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THE CAPITAL JOURNAL, Salem, Oregon
Tuesday, Anjfust 11, 1953
Historical Guesses Made
About Eola and Popcorn
By BEN MAXWELL
Dr. Thomas Condon, early
Oregon geologist, viewing
creation out of. the surge of the
Inconceivable, believed that in
tertltary times, 30 or 40 mil
lion years ago, the Eola bills
war islands in the Willamette
trough that extended north
ward and Included Puget
Sound. Then the mammoth and
broad-faced ox prevailed and
waters of this inland sea then
measured nearly 160 feet deep
above what is now the site of
Salem.
Lewis A. McArthur, emi
nent Oregon geographer,
points out that the Eola hills
extend from Eola on the south
to a point near Amity IS miles
to the northward and that
their greatest elevation Is 1170
feet. The northern extension
of the range is known as Am
ity hills.
Eola hills derived their
name from a hamlet founded
on the donation land claim at
William Duran in the late
1840s. Then the place was
called Cincinnati and was ac
cessible to small steamboats
that could crowd their way a
few hundred yards up the
burshy Rlckreall creek from
the confluence of that stream
with the Willamette.
1834. Marysville had Us name
changed to Corvallis (heart of
the valley, If you please) by
the legislature of 18S3. So,
the road from Doak's ferry to
Corvallis received that des'
cription after 185J.
But the matter of nomen
clature becomes Involved. A
msp of the locality made by a
government surveyor in 1851,
now a possession in transcript
of the Union Title Insurance
company shows a highland road
well above Eola, where the
chickens got mired in 1893,
crossing the Rlckreall where
the ground remained reason'
ably solid in winter.
. Early In the 1850s Cincuv
nati became Eola. Decades
aco someone suggested that
this unique name was lnnspir
ed by Lindsay Bobbins, a lo
cal music teacher who was
fond of the Eolian harp. Oth
ers more grounded in classi
cal mythology liked to believe
that the place was named for
Eolus, a god of wind, since
wind along the river seems to
be a natural condition in this
locality.
A later, cynical generation
accepts Eolus as the namesake
for Eola but for a different
reason. Joshua (Sheep) Shaw
and his son, A. R. C. Shaw,
promoted Eola though the
towniite was some little dis
tance from their own claim.
They advertised In the Oregon
City Spectator for June 13,
1849, that the site commanded
a fine view of the La Creole
valley, was well supplied with
excellent water from several
large springs, had timber and
rock of excellent quality and
was sustained by a back coun
try as rich and flourishing as
any in the Willamette valley.
Oldtlmers read that, heard
more and laughed In their
whiskers. They knew, as a
later generation cam to
know, water in the locality Is
where you find It, that today
there may be mor timber
than there was then and that
the tough, igneous rocks are
just as abundant as ever. This
later generation came to sus
pect that the oldsters called
the place Eola because the
arly promoters were pretty
windy about the natural ad
vantages of the locality. And
Eolus, you know, was the pa
fan god of the wind.
Anyway, the town (and It
became Incorporated In 1853
though the legislature was told
it consisted of but two houses
and a bam a perfidy) did
not flourish long. Capital
Journal for January 7, 1893,
said the road at Eola was so
bad that chickens became
mired In the mud. At the turn
of the century the hamlet con
sisted of a store and a brandy
distillery patronized by some
and deplored by others.
Ascending steeply from Hoi
man state park is a gravel
road that leads past Leo
SpiUbart's farm, "April Hill"
and deteriorates markedly In
payability as U continues
sharply upwards to form i
Junction with what was form
erly known as Cehlar road,
now Eola Drive. That road
is described in old documents
as the military road leading
from Doak i ferry to Corvallis.
Military road as it applies
to the Doak s ferry route is a
misnomer in all respects save
one. In early days congreM
granted the states and terri
tories funds for construction of
roads ostensibly for military
usage fighting Indians, for
Instance. That a corporal's
guard ever trudged over this
steep, and In winter almost
Impassable, route appears un
likely.
That this road may have
been a vague link In the road
authorized by the legislature
of 1846 to extend from Port
land to Marysville may be
true. Doak's ferry, establish
ed by Andrew J. Doak, was at
the Valfontls crossing that be
came Lincoln when the post-c-fflc
changed its name In
One leg of the Doak's ferry
road merges with the more fa
miliar highway that crosses
Eola hills by way of Popcorn
school.
Popcorn school, says McArth
ur, got its name in early days
when rebellious pupils locked
their teacher in the school
house. He had both popcorn
and plenty of time so he pro
ceeded to pop. The youngsters,
hopeful of sharing the popcorn,
opened the door and let the
teacher out
A more convincing account
is related in the Clara Pearce
Smith memoir, a possession of
C. A. Martin, 710 Thompson
street Mrs. Smith was one of
11 children in the Thomas
Pearce family that arrived in
the Eola locality In 1853.
The Pearce memoir mentions
that Popcorn school district No.
36 was organized in 1867. Even
before that date it Is probable
that an earlier school stood on
what is now the James Best
place since Mrs. Smith and
James Best have both observed
the relics of this pioneer con
struction. In 1867 volunteer la
bor built Popcorn school for
district No. 36 and the struc
ture stood until the present
school was built in 1912.
First teacher at Popcorn
school in the Smith memoir was
Napoleon Franklin Nelson, fa
miliar In the neighborhood as
Policy." Polley was a man of
small stature in a rural school i
EOLA HILLS, RICH IN GEOLOGY, RICH IN HISTORY
- - Z -is.Y:- -.!!- ' 'm
' sky .V ffe 4I
a! ' . '- r .' ... "' i .ninii
" t . f P j
II l u MM II 111 HI I 111 IW jl - -M '-' "J'-" ilf-S r I.L.W....
Left: So-called military road from Doak's ferry to Cor
vallis becomes impassible in winter as it wanders steeply
from Holman state park upwards to intersect with Eola
drive; segment of a pioneer Polk county road shown on a
government survey for 1851. Top right: Summit Methodist
church, erected by Rev. JL C. Blackwell, was dedicated
September 27, 1903. Fifty years ago the membership
was 28, now 34: Lower right: Sign at the intersection of
Eola drive with the old "military" road from Doaks ferry
to Corvallis. History does not reveal that this pioneer
road built by federal aid ever had any military significance.
that contained many pupils
larger if not older than he.
At the end of the first term
the pupils demanded that Pol
ley treat the school.
Polley refused and was
promptly seized by his insist
ent pupils who proceeded to
hustle him along to a nearby
brook. There they dunked' Pol
ley and dunked him again until
he did promise to treat
On his return to the school
house, Polley brought a flour
sack filled with popcorn. Thas
was his treat to pupils whom
he may have considered as
knuckle - headed extortionists.
Hence the name, Popcorn
school.
Later teachers at Popcorn
school were Miss Sally Cavitt,
Viola Ruble, Mrs. Thomas
Gardner, Ellen Sykes, Thomas
Starbuck, Miss Sears and Dan
Finley.
Summit church near Pop
corn school has an authentic
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history dating back mor than
30 years.
Rev. Sweeny, an Irish Meth
odist preacher, conducted re
vival meetings at Popcorn
school in 1890 He also pro
moted the organization of
Summit church.
A diary kept by Mrs. Guy
McDowell reveals that Sum
mit Methodist church was
built by Rev. R. C. Blackwell,
an itinerant minister who
lived in South Salem, in 1903
He did much of the carpenter
work, the community contri
buted labor and funds. The
church was dedicated Septem
ber 27, 1903 and Rev. John
Coleman, D.D., presideqt of
Willamette university was
speaker for tnat occasion, nev
D. H. Leach was first pastor
though Rev. Sweeney preach'
there and at Oak Grove on occasion.
HuS icn9-
' Mrs. McDowell recalls that
membership on the occasion of
dedication was 28.
Rev. F. H. Femberton, 2055
Virginia street, Salem, is now
entering the third year of his
pastorate at Summit church.
Lately the edifice has been re
finished on the inside and i
pipj organ installed. Soon the
exterior will be repainted and
the church steeple reconstruct
ed. Present membership in
the church is 54.
Dr. Condon would have ap
predated a visitation to the
fossil bed in the Eola hiUs in
dicated on the government
map for 1851. Those who set
tled there 100 years ago knew
little about the geology of prim
itive gastropods discovered in
these fossil beds. Rather, they
busied themselves , in agricul
tural pursuits to accomplish
the promise made in the Spec
tator: "A back country for
Eola as rich and flourishing as
any In the Willamette valley."
PARTING GIFT
Newport, N.H. (U.RX Mrs.
H. H. Tennyson reports a hen
that lived to be 15 years old
and laid an egg the day she
died.
Offer Eyes to
Save Child
Tacoma U.R) A man and
wife offered an eye apiece for
sale today in a hopeless ef
fort to preclude what is con
sidered inevitable death to
their four-year-old son Randy.
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Booth
said they want to know If
there is such a thing as an
"eye bank," someplace wher
they can sell their eyes.
"We need money to buy
more medicine for Randy,"
Booth said.
Randy has acute lymphatic
leukemia. There is no cure.
Death, although Randy has
outlived doctors' predictions,
is believed sure to come.
Randy's courage was typi
fied when he told a nurse:
"If God can't make me well,
I'm going to heaven where he
can take care of me."
Randy's hopeless plight
isn't the only tragedy to strike
the Booth household. . Trag
edy is all too familiar to them.
A daughter two and a half
years old drowned before
Radny was born and a 10-year-old
daughter is recover
ing from a severe case of scar
let fever.
Booth said he has tried
every way he can think of to
raise more money, but he said
it looks like the end, unless . . .
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