In Other Words
2021
The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Rocks, Minerals and Fossils of the Upper Nehalem
Although timber proved to be the most lucra-
tive and enduring of the natural resources in this area,
there were early mining activities that occurred in the
late 1800s. Judson Weed, who came to Vernonia in the
first wave of homesteaders in the mid-1870s, filed the
first gold mining claim in the area. In our July 2015
article, we quoted the following information from a
website titled OregonGold.net:
On May 25th, 1885, Judson Weed filed the first claim
for a placer mine on Rock Creek called the “Ger-
trude” 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 Co-
lumbia 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
in this area that the Rock Creek Mining District was
formed. Bill H. Braden was elected not only the Sec-
retary 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. Noth-
ing more was heard about the area and in fact, the
reality that gold was ever discovered in that area was
removed entirely from the old history books. Inciden-
tally, most of Rock Creek is now located on private
timber lands, while the majority is under manage-
ment of the State of Oregon as the Tillamook State
Forest and is therefore, not open to filing claims.
October 21
find information on when the plant closed, so if any
of our readers know, please contact the Vernonia Pio-
neer Museum at (503) 429-3713 and leave a message.
We’d like to update our scanty records on this plant.
There was a similar plant near the Sunset Tunnel, orig-
inally owned by Northwest Aggregate Company and
later purchased by Empire Building Materials.
The shale quarried at Haydite and Empire
Lite-Rock was comprised of Keasey Shale, part of
the Keasey Formation that lies beneath much of the
Upper Nehalem Valley. The Keasey Formation is a
well-known 700-meter deep fossil bed exposed in
many cliffs and road cuts in the Nehalem Basin. It is
especially noticeable at Pittsburg Bluff and in places
on Keasey Road. Fossils found here date back 33-
37 million years ago when this land was ocean floor,
later uplifted by tectonic movement. See Scott Laird’s
November 19, 2020, article on the whale vertebrae
found on the Keasey homestead many years ago and
more recently identified as an extinct whale species,
basilosaurid archaeocete. The museum has a fossil-
ized whale vertebra of unknown source in its fossil
collection along with many other fossils of ancient sea
creatures found here.
Just recently my husband accompanied one
of the geologists who studied the Keasey homestead,
PSU Department of Geology’s Dave Taylor, in his
search for microfossils, microscopic animals or “fora-
minifera” that are found in the bedrock on our stretch
of Rock Creek. He is researching whether these can
determine when the ancient Columbia River flowed
into a bay of the former ocean here and deposited the
silicate-rich sand. He was successful in collecting
samples, and we look forward to additional field visits.
The fossils tell the ancient history of our val-
ley, and the local minerals once produced some income
for the area, but timber remains our most valuable and
renewable natural resource.
13
Placke and got the wagon. Started up
about 9 and got back about 4. Very fine
and bright all day.
Friday, Oct. 20. Hauled manure all day.
Awful cold in the morning but bright
and fine all day. Received a letter from
the Fish Commissioner about the Pittsburg
dam. (Note: this was the former dam on the East
Fork of the Nehalem that provided water power for
the Detrick lumber and grist mills and other 1880s
enterprises.)
Tuesday, Oct. 24. Mart came up in the
forenoon and we made a little cider. Dug
potatoes in the afternoon and got about
6 rows dug. Rained quite a little in the
morning but fair in the afternoon.
Wednesday, Oct. 25. Dug potatoes most all
day and finished about 4 P.M. Rita came
up to the Armstrong place and we were
talking for a while. Rained quite a bit
in the morning but fine and dandy all
afternoon.
Thursday, Oct. 26. Hauled the potatoes
the first thing in the morning. Then went
over to the Elliott place and got some
boxes. Hauled the rails away from the
potato patch in the afternoon. Very bright
and fine all day.
Friday, Oct. 27. Hitched up about 10 A.M.
and drove up to the Steel Bridge this side
of Kist. Saw Inez at school house. Got up
to bridge about 1.30 and back home
about 5 P.M. Very cold in the morning but
bright and fine all day.
Saturday, Oct. 28. Did not do much
but fool around all day. Hitched up
and started for the big masquerade at
Vernonia at 5. Got up there about 7.30.
Had a dandy time with I.O.S. Dance
broke up at 5 and I got home at 7.
Gold can still be found in Rock Creek and the
Nehalem, and a recent panning expedition during the
From Virgil Powell’s Diary
late summer low water in the Nehalem produced some
Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was a long-time resident
color from the flour gold in the fine river sand. With-
whose family had a farm in the Upper Nehalem Valley Sunday, Oct. 29. Got home from the
out the now-illegal use of a mercury-based process to
between Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906 Vernonia dance at 7 A.M. Went to bed
separate the gold, however, it is not a viable source of
until 1955, he kept a regular diary of his activities.
and slept till 10 A.M. Rita stopped here
income.
as we came down. Did not do anything
In an article in the 1891 Nehalem Journal, the Tuesday, Oct. 10, 1911. Worked around
but bum around all day. Very fine and
writer describes a 7,000 acre area east of Pebble Creek the barn just about all day. Was down
bright all day.
that encompassed six coal seams that lay under the big to Pringles for a little while in the
afternoon. Some of us fellows went out
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located at 511 E.
timber growing there. There had already been some
after salmon in the evening. Very good
Bridge Street and is open from 1 to 4 pm on Saturdays
coal mining before then, but with the overly optimistic
all day.
and Sundays (excluding holidays) all year. There is no
speculation about a railroad soon coming to the area,
charge for admission but donations are always wel-
the newspaper touted the coal and timber riches that Friday, Oct. 13. Was too wet to haul
come. Become a member of the museum for an annual
could be extracted and sent by rail to nearby Portland. gravel. Went down below in the morning
$5 fee to receive the periodic newsletter. We now have
Although the coal was said to be of the finest to try and catch some hunters from
a page on the Vernonia Hands on Art website, www.
quality by the newspaper, it apparently wasn’t of suf- Hillsboro. Was fooling around in the
vernoniahandsonart.org If you are a Facebook user,
ficient quality or quantity to warrant extraction on a afternoon. Rained terrible hard all day.
check out the Vernonia Pioneer Museum page. The mu-
larger scale. Coal Creek, named for the local resource, Monday, Oct. 16. Went down and helped
seum volunteers are always pleased to enlist additional
flows into Pebble Creek near where McDonald Road the boys haul gravel all day. Very bright
volunteers to help hold the museum open and assist in
joins Pebble Creek Road, and the Coal Creek Main- fine day. Jim Ray commenced sawing
other ways. Please stop by and let one of the volunteers
line logging road crosses the area. The museum has wood for me.
know of your interest in helping out.
a DVD containing photos of the exterior of the coal Wednesday, Oct. 18. Went up to Wm.
mine which no longer stands, and the ac-
cess road is on private timberland and
gated.
FOR TOWING EMERGENCIES
In August 1957, Smithwick
IN AND AROUND THE
Concrete Products moved its shale pro-
VERNONIA AREA
cessing plant to their Haydite quarry
nine miles south of Vernonia. Haydite
was a trade name for a lightweight ag-
Specialty Pizzas
Police and County personnel are required
gregate used in concrete in place of sand
to use a rotation of available providers,
and gravel to reduce the weight of struc-
Taco Tuesday
UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY ASK
tures and to increase insulation. Ver-
from opening until 9 pm
for a service by name.
nonia city leaders and the Chamber of
3
hardshell
or 1 softshell $4.25
REQUEST TOWING SERVICE FROM
Commerce held ceremonies at the plant
followed by a dinner at the American
Legion Hall to commemorate what ev-
11:00 am - 11:00 pm every day
eryone hoped would be the first of many
industrial employers to replace jobs lost
by the impending closure of the Oregon-
American Lumber Mill. Oregon’s gov-
ernor, Portland’s mayor, and other dig-
We Buy Cars & Trucks
Check our Facebook page for daily specials
nitaries in commerce and government
756 Bridge Street, Vernonia
503-429-5841
Annoying the Upper Nehalem Valley since 1982
also attended. We have been unable to
Cedar Side Inn