6 Winter 2012 Applegater
BACK IN TIME
Story of an old tintype
BY EVELYN BYRNE WILLIAmS WITH JANEEN SATHRE
It doesn’t take much to get
sidetracked with my collection of old
photos and the lack of more information
about them. There is one old tintype of
the Eagle Hotel built in Eagle Point by
Arthur Poole (or Pool) in the mid 1870s.
A dear friend, Vieva Saltmarsh, who
lived up Little Applegate years ago, had
a tintype and other old photos for me to
make copies of. I asked Vieva why it was
among her family photos and she said her
husband, Glen, was related to the Pooles.
At that time I didn’t continue with
the research, but much later I found
more information in Gaynell Krambeal’s
1979 book about Eagle Point . He stated
the hotel was built by Arthur Poole, who
was born on January, 8, 1834, in Bedford
County, Pennsylvania. Arthur was a
blacksmith by trade, but soon after his
arrival in southern Oregon he opened
the Eagle Hotel, which became a regular
stop on the railroad between Portland
and San Francisco.
A book by Barbara Hegne,
Unforgettable Pioneers, tells about Arthur
and a neighbor. “At an earlier time
in 1875, Arthur Poole and William
Sutherland engaged in what the
newspaper termed ‘an amazing bloodless
encounter.’ These two families resided
on Butte Creek and their children had
the usual, your kids are beating up my
kids, syndrome. The two fathers became
involved in a typical over-the-fence
argument, carried over from the children.
The two fathers began shouting at each
other and when that didn’t work they
started pitching stones back and forth.
Arthur Poole had the best advantage
being on the outside of Sutherland’s
yard. He used stones Sutherland had
earlier thrown out of his yard to keep it
clean. After several minutes of dodging
rocks Sutherland saw he was definitely
at a disadvantage. He rushed to his
house, grabbed his pistol and began
shooting wildly at Poole. Arthur’s blood
ran cold when he saw how serious this
was getting. He quickly hightailed it to
notify the law. Sutherland was arrested
and exanimated before Justice Tinkham.
He was bound over in the sum of $200,
which he furnished.”
Getting back to the Eagle Hotel
tintype photo, it may be the only one
now in existence showing the unfinished
building. There are children standing
in the upper story opening and some
boys sitting on the top of a lumber
stack. Also, I find
the slightly visible
horse by the fence
interesting. I think
there must have been
a double exposure of
the tintype.
I find it so
engaging how one
photograph can lead
to another photograph or story about our
local history. And so I can bring us back
to the Applegate, Little Applegate to be
exact, with the Saltmarshes.
Arthur Poole had a daughter named
Ella. It appears that she married a
Cameron (well-known family in the
Applegate); the research on why she has
a second marriage (on November 24,
1881) to Joseph B. Saltmarsh will have
to be saved for another day. Now Joseph
already had several children by his first
wife, who died in 1878 and is buried in
the Sterling Cemetery. One of these,
a son named Arthur Bird Saltmarsh,
marries Ella’s (the stepmother) sister,
Dora May Poole on April 10, 1886.
They had four children: Lee, Dean,
Ossie, and Glen. Arthur B. takes up a
homestead on the Little Applegate River
near the mouth of Yale Creek. Glen later
farms this land where he and his wife
Vieva live for many years. (Information
on who married who is from John and
Marguerite Black’s book, Ruch and the
Upper Applegate Valley.)
The photo of the Saltmarsh log house
is one of my favorites. The workmanship
with those logs is unbelievable. It is so
sad that it was lost to fire in 1929. Of
interest is Jason Hartman, who built the
house in 1891 or 1892 and the barn in
1895, this being the same Jason Hartman
who built the McKee Bridge in 1917.
By the way, McKee Bridge is now
in desperate need of funding to cover
necessary repairs or we may lose this
important part of our local history, too.
Evelyn Byrne Williams
with Janeen Sathre • 541-899-1443
Photo above: Eagle Hotel. Photos below, left to right: Eagle Hotel, barn, Saltmarsh log house
Moving forward on the Middle Applegate Pilot
BY JOHN GERRITSmA
Implementation is ongoing at Pilot
Joe, the first project of the Middle
Applegate Watershed Pilot, while
evaluation of restoration needs has begun
for the next Pilot project, Pilot Thompson.
Thus, there is a seamless expansion into
the next phase of the demonstration
of Norm Johnson’s and Jerry Franklin’s
restoration principles upon which the Pilot
was created. A multiparty monitoring
group is tracking the implementation
effort for consistency with the principles
and guidelines for the project, while a
collaborative planning effort will help to
frame the next project.
During the field preparation phase
of Pilot Joe, a lot of effort was spent on
locating and delineating the skips and
gaps that are central to the restoration
formula. The logging contractor and
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
sale administrator have been working
together to take the logging design into
the operation phase and have had to
overcome some obstacles in how the
logging operation was first envisioned.
This process is typical and very much akin
to contractors working with their clients
to make ongoing adjustments during
construction. A field trip is being planned
in late winter or early spring for interested
community members to see the results and
operations.
The collaborative transportation
team is evaluating the road system for
Pilot Thompson. BLM’s silviculturist and
wildlife biologists will have completed
their evaluation of restoration needs
for this next phase and the strategic
placement of late successional emphasis
areas by the end of January. It is expected
that shortly thereafter the collaborative
team will present this information to
the community. At that point, with
feedback from the community and input
from the transportation team, BLM’s
interdisciplinary team will begin the
process of formulating a project proposal
(likely March-April, 2012). In addition,
there are community members on this
team to help provide a social perspective
on formulating project proposals and
alternatives. There will be a public
field trip during the spring (date to be
determined) to the proposed restoration
sites. Any projects that arise from this
current round of planning will not be
implemented until the 2013 fiscal year
(beginning October 1, 2012).
As with any new approach or process,
there are usually more questions than
answers. Not enough time has elapsed to
address the many ecological questions that
were raised. Nor can much be said about
the efficacy of this approach in managing
the Oregon and California forests for
sustained yield and revenues. Several
suggestions have been made, including
providing more pertinent and up-to-date
information on the website about the
Pilot projects, and better integration/
communication with the Applegate
Fire Plan effort. Incorporating these
suggestions is just part of the adaptive
process of the Pilot.
The Pilot is very much aligned with
the western states governors’ efforts to
see that fire resiliency and restoration
treatments occur more rapidly and over
an effective-sized landscape (generally
in the realm of 10 to 20 thousand
acres). Oregon’s governor is also very
supportive of high levels of collaboration.
County officials and the governor are very
concerned about generating revenues for
county governments and functions. Thus,
the Pilot has the ability to address these
social concerns.
Indeed, we can claim credit for a
more robust and transparent process
that resulted in widespread community
participation, understanding and support
for this project. In the current climate
of administrative protests, appeals and
litigation over timber management on
public lands, we have made apparent
progress in the social arena. Perhaps we
are building a new way to manage public
lands, together. Only time will tell.
For more information on the Middle
Applegate Watershed Pilot, please go
to www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/
forestrypilot/. You will access a plethora
of information, including upcoming
public events.
John Gerritsma
Ashland Resource Area
Field Manager
Medford District
Bureau of Land Management
541-618-2438
john_gerritsma@blm.gov