East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-01-11
UmatiIIa's First County Seat
Was Located on Oliver
Farm.
TOWN KNOWN AS
MIDDLETON IN EARLY DAYS
Marshall's Station and Swift's Station
Were Other Names Applied to An
cient Townsite-Recent Investiga-
ton Reveals Facts Concerning Pio-
neer History of County.

How many people in Pendleton are
aware that the first county seat OF
Umatilla county was located on the
Oliver tract which has just been sold
to the state for site for the eastern
Oregon branch of the insane asylum?
1t is safe to venture that the num-
Der can be counted on the fingers of
one hand for of the old settlers who
can remember back to the year 1863
there are but few remaining. How
ever, such was the case and the rec
ords bear out the statement to that
effect.
This knowledge which has been
slumbering these many years was re-
vived during the inspection Of the rec
ords when the transfer Of the deed to
the tract was made to the state. In
these it was shown that there is an.
old dead townsite on the place which
townsite was known during its life by
the several names of Marshalps Sta
tion, Middleton and Swift's Station.
consultation of S. T. Gilbert's His
tory of Umatilla County, one of the
few copies of which is in the possess
sion Of Major Lee Moorhouse, reveals
facts about this town Of long ago
which have even faded from the
memories of the pioneers who still
survive.
All Eastern Oregon One County.
Thus it is shown that in 1862 all Of
the section of the state east of the
Cascades was comprised in wasco
county, but that the legislature of
that year created the counties of Una
tilla and Baker, temporarily locating
the county seat of the former "at or
near the Umatilla river opposite the
mouth of Houtomia or Mckay creek
at what is known as Marshalls Sta
ton until same shall be removed by
the citizens of said county as provid-
ed by law" The first officers of the
county as appointed at that time
were: County judge, Richard Combs;
clerk, H. H. Hill; commissioner,
Thomas Mccoy and John R. Court
ney; sheriff, Alfred Marshall. A rude
structure was erected for a court
house and another for a Jail, and
Umatilla county was prepared to con-
duct its own affairs.
One Of the first acts of the first
county court was to change the name
of the county seat from Marshall's
Station to Middleton. At the session
in 1868 the first levy wos ordered, the
assessed valuation of property being
$353,702 upon every 500 of which a
tax of $40 was levied These fig
ures are especially interesting in con-
trast to the last levy which was six
mills on property valued at s47,461,-
1862. The first election held in the
new county was in June, 1864, at
which 764 votes were cast. It was
estimated from this ballot that the to-
tai population of the county was 1892,
only about 400 of whom lived within
the present boundaries of the county.
In this election the democrats were
victorious over the unionists by a very
small majority.
Umatilla Wins Seat.
In the following year, 1866, the
county seat was removed to Umatilla
Landing, as that place had grown to
considerable size and was moreover
ambitious. The methods which the
residents of that town used to bring
about the removal showed that even
in the early history of the state poll
TICS as game, was played to some
extent. Umatilla Landing, however,
suffered a severe relapse a few years
later, and at an election ordered by
the legislature, the county seat was
brought back to this part of the coun-
ty to tract of land decided by NJ. E.
Goodwin and thus Pendleton had its
origin.
But for the little town of Middle
ton, which never in its palmist days
contained more than a saloon, a hotel
and three or four other buildings, it
soon took unto itself the name Of
Swifts Station and continued for sew
~ IL, L.. IL.