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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2015)
The Good Ol ’ Days By Tobie Finzel Mineral Resources in the Upper Nehalem Although timber proved the be the most lucrative and enduring of the natural resources in this area, there were early mining activities that occurred in the late 1800s. In our research for a library talk on the Weed family, we learned that Judson Weed filed the first gold mining claim in the area. We found the following information on the district on a website titled OregonGold.net: On May 25th, 1885, Judson Weed filed the first claim for a placer mine on Rock Creek called the “Gertrude” in eastern Clatsop County. Subsequent claims were located not only along Rock Creek in Clatsop County, but even extended all the way to its mouth at the Nehalem River, near the town of Vernonia in Columbia County. Weed Creek, a small tributary of the North Fork of Rock Creek, is named for Judson Weed and was probably the location of his claim. By July of 1889, so much gold mining was going on this area that the Rock Creek Mining District was formed. Bill H. Braden was elected not only the Secretary but also the President of the district. Some of the claims filed in the district during the early years included the “Protector”, “Defender”, “Elkhorn”, “Bonanza”, “Mountain”, “Last Chance” and the “Rolling”. By 1894, the whole thing suddenly petered out. Nothing more was heard about the area and in fact, the reality that gold was ever discovered in that area was removed entirely to the old history books. Incidentally, most of Rock Creek is now located on private timber lands, while the majority is under management of the State of Oregon as the Tillamook State Forest and is therefore, not open to filing claims. In an article in the 1891 Nehalem Journal, the writer describes a 7,000 acre area east of Pebble Creek that encompassed six coal seams that lay under the big timber growing there. There had already been some coal mining before then, but with the overly optimistic speculation about a railroad coming to the area soon, the newspaper touted the coal and timber riches that could be extracted and sent by rail to nearby Portland. Although the coal was said to be of the finest quality by the newspaper, it apparently wasn’t of sufficient quality or quantity to warrant extraction on a larger scale. Coal Creek, named for the local resource, flows into Pebble Creek near where McDonald Road joins Pebble Creek Road, and the Coal Creek Mainline logging road crosses the area. Vernonia to Pittsburg Road Although there had been a dirt road between Pittsburg and Vernonia since the 1870s, in 1910 a county road was built to improve it. In early June work commenced on the project. It required the felling of a number of large trees, pulling and blasting out the stumps, hauling gravel, and finally grading the surface with horse-drawn equipment. We’ve included some of the Powell diary entries below that record his part in the work. This new section of road went from the intersection of Stoney Point Road past farms owned Albert and Lizzie Parker and other residents. Automobiles were still relatively few and far between. During the construction, an automobile sank into the still-loose gravel and had to be pulled out by horses, an all too frequent occurrence in the days before hard-surfaced roads. In our column last month, we speculated on the surface of the “new highway” mentioned in Virgil Powell’s diary from 1915. We just discovered a large sheaf of correspondence and invoices from the Columbia County Roadmaster that sheds new light on the 1915 highway construction project. With a gravel base purchased and hauled from the Peter Bergerson quarry in Buxton, a Buffalo Pitts brand steamroller was used to compact the surface of the new road. Because steamrollers were often used for tarred gravel (macadam) and asphalt paving, it may have been the first paved road in the Upper Nehalem, but it’s more likely that is was just packed gravel. If any reader has further information on the dates when local roads were finally paved, please let us know. From Virgil Powell’s Diary Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was a long-time resident whose family had a farm in the Upper Nehalem Valley between Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906 until 1955, he kept a regular in other words july16 7 2015 diary of his activities. In the summer of 1910, he was a worker on the county road project that improved the Pittsburg to Vernonia link. Wednesday, June 29, 1910: Took the team down and worked them on the scraper all day. Got a lot of road graded. An automobile went down in the morning. Cool all day and rained quite a big shower in the evening. Thursday, June 30, 1910: Worked on the road till about 3:30 and got to raining so hard we had to stop. Hitched up at 5:45 and drove down to N.D. Petersons and got Grace. Went on up to Vernonia after we got here for a buggy ride. Got back home at 10. Tuesday, July 19, 1910: Graded road till about 11 a.m. and finished. . Then went down to Pringles and worked on the dam the balance of the day. Awful hot all day. Saturday, July 23, 1910: Hauled gravel all day and done quite a bit. Went up to Vernonia after supper. Ed. S. and I drove over on Crooked Creek to a party but only stayed a few minutes. Left Vernonia at 7:45 and got back home at 12:15. Pretty cool most all day. Wednesday, July 27, 1910: Hauled gravel all day on the big piece below here. Put on about 8 rods. Not very warm any of the day. Went and took some of the horses up to pasture in the evening. Thursday, July 28, 1910: Hauled gravel all day. Cool in the morning but pretty warm in the afternoon. A big band of horse traders went up in the afternoon. Went up to Pittsburg and spent the evening with the boys that are working on the bridge. Tuesday, August 2, 1910: Hauled gravel again all day. Had to haul with just one team till noon as there was an automobile got stuck in the gravel and had to be pulled out. Very warm in the afternoon. The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located at 511 E. Bridge Street and is open from 1 to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (excluding holidays) all year. From June through mid-September, the museum is also open on Fridays from 1 – 4 pm. There is no charge for admission but donations are always welcome. Become a member of the museum for an annual $5 fee to receive the periodic newsletter. We now have a page on the Vernonia Hands on Art website, www.vernoniahandsonart.org If you are a Facebook user, check out the Vernonia Pioneer Museum page. The museum volunteers are always pleased to enlist additional volunteers to help hold the museum open and assist in other ways. Please stop by and let one of the volunteers know of your interest in helping out. Friends of the Vernonia Public Library Family: Minimum: Membership Dues: Individual: $5.00 $10.00 $1.00 plus 2 hours minimum of work in the library Make checks payable to: Friends of the Vernonia Public Library Mailing Address: 701 Weed Avenue, Vernonia, OR 97064 Name Address City Phone Date State Zip Amount Enclosed $ I am interested in helping with the following committees (optional): Please Circle •Membership •Endowments •Book Sales •Publicity & Public Relations •Fund Raising •Library Services •Finance-Budget-Legal Matters For fast cash! Use your life insurance while you’re alive 010412 Insurance sending you in the wrong direction? Let us send you in the right direction. Many people don’t realize that they may be able to use life insurance to help pay off a mortgage, pay for an education, or be part of a sound retirement plan. Let’s get together to find a policy that fits your needs. 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