THE WEST SHORE.
February, 1881
54
i -I'M .;rl.H 0,
IIKNTON COU.N'TV, OR.
This county it mimed
alter Mi'Miiili'k disliu
guUiol statesman, Hon,
Thomas II. Itcntou, Or
egon's warm friend,
wli i, when tliin county
w it oig.mi.cd in I S 1 7 ,
ll' III Ills M'lll llh (111! Oltl
l'K( I'lllllillllltllH M'lllllOI'
III I 111' gOUTIIIIICIll llf
1 In- United Si.iio, Since
i I iir,Miiiziilinn, ( li c
( iiniii of (J '!, Curry,
I u 11 g 1 11 , Josephine,
J uUmii mill l,anc,lie
li.vn curved out of il.
It in, however, iitill j
pretty good size, lieing
.)S milct long frntn cant
to west, liy thirty from north to south,
nuking it upwards of 1,400 miles in
urea.
It U tho first of the westside counties
1 you go up tho Williimctte river,
whose wcHtcrn boundary it washed by have about 10,000 acres of land in this
the Pacific ocean. The count range of j county for mile on the most liberal
mountain run across from north to term, with long credits mid at low
south through the middle of the county price. There in also plenty of govern
but it to low In the centre, opposite J mcnt bind open to pre-emption nnd
Corvnllis, at todccrve but the name of, homestead, that will soon be found
HKNTON COU.N'TV COURT IIOUSK, O.rvai.i.is, Or. Photo by Dr. Ilenlop,
The priccoflnnds will hold the usual
average of thin vulley, nnd can be ob
tained of nil kind and nt nil prices to
suit the wants nnd purses of purchasers.
The Oregon and California Railroad
hills. This leaves a gap In the const
range forming natural and easy pnss
accessible and valuable, especially along
the const and bays. Ynquina bay is an
to the wean, and through this pnss, ! estuary of the Pacific ocenn, that enters
we are reliably informed, Hint the cam! into the west const of this county, nt n
of the Oregon Pacific Railway will be xit alxut seven miles north of the Til
run in time to move the crop of 18S1. lamook line. The Ibiy is about one mile
The county it admirably watered by : wide be! ween the heads at the ocean, and
the Yaquina, Alca and Mnry's rivers, 'widens lo nenrly double the distance at
the latter.emplying into the Willamette ,U extends inland about three miles; it
. f it Mta ... '
ai otvaiu. j he Wiiliim-ltc
fount thee.iKiern boundary line
ot the county dividing it fioni
I. inn. The suif.iceof the bind
it Mimi'whiit uneven and in
mine parts broken by hills nnd
ravine.. The hills, howcxer,
when iiiuv cultivated are
piiHl.itiiveiisibel.iwI.iiid ,iind
f.iimiiiv pnipo puf.rilile.
V IliMl is .,t.
and it gi..w ahimdniiily ceiy
wheiv, rtvtl on the coast,
wherv egi-l.iliuii i, r,,
lb it tho train i.i i,,, (i,m.
(ill properly. Itul out and the
graM m product,! in j.,-nt
abundance, funii.bing unexam
pled croj, Fruit of all kind
adapted to this rlimnlc grows
in profusion and of kupvrior
quality.
M. mJMA M
then turns south about
three miles more, then
cast three miles, nnd
then norlhent about the
snine distance. Here it
n.in w s (low n and re
ceives I he v:ilcrs of llie
Vantpiinn river, but tin.'
lidc-waler extends a dis- .
tiincc of twenty live
miles fimn the month of
the bay.
From all we can learn
about this bay or harbor,
we are pirp ircd lo say
that it has yreat possi
bilities before it. A
comparatively small ex
pense would permanent
ly improve it, so as to
make it fit to admit any
of the vessels now entering Pacific
const harbors. The so-called bar, is at
dead low wntcr twelve feet in the shal
lowest soundings. The bottom of it
is composed of solid sandstone rock,
which obstruction once removed, would
give a permanent deep entrance, as the
waters of the Yaquina river emptying
into the bay are clear nnd almost en
tirely free from sand.
Newport, at the head of the bay, is
one of the favorite summer resorts of
the northwest, and has every advantage
to retain its reputation in that respect.
The bay itself is a beautiful sheet of
wntcr nnd offers splendid opportunities
for boating. The fishing is excellent;
the woods adjoining abound in deer,
grouse, phensants and quail, while the
I scenery in and about the bay is all that
any one could ask for.
Corv dlis, the comity sent ( f
Henton, was first settled in
lS6, nnd laid out as a town
two years later by Joseph C.
Avery, Esq., who named it
Marysville. This name, how
ever, wns changed to Corval
lis in 1S53; it is uf Latin ori
gin, made up from two words,
nnd menus "The Heart of the
Vnlley.
During the winter of '53 '54,
nt the first convening of the
Oregon legislature, nfter Wash
inton Territory wns organ
f.ed,Corv8llii. became the cap
ital. This glory, however, was
' y!( 'rt lived, as tha legislature
l!.iml. n I I I .1!
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k sn.i.Nci: llt m. s. fcoou-ucv.. t. cOkvauLIs, t wtt in sUm