La Grande evening observer., September 09, 1910, Image 9

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FIRST ANNUAL INDUSTRIAL EDITION OF THE LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER.
Pages One to Nine.!
1 LIllE, CIlYfflffiPAYROLLS
irtillGllEllE
Imagine yourself standing upon
some lofty mountain peak some
mountain peak commanding a view of
an area of 2,100 square miles of terri
tory. "
Imagine yourself gazing out on the
mammoth range of the Blue moun
tains to the west a range of moun
tains covered with countless millions
of feet of valuable timber,, and con
taining beneath their granite surface
countless millions in precious ores.
Imagine to the eastward the Powder
River range of mountains green In
the foreground, and blue with haze in
the distance, and to the north and
south connecting spurs of these two
ranges of mountains.
Imagine yourself looking down
upon a valley between those mountain
ranges a vaHey stretching out to the
low foothills on the north and south,
to the mountain ranges on the east
and west a valley which for beauty
grandeur and fertility of soil is unex
celled. Imagine your eyes feasting upon
the sparkling waters of the Grande
Ronde river as it winds its way along
the eastern slope of the Blue Moun
tains across a plain: and then imag
ine on that plain a city the smoke of
its machine shops, lumbering plants,
and manufacturing plants, and spires
of its towering churches barely visi
ble in the distance.
Imagine all this, and much more,
and you have a picture of the cele
brated Grande Ronde valley, the fair
est and richest valley on all the
earth; and a picture of the metropolis
of that Taney-tlirl)mtiruT5nTn-terprising
citw of La Grande.
First Called Browntown.
La Grande was the scene -of one of
the earliest settlements in eastern Or
egon, and is located in the heart of
the rich and fertile Grande Ronde val
ley. Its history began when Benjamin
Blown and his family. In the spring o
1862 established a home on what af
terwards became the site of the old
town of La Grande. Brown erected
a building which was utilized for a ho
tel, but in the spring of 1863 sold it
to Arnold Green. The construction of
the hotel was the laying of the foun
dation of the town. In the same year
general merchandise stores were es
tablished by S. M. Black, A. Sommers,
and another man by the name of
Quinn, and a postofflce secured. Ed
ward Patterson was named as the
postmaster. That was the nucleous
of the present and progressive city o
La Grande. In honor of Benjamin
Brown. Its founder, it was first called
Browntown. but the name was after
wards changed at the suggestion of
Charles Dause, a Frenchman, to La
Grande.
Progress of Town is Slow.
In 1864 Union county was organ
ized, and La Grande was made the
county seat. In 1874 Union succeeded
in wresting the county seatship from
it, but at an election held for the pur
rose about six years ago the voters
again designated La Grande as the
county capital.
Between 1S64 and 1S84 there was
but little activity displayed in the de
velopment of the new town. It en
joyed a fair trade with the tributary
farming country, the stockmen and
the lumber and mining camps, but it
ivas without that which is so essential
to the growth and prosperity of every
town railroad communication with
the world, and its growth and prog-
the schools, and the population was I territory and served as a stimulus to
composed of 329 people. the growth of this city.
The first school was held In sTlog I The commercial and Industrial
cabin with Providence M. Curry as the growth and prosperity of La Grande,
instructor. Mr. Curry was the grand- therefore, date from the advent of the
father of George M. '. Curry, ant railroads. Ever since Us growth haB
Fred Curry, until recently the ed- been stable and Bteady, and its career
city In the west of three times Us pop
ulation, which has as many handsome
residences.') The material j entering
into the construction of its residences
Is the best available on the market;
their architecture reflect ths latest de
signs' in f the archltectuaL world, tbelr
furnishings are for the most Prt lux
urious land elegant- .ShelrJ premises
well preserved and adorned and pre
sent a beautiful appearance the year
round.
. 'There are but few cities, not "alone
In the Northwest, but on the Pacific
coast, which can offer to th searcher
of an ideal home more advantages and
Inducements than La Grande. It can
ofter a climate the most pleasant In
the world; scenery and general sur
roundings which can not be sur
passed; building materials which are
cheap within the reach of every one;
public schools which have no super
ior In the state and religious facili
ties which are unexcelled ; in fact
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ALL THE IBlO jiE ! '
IS N 0 VALLEY' ! SO l' FAIR
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"There Is not In the wide world a val- Ing deeper . Into the ground, i Its cll-
ley so sweet J ' mate Is ideal almost perfect. Its
As this vale on whose bosom the : resources are boundless and despite
bright waters meet." the fact that it has been settled for
So sang Tom - Moore when he ( some time they have not even yet
gazed upon and contemplated the ; been scratched, and their development
beauties of a valley of his own land is yet to come. Its soil la rich can
the Avoca. Had his eyes been per
mitted to look upon and consider the
beauties of the Orande Ronde valley
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Bird's Eye TIew of La Grande.
ress was slow. In 1875 there were 92
legal voters in the town, 129 pupils In
itor of the Observer, and was one
or . the most scholarly men evei
In the Grande Ronde valley. In
1875 - the Blue Mountain University,
which was promoted by Rev. H. K.
Hlnes, a Methodist minister, was
erected at a cost of $15,000. It did
not prove a success, however, and
from 1875 to 1899 It was used as a
public school building when it was
torn down to make room for the pres
ent high school building.
The first church in the town was
built by the Episcopalians. That was
in 1874, and the first wedding cere
mony to be performed was that of
Jasper Stevens and Miss Anna Webb,
and both are still residents or ls
Grande. Shortly afterwards the Meth
odists erected a church building, and
then other denominations followed,
and the city now has churches rep
resenting almost every denomination.
Real Progress Began In 1S84.
The real progress of the city of
La Grande began with the advent of
the main line of the O. R. & N. com
pany In 1884. The original survey of
the route of this line after leaving the
foot hills followed the course of the
Grande Ronde river. Hon. Daniel
Chaplin, one of the earliest and most
prominent citizens of the town, how
ever, by granting the road 105 acres
of land, and also bringing his influ
ence to bear prevailed upon its man
agement to change it to the present
route. The gift brought to La Grande
the company's machine shops and
made it a railroad division point. The
construction of the Elgin branch came
has been free from booms free from
that butterfly prosperity which like
a rocket soars skyward, and then for
the lack of Industrial and commercial
support to. sustain it in Its Alight
descends even more rapidly than It
ascended, and leaves in Its wake a
general depression and wreckage In
the business world. Today It haB a
population of 7000 people and prides
itself on being one of the wealthiest,
and most enterprising cities in the the
state of Oregon.
Its Climate.
The climate of La Grande and its
tributary country Is almost ideal.
There 1b absent the cold winters of
the eastern states winters whose
snows and blasts give them a tem
perament like the cold and the frozen
north; absent the. winds which fre
quent those states, and which devel
op in the winter season into raging
blizzards and during the summer sea
son continually blow and carry in
their sweep as they speed across the
plains clouds of alkali duts; absent
the excessive heat of the eastern sum
mer and the humidity and the summer
heat of the southern states the heat
that beats one down. The summers
in La Grande are warm, but not hot.
The winters are mild and It is seldom
that any snow falls, and when it does
it dissappears in a few days under the
warm rays of the sun.' The climate In
general is as near perfect as it is pos
sible for it to be, and when compared
with that of the eastern and southern
states it is a paradise in which to live.
City of Beautiful Homes.
La Grande has been denominated
"the city of beautiful homes," and de
everything which enters into" the 'com
position -of - a oomfortable-and-ldeal
home. . . ,.
Imposing1 Business Intsltntions.
.' The . business 1 institutions of La
Grande are modern in construction
modern in equipment As the growth
of the city has been steady and sub
stantial, Its business men have given
consideration both to the substantial-
he. would have tuned his harp to even
a sweeter lay as It contain beauties
which are Incomparable with those of
the fair valley of the Emerald Isle
a grandeur and a splendor of scenery,
and a richness of 'oll which were be
yond even the dreams of the imag
inative mind of this famous poet, and
sweet singer of Irish songB.
Extending in width from, the Pow-
not be surpassed in fertility.'
Traversed bj MaIu Line.
The O. R & N. Company, a section
of the main transcontinental line of
the Harriman system of railroads tra
verses the county of Union from tha
northwest to the southeast, and it Is
the shortest route between ' Chicago
and the 1 Pacific coast. From La
Grande, which is the divisional point
on the line a branch line 1b extended
to points in Wallowa county extend
ing 90 miles north and east. From
Union an independent line has been
in a rich fruit and beet belt. The line
will undoubtedly at some not distant
date make a circuit of the valley, and
when it does it will probably be con
verted Into an electric line. ; '
, The construction of railroad tines
which will tap all of the rich sections
of this valley are a few of the oppor
tunities It offers capital. There are
probably but fevr places In the west
where so Inviting a field can be found
for the development of electric rail
way projects. The rural population,
the ' frequent towns in the . valley,
the freight producing capacity of
the country, and the water power,
all combine to make conditions easy
for the promotion of lnterurban elec
tric lines, and the day Is not far dis
tant when some promoter will . avail
himself of these great opportunities..
5 Valley Roads Good.
There are hundreds of miles of
good county roads In the county, and
In the valleys they are of an excellent'
character. In the mountains some of
the highways are Inclined to be rough,
but in general are superior to ths
roads found In the mountain countries
of the west The roads generally fol
low the section line, and In width are
GO feet. As a rule they are , well
fenced. The roads in the valleys, be-
cause of their superior condition, and
because they are for the most part
lined with rich fields and blossoming"
orchards, ar? popular., driveways..
The railroad mileage in the county
1b 101 miles, the telegraph and tele
phone mileage something over 600
p" P ! 1 i in I ' i
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in 1891, and It opened up a dormant servingly so, as there la probably no
Depot street, La Grande.
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lty and archetectural beauty of their
buildings, and they present to the eye
both a pleasing and imposing appear
ance. They are equipped with all the
modern conveniences and improve
ments and their interiors are attract
ively and in many cases elegantly fin
ished. Its professional men rank with the
ablest and greatest In the state and
their offices are handsomely furniBhed.
Its merchants and business men are ,
wide-awake, progressive and enter- j
prising, and as its people demand, not
alone of its merchantlle establish-,
ments, superior quality, but demand !
also that the merchandise be In ac
cordance with the prevailing styles
o! the day the stocks are all modern
and measure up to the high standard
of style and fashion set by the mark
ets of the east.
Municipal Improvements.
La Grande is a well groomed city
clean physically and clean morally.
It Is one of the best governed cities in
the United States, and In municipal
improvements its citizens have kept
abreast with the times. Its street
are paved and are clean and wide and
present a metropolitan appearance.
.'dams ATenne, La Grande.
(Continued on page Eight.)
der River Mountains on the east to
the Blue Mountains on the west
a distance of 16 miles; and
extending In length from the foot
hills of the connecting spurs of
those mountain ranges on the north
and south a distance of 30 miles, it
Is given a Betting in mountain scenery
which In magnificence, and picture
esqueness Is unexcelled on the Amer
ican continent, and a richness of soil
which is the marvel of the world.
The elevation of the valley at the
city of La Grande, which Is Its com
mercial capital is 2,700 feet above the
level of the sea, and the elevation of
the mountain ranges surrounding it
vary from 5,000 to 7,000 feet above the
level of the sea some of them ex
tending to even a ..eighth of 11,000
feet. In area It covers practically all
of Union county which Is 30 miles
long and 20 miles In width. The prin
cipal stream is the Grande Ronde Riv
er, but there are a number of smal
ler streams. There are 400 miles of
waterways situated in it and the ex
tent of the water power In its sur
rounding mountains is lmmesurable.
Water can be reached at a depth of
from 15 to 20 feet, but a purer and
better water 1b to be secured by go-
miles, and the county roads penetrate
ever settlement
There Is a rural free delivery to
every home In the valley and the ru
ral telephone with long distance con
nections reach almost every home.
Lumbering Great Industry.
One of the gnat sources of wealth
in Union county Js the lumber Indus
try. There are scattered throughout
the county about 30 sawmills and the
lumber output is between ninety-flvs
and two hundred million feet a year.
This means the employment of 2,000
men.
The average wages paid in the mills
is $2.75 a day and in the timber a
wage of $2.50 is paid. The skilled
I laborer receives wages which range
all the way from $4 to $7 per day.
i Two of the mills, the Geo. Palmer
Lumber Company, and the Grande
j Ronde Lumber Company, both mam-
; moth Institutions, are located in the
j city of La Grande.
! There is sufficient timber left in the
mountains at the present rate of pro
duction of lumber to last the mills for
at least a generation to come. Prac
tically all of the timber In the county
has been appropriated, but lumber
(Continued on page Eight.)