It was named for Judge Thomas Carrick Burke, who was at one time interested in mining development at that place and was later a resident of Portland and collector of customs.
BURLESON, Lake County. Burleson post office was established May 25, 1914, with Mima E. Petit postmaster and was in operation until January 31, 1915. It was named in compliment to Albert S. Burleson, postmaster general from 1913 until 1921. The office was about 16 miles eastnortheast of the town of Silver Lake.
BURLINGTON, Linn County. In March, 1947, Leslie L. Haskin of Newport, a student of Linn County history, wrote the compiler in substance as follows: "It is commonly said the town of Burlington was renamed and called Peoria. This is not correct. The town of Burlington was started in 1851 with a ferry run by John Smith and a store by John Donald. The townsite was mapped by James Freeman in 1853. The place had at that time two dwellings, two stores, one smithy and a ferry. However, the river silted up and spoiled the boat landings. Because boats found no suitable landing places, they passed the town and it died. The site of Burlington was the better part of a mile down the river from Peoria, and they were two different towns. Some buildings were moved from Burlington to Peoria." Burlington post office was established November 17, 1855, with William M. McCorkle postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Peoria November 7, 1857, and it was doubtless moved to the new location about that time. There had been some settlement at Peoria as early as 1851, but active growth did not follow until later. Mr. J. C. Irvine writes from Lebanon that Burlington, Oregon, was on the donation land claim of his grandfather, James Martin, who came to Oregon in 1852. It was in sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, township 13 south, range 4 west. Mr. Irvine says that before coming to Oregon his grandfather farmed for some A ​
twenty vears near Little York, Illinois. The nearest market town was Burlington, Iowa. It is a matter of family tradition that Burlington, Oregon, was named for Burlington, Iowa.
BURLINGTON, Multnomah County. Burlington is the name of a community north of Portland. The plat was filed for record March 24, 1909, by Ruth Trust Company. Herman Wittenberg was president of the company and named the place Burlington, but it is not known why he selected that name.
BURMA, Lane County. Burma is an operating station on the Southern Pacific railroad north of Eugene, and was established to help clear trains at the north end of Eugene Yard. Traffic became congested at this point in 1941, and when the station was put in service, the name was selected because of the traffic bottleneck then existing on the great Burma Road between India and China. Burma station was officially established by the railroad on November 27, 1942, but it was actually put in service about the beginning of 1942.
BURNS, Harney County. This community was named for Robert Burns by George McGowan, a pioneer resident who was a great admirer of the Scottish poet. Elevation 4148 feet. In February, 1943, Archie McGowan of Burns furnished the compiler with some data about his father, George McGowan, who moved into the Harney Valley from the Willamette Valley in May, 1882. George McGowan first stopped at the little settlement of Egan, about two and a half miles southwest of the present site of Burns, and engaged in the mercantile business. He soon decided to enlarge his business and move to a new location. He took Peter Stenger into partnership in the fall of 1883, and the two established themselves at the present locality of Burns, one reason being that it was nearer the Stenger ranch. Stenger wanted to name the new place Stenger, but McGowan thought otherwise, calling attention to the fact that Stenger was frequently pronounced Stinger, and the name Stingertown would be bad advertising. McGowan finally suggested Burns, and early in 1884 the community was established with the name. George McGowan died in Portland January 31, 1930, aged 85 years. For story of hanging of portrait of George McGowan in new Burns post office, see Burns Times-Herald, June 13, 1941. Egan post office was established July 31, 1882, with George McGowan postmaster. The name was changed to Burns January 22, 1884. The name Egan is said to have been that of a local Indian celebrity.
BURNSIDE, Clatsop County. David Burnside, for whom this place was named, was a native of Ireland. He came to the United States about 1825, and was naturalized in April, 1832. He arrived in Oregon in 1847. He married Mary Ann, last name not given, in Philadelphia, in August, 1853. He settled on his donation land claim in 1855, and the nearby station was subsequently named on this account. His land office certificate was numbered 3606. Marys Creek in Clatsop County was named for his wife.
BURNT BRIDGE CREEK, Lane County. Burnt Bridge Creek flows into Middle Fork Willamette River a few miles below Westfir. According to C. B. McFarland of Oakridge, the name came into use as a result of the Dead Mountain fire of 1910, which destroyed the wagon bridge over the stream. The name Burnt Ridge Creek is wrong.
BURNT Ranch, Wheeler County. Burnt Ranch is a place on the south bank of the John Day River at the extreme western edge of Wheeler County. The name was applied in 1862. The ranch was on the old miliobrity ​
tary road from The Dalles to Canyon City. The buildings were burned during an Indian uprising and from that time the place was known by its present name. The original Burnt Ranch is near the mouth of Bridge Creek, but the post office moves about, depending upon the home of the postmaster. At one time the office was far enough west to be in Jefferson County. Burnt Ranch post office was established January 15, 1883, by change of name from Grade. Addie S. Masterson was the first postmaster.
BURNT RIVER, Baker County. Burnt River is an important stream rising in the Blue Mountains and draining the south part of the county. It joins Snake River east of Huntington. Exact information about its name is not available, and there are two theories about the matter, one being that Burnt River was so called because of the burned timber along its banks and the other because of the burned looking rocks, especially along the lower reaches. As far as the writer knows, the first mention of Burnt River is in the Peter Skene Ogden journals for Friday, October 28, 1825. T.C. Elliott was of the opinion that the name came from the burned woods, because fur-traders reached the upper parts of the stream first where the burned looking rocks are not so much in evidence. During the times in question the stream was frequently mentioned as the Riviere Brule, by the French-Canadians. It is of course evident that the traders named the stream, and that pioneers proceeding along the lower part of the river 25 years later had nothing to do with it, though they doubtless thought the name was appropriate because of the dry character of the country they traversed. Mr. Elliott thought that the name was probably first applied to the river by Donald McKenzie possibly as early as 1818. See OHQ, volume XIII, page 71. For many references about the name Burnt River, see Discovery of the Oregon Trail, (Stuart's Narrative edited by Rollins), pages 79 and 95. In the first edition of Astoria, volume II, page 122, Burnt River is appropriately called Woodpile Creek, apparently on account of driftwood accumulations. The compiler has seen later editions of Astoria with this name spelled Woodvile, a meaningless error.
BURNT Woods, Lincoln County. This post office is in the eastern part of Lincoln County, near Tumtum Creek, where the remains of forest fires are still much in evidence. The office was established in 1919, and a list of suggested names was sent to the Post Office Department. On the list was Burnt Woods, proposed by H. G. Downing, and this was the name chosen by the authorities.
BURNT Woods, Washington County. Washington County has had more than its share of forest fires and it is not surprising that there was once a post office in the county called Burnt Woods. This office was a mile or so north of the place called Glenwood, as Glenwood was situated in 1945. Burnt Woods post office was established September 12, 1879, with Mrs. Mary J. Evans postmaster. The office was closed September 17, 1883. Later a post office named Glenwood was organized to serve the same general locality, but it may not have been in exactly the same place. Glenwood post office was subsequently moved a couple of miles south to a site on Gales Creek.
BURROUGHS, Umatilla County. The compiler has been unable to get much information about Burroughs post office, except that it was in service from May 10, 1893, to July 12, 1895, with Barney F. Hogue the only postmaster. Hogue is said to have lived in Coombs Canyon four miles west of Sparks Station, southwest of Pendleton, in a locality sometimes ​
referred to as Burroughs. There were a smithy and some other buildings in the locality. Postal records show that a post office, called Bissel was established with Benjamin L. Burroughs postmaster on April 27, 1893, but Bissell post office was never in operation. Judging from available information Burroughs post office was in the same neighborhood as the Bissell office and was named for the Bissell postmaster.
BUTCHERKNIFE CREEK, Wallowa County. One day in the early '90s Jack Shields and Dick and Alex Warnock found an old butcherknife on this stream, and named the creek on that account. Butcherknife Creek is a tributary of Lightning Creek.
BUTLER, Polk County. On February 16, 1861, a post office with the name Grand Ronde was established in the north part of Polk County, at the site of Fort Yamhill. Benjamin Simpson, an Indian agent, was the first postmaster, and the area served was about a half mile north of the present locality Valley Junction. On October 3, 1894, this office was moved about three miles northwest to Grand Ronde Agency in Yamhill County, but without change of name. This move left the Fort Yamhill area without a post office. A new office was established in the locality, with the name Butler, on March 16, 1895, and with J. C. Ellis first of two postmasters. The office was named in compliment to Judge N. L. Butler of Dallas, who owned a large farm nearby. According to Mr. Ellis the farm was then being operated by James Shepherd, and Shepherd suggested the use of the name. Butler post office was discontinued June 30, 1911.
BUTLER BASIN, Grant and Wheeler counties. This is a large basin in the John Day Valley north of Picture Gorge. It was named for an early settler, Frank Butler, a one-armed rancher who lived in a little cabin near the present site of Cants Ranch. Butler was the only resident of the basin in 1877. The name Upper Basin is occasionally used for this geographic feature, but Butler Basin seems to be the generally accepted form. There was once a post office in this locality called Basin.
BUTTE, Lake County. Butte post office was on the east border of the county line a little south of Wagontire Mountain. The office was established December 21, 1911, with Josiah E. Pope first postmaster. This was at the time that many dry farmers and homesteaders were coming into central Oregon. The office was closed October 31, 1922, and the mail was then handled through Wagontire office. Butte post office was named for a well-known point, Elk Butte, near the east border of township 27 south, range 22 east.
BUTTE CREEK, Clackamas and Marion counties. Down, in A History of the Silverton Country, says that Butte Creek was probably named for Graves Butte, or Lone Tree Butte, so called because at its summit was a gigantic fir. The butte is now known as Mount Angel. Butte Creek was so known in the days of pioneer settlement. A post office with the name Bute Creek was operated from January to November, 1851, with Jeremiah Jack postmaster. This office was reestablished with the name Butte Creek in 1867, and the name was changed to Marquam in November, 1889.
BUTTE CREEK, Wallowa County. J. H. Horner of Enterprise told the compiler in 1931 that the Indians called the locality of this stream Tus-cowall-a me, meaning a place where the owls lived. In early days the stream was called Owl Creek, but the name was gradually changed to Butte ​
Creek because it rises near Oregon Butte in Columbia County, Washington. Butte Creek flows south into Oregon and drains into Wenaha River in township 6 north, range 41 east.
BUTTE CREEK, Wheeler County. This stream rises near Fossil and flows into John Day River. It was so named because of Black Butte, a prominent point near its source, which serves as a landmark. Black Butte has an elevation of about 4000 feet and is about two miles northeast of Fossil.
BUTTE DISAPPOINTMENT, Lane County. Butte Disappointment is on the north side of Middle Fork Willamette River, east and northeast of Lowell. It has a maximum elevation of 2409 feet and is a very prominent landmark. Walling in his Illustrated History of Lane County gives an account of the naming of this feature. In 1848 a party of settlers led by Elijah Bristow of Pleasant Hill undertook a foray against marauding Indians. The posse tried to ascend the river on the northeast bank, but was blocked by Fall Creek, which was in flood. The settlers mistook Fall Creek for the main stream, and returned to the Hills place, crossed the river and followed up the southwest bank. When they reached a point about opposite the present site of Lowell, they found to their disappointment that they were on the wrong side of the Middle Fork. They could not proceed on that side and had to give up the expedition. Because of this episode the name Butte Disappointment was applied to the prominent hill on the north side. A post office named Butte Disappointment was established May 8, 1872, with Samuel Handsaker, postmaster. It was at or near the present site of Dexter and was named for the prominent point a few miles eastward. The name of the office was changed to Dexter on July 19, 1875.
BUTTE Falls, Jackson County. Settlers in the Rogue River Valley referred to Mount McLoughlin as Snowy Butte, and the two main streams draining to the northwest from that mountain were known as Big and Little Butte creeks. At the falls on Big Butte Creek a settlement sprang up that took its name from the natural feature.
BUTTER CREEK, Umatilla County. Butter Creek is a tributary of Umatilla River, and the old pioneer road crossed it west of Echo. See Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume III, page 316. The writer has heard of two theories about the origin of the name. The diary of John T. Kerns, published in OPA Transactions for 1914, says under date of September 9, 1852, that Butter Creek was named because some volunteers took butter from the stores during the Cayuse War. Miss L. C. McKay, for many years a resident of eastern Oregon, confirmed this statement, and informed the writer that the butter was taken from the officers' mess so the enlisted men could have hot cakes. The other story is to the effect that a party of pioneers found some stale butter on the banks of the stream. The writer has no confirmation of this story.
BUTTERFIELD, Clatsop County. Butterfield is a station just north of Gearhart. It was named for Charles Butterfield, who married Margaret Gearhart, daughter of a Clatsop Plains pioneer.
BUTTERMILK CREEK, Benton County. This very small stream flows southward through Philomath into Marys River. A letter printed in the Philomath Review for January 15, 1942, signed by F. S. Minshall, gives the origin of the name. Many years ago a creamery did a thriving business on the banks of this brook, and ran its surplus buttermilk into the drain. ​This activity was of no great consequence in the cold months of the year, but in summer, the resulting stench aroused local residents to indignation. A septic tank was installed, but it overflowed. Farmers carried away the surplus milk for hog feed, but they could not carry away the odor. A "Smelling Committee" was appointed by the council, but as is frequently the case with committees, little was done. Finally the creamery got into financial trouble and closed, thus bringing an end to the business. The name Buttermilk Creek remains, however.
Butteville, Marion County. Butteville is on the east bank of the Willamette River in the extreme north part of the county and has an elevation of 103 feet. It was named for a well-known hill about a mile to the southwest, called by the early settlers on French Prairie La Butte, a form of name still used by the U. S. Geological Survey on its map of the Tualatin quadrangle, which shows the geography of this region. La Butte has an elevation of 427 feet. Butteville was laid out prior to 1850 by Abernethy and Beers. The Oregon Electric Railway has a station called Butteville about two miles east of the town. This station was formerly called Chopunnish, a northwest Indian name, but was changed to Butteville to avoid confusion. Postal officials inform the compiler that Butteville post office was established with the name Chainpoeg on April 9, 1850, with F. X. Matthieu first postmaster. The name was changed to Buteville September 9, 1850, and to Butteville probably in the '60s, although the date of this change is not clear in the records. The office was discontinued in the summer of 1905.
Button Springs, Lake County. Lee Button was a pioneer homesteader northeast of Fort Rock. He is mentioned in Charles H. Sternberg's Life of a Fossil Hunter. Sternberg was in the locality in 1877. Button Springs are in township 23 south, range 16 east, and they have given their name to the Button Springs Ranch, which is well known in Lake County. The springs were not named because of their size or shape.
Buxton, Washington County. Henry T. Buxton settled in this place in 1884, and was appointed its first postmaster in 1886. He was a son of Henry Buxton, a pioneer of 1841, and the town was named for his family.
Byars Creek, Marion County. This creek flows into Breitenbush River northeast of Detroit. Byars Creek and Byars Mountain nearby were named for W, H, Byars, surveyor general for Oregon from 1890 to 1894.
Bybee Bridge, Jackson County. This bridge crosses Rogue River not far from Upper Table Rock. It was named for William Bybee who operated a ferry at this point for many years.
Bybee Lake, Multnomah County. This is a small overflow lake on the south bank of Columbia River north of St. Johns. It was named for James Bybee. According to land office certificate 2234, Bybee was born in Kentucky on December 1, 1827, and arrived in Oregon in the fall of 1850. He settled on his claim near Columbia River in the fall of 1853, and made final proof in November, 1859, and was then unmarried. The lake was largely on his property, and not on that of James F. Bybee, a pioneer of 1845, who was a nearby settler.