Page Five
GREAT PROGRESS MADE BY VALLEY IN LAST 73 YEARS
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER, LA GRANDE, OREGON"
This District Still Young
in Development; Soil
Tilled in 1861.
A young country, with many of
Its resources still far from, poten
tial development that, in brief,
describes La Grande and Union
and Wallowa counties.
Last month Med ford celebrated
the state's diamond Jubilee, yet
La Grande as a town is less than
73 years old ! In the lives of
communities, this Is still In Its
early youth, with countless dec
ades of advancement and develop
ment ahead of it. Natural growth
due to its strategic position, un
doubtedly some day will make La
Grande the metropolis of a great
empire .Just as today it is the
trade, education, recreational and
industrial center of Northeastern
Oregon.
Seventy-five years ago, the val
ley was largely covered with
swamps, rye grass, here and there
sagebrush, and great clumps of
willows; This section bordered
on the primeval. No soil had
been turned in the valley, there
was nothing where La Grande now
stands.
Yet In the winter of 1861 a
group of pioneers came to the
Grande Ronde, decided upon what
la now called Old Town for a set
tlement site, and that winter Ben
jamin Brown constructed the first
dwelling place. The following
spring, in April of 1862, the same
Benjamin Brown plowed the first
sod ever turned in the valley, lit
tle realizing that some 72 years
later some 420,000 acres of land
would be In farms, rich and pro
ductive and commanding nation
al and international markets be
cause of the character of their
products. It was a long furrow
Benjamin Brown left behind him
that early April.
That was 72 years ago. Union
county had a handful of people
where today there are more than
17,000. Yet immediately follow
ing the settlement in Old Town,
the valley began to grow. Scores
and then hundreds of pioneers
were turning westward, to a land
of promise, and with each year
Increasing numbers stopped their
weary oxen in the Grande Ronde
valley, to lay the foundation for
the empire of the future. As an
example of the rapid growth. In
1885, less than a quarter of a
century after Benjamin Brown
pioneered La Grande, there were
D3.328 acres of land under culti
vation, wheat was harvested in
the amount of 484,289 bushels,
farmers counted 58,678 tons of
hay, 114,170 bushels of potatoes,
11,187 -boxes of apples, 3266 boxes
of plums and prunes and lumber
. men cut 4,196,400 feet of lum
ber) The total population of the
county had increased to 9588 per
Eori3 where a quarter of a cen
tury before there had been none,
' except for the roving Indians.
But to go back to those early
days.
The first wedding In Union
county was performed In Old
Town when W. Marks and Prances
Caroline Leasy were united in the
holy bonds of matrimony by S,
M. Black, Justice of the peace.
In the summer of 1862 Conrad
Miller planted the first fruit trees
near Union, consisting of apples
and pears. T. A. Wood, of Port
land, came and placed trees In
the virgin soil here in the fall of
62. Fred Nodine, whose descend
ants live In many Eastern Ore
gon communities, came to the
valley on June 11, 1862 and later
In the year settlers had taken up
residence at Cove, Summervllle
and La Grande.
Then In 1883, the next year,
the valley was surveyed and a
little later Union county came
into being by an act of legisla
ture of Oct. 14, 1864. Until then
It was considered a port of Baker
county, and later Wallowa coun
ty was- taken trom the new Un
ion county named, of course, af
ter the northern cause in the Civ
il war.
The next step was the first
newspapers came into being. On
April 18, 1868, two publications
were printed for the first time
the Blue Mountain Times and
the Mountain Sentinel. At that
tune La Grande had a population
of 600 and became the first coun
ty seat. Later the court house
went to Union, but after the turn
of the century. La Grande again
returned to Its former standing
as center of the county govern
ment. Then in 1884 the railroad come,
and during the last 60 years,
progress has been steady and
but. Speed? transportation open
ed the last door to the develop
ment one sees today.
in 1885, the year after the Un
ion Pacific pierced the valley with
its life-giving rails, the first ac
curate census was taken. The
counting of heads produced the
following results: La Grande 1213,
Wallowa 1031, Summervllle 920,
Indian Valley 846, Union 845,
Joseph 807, Cove 689, Island City
633, North Powder and Antelope
624, Alder 437, Pine Valley 362,
Prairie Creek 320, (Eagle Crook
and Rock Creek and Stump Town
273, Big Creep 220, Bedrock 87,
38. Today many of these early
towns do not exist .others have
less population than In 1885, and
still others have thrived La
Grande's last official census Bhow
ed 8050 within the city limits,
and at least 1400 more residing
Immediately adjacent, giving the
town an approximate population
of 0500.
MARCILLE TRACES HER
ANCESTRY TO PIONEERS
Miss Marollle Conloy, 10-year-old
daughter of Mr; bnd Mrs.
Royal Conley, of Mountain
Springs, six miles west of La
Grande on the Old Oregon Trail,
has been chosen to ride on one
of the pioneer floats In the par
ade of Thursday morning. And
the reason was not that Marcllle
probably has more relatives in
the valley than any other 10-year-old
hereabouts, but because
sne has as many if not more
antecedents among the real pio
neers of the Grande Ronde val
ley. In the first place, Marcllle Is
the elder daughter of Royal Con
ley and Carol Glenn. Royal Con
ley Is the son of Archie Conley
and Nettie Golden. Archie Con
ley was the son of Jabe J. Con
ley and Alma Brown and Jabe
Conley was the son of the val
ley'i early Wheat king, A,' B. Con
ley. Alma Brown Conley was the
daughter of Ben Brown, one of
the first 10 men to break the
sod In this valley. Nettle Golden
Conley was the daughter of
Charles E. Golden, not a pioneer
hereabout, bu of the Willam
ette valley, and Mattie Chllders.
Mattte Chllders Golden was the
daughter of John A. Chllders and
Rachel Hudnal, who came here
from Missouri In 1864, their first
home being the place where Mr.
and Mrs. C. B, Unzicker now live
in the Grange Hall neighborhood.
Carol Glenn Conley is the
daughter of A. C. (Budd) Glenn
and Daisy Courtright. Bud Glenn
was the son of Tolbert T. Glenn
and Sarah MVers. Tolbert T.
Glenn and bis father, William S.
Glenn, pioneered here in the ear
ly '60's, coming from Pleasant-
vllle, Iowa. The Glenn family
has always been prominent in the
north end of the valley. Sarah
Myers was the daughter of Henry
Myers, who also came from the
middlewest In the eary '60's,
Daisy Picklln Glenn was the
daughter of Ellen Kuhn Pickltn,
whose sister, Mary Ann Is said
to have been the first white child
born in Union county. They were
daughters of Ellas Kuhn and it
is quite interesting also to know
that Ellas Kuhn, Marcille's
great-great-grandfather and an
other great - great - grandfather,
William 8. Gienn, came In the
same wagon train from Southeast
ern Iowa and stopped here In 1862,
So, Marcllle can trace her an
cestry back to such pioneor
namea aa these: A. B. Conley, Ben
Brown, John A. Chllders, Tolbert
T. Glenn, William S, Glenn, Hen
ry Myers, and Ellas Kuhn, names
familiar to all students of our
valley's earliest pioneer history,
BR0WN-C0NLEY WEDDING IN
EARLY 80's IMPORTANT ONE
When Miss Alma Brown and
Jabe Conley were married in the
early 80s two of the most promi
nent pioneer families of the
Grande Rondo valley were united,
for she was the daughter of Ben
Brown, who was one of the first
ten men to break sod In Union
county and whose name had been
linked up with much of the pio
neer history of this section, and
Mr. Conley was the son of A. B.
Conley whose name immediately
commands attention, for he, too,
was among the early settlers, one
of the large landholders and
known as the "wheat king."
They lived out in the neighbor
hood where Clarence Carter now
lives. At the time when the train
of which they had heard so much
was to arrive in La Grande, neith
er of them had ever seen a train,
for while Mr. Conley had known
of travel only by covered wagon,
Mrs. Conley was born In Union
county and had never been away
from home. Each day the thrill
of anticipation increased and on
tho morning of July 4, 1884, chores
had to be done early so that the
father and mother and young
Archie could board their "dead-
X" wagon and drive to La Grande.
Mr. Conley was freighting over
tho Blue mountains In those days
and by using the lead team of
his six horses which ordinarily
drew the great freight wagons,
because "they were faster, tho
Journey could be made in about
two and a half hours. And they
must needs be early.
There was to be a program up
on the hill, but not for them.
They had heard and seen, speak
ers on Fourth of July programs
beforo, but they had never heard
nor seen a real train. And they
were early, and when that train
bnmo around the bend and
emcrgtd from the Grande Rondo
canyon at Oro Dell, they experi
enced thrills which they had nev
er known before, and, Mrs. Con
ley adds, she has never experi
enced since. It met all of their
expectations. Mrs. Conley does
not remember what all happened,
all she remembers is the great
excitement and enthusiasm; these,
being the impressions which re
main of the hiBtory-maklng day.
Mrs. Conley Is said to be the
oldest living white child born In
the Grande Ronde valley.
said that Marcllle Is the proper
one to represent the pioneers.
She also boasts of having a great-
great- greaG aunt living In thp
valley also, Mrs. S. G. Bradshaw
and It certainly cannot be gain- whose home is on Cove avenue.
HI KM RIDING INCHEWKS
There are now about 25 bicycle
riders In La Grande, and a meet
ing should be held for the pur
pose of organizing; a club. HLa
Grande Chronicle, May 17, 1893.
Pioneer Blood
I i
5-1
Lam
Miss Marcllle Conley, descen
dant of six or the outstand
ing early pioneer of I'nlon
county, who will ride In a
place of honor on one of the
pioneer floats In the parade
Thursday moraine, July ID,
during the 9eml-entenlal -1-.
p. celebration here.
THEN, LATER AND
NOW THEY R0DE 0N
GOOD YEARS
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Our service here at Fatland-Sims, commences by helping
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Complete Road Service
Adams & Greenwood La Grande
Phone Main 19t