Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1954)
SECTION TWO Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, April 8, 1954 Historical Review Gives Story of Early Day Life in Morrow County How some of the community names along Willow creek be came established, and some of the early day history of the area is told in the following story which has been prepared by Bert Mason who for many years was a resident of lone but who now lives in Portland. Mason's fam ily was among the early settlers of this section of Morrow county. and he has prepared several arti cles on the history of the area.) By Bert Mason John H. Jordan was born in Ohio in 1820 His first adventure was when he went in to the South West, he was at Fort Yuma, Ari zona, where he met and became a friend and admirer of Kit Carson, famous guide and Indian scout and was present when Kit Carson brought in a girl whom he had rescued from the Indians, who had massacred her family and kept her a prisoned for 7 years, and he had many interesting tales to tell of Carson's adven tures. He returned to Ohio, but had a desire for more adventure into the uninhabitated countrv and raised hav and sold rffrphmnnt! crossed the plains to Oregon in, not "Coke". 1849 and follower the Gold Rush Many interesting stories were to California, where, he spent! common among the early pio several years, then came to Salem neers, and John Jordan was the trading point was The Dalles until about 1872.. These pioneers had an eye to business and they blazed ar alternate Oregon Trail which af forded frequent camping sites with water and grass and was two days shorter than the old Oregon Trail from Pendleton to Leonards bridge, via Echo, Tub Springs, Wells Spring, Cecil and Shuttler. The short cut was from where McKay Reservoir located across the country, along the north rim of Butter Creek to Ayers place at the forks, then to South Springs and to the Jordan claim on Wil low Creek, then west near where the lone to Olex road now passes, to a point south of Shuttler Flat, then along the Rock Creek ridge and down to Woodlands claim. Possibly there isn't three men in Morrow county wh'o can tell where a spring and camp site was west of lone, that was called Jor dan Waters, and is just 10 miles west of lone, in the Eight Mile canyon. These men opened taverns, Oregon. In 1852, he operated a farm for Lute Savage, where the Oregon State Prison now stands. He was looking for mdrre adven ture and went into Eastern Ore gon and Idaho while the gold mines were being opened up. The demand for beef was great and he decided upon setting up a cattle ranch. He located a place which suited his desire to become a real pioneer, that was at the forks of Willow Creek, and in 1859 he erected a Cottonwood log house, that was two miles above where lone is now, just where the rail road and highway pass through the rock point. He returned to Salem where he secured the nuc leus of a cattle herd and returned to his claim. His earliest neigh bors were T. W. Ayers, who .had a claim at the forks of Butter Creek and John Woodward, who had a claim on Rock Creek, near Lean ords Bridge, on the John Day river. Mr. Jordan's Post Office and man whom most of them were told of. Since these men were the only settlers, they used to have to exchange work during the har vest season. Mr. Jordan would da his morning chores and then ride 20 miles to put in the day helping Mr. Ayers put up hay, then re turn to do his own chores. When it came time to help neighbor Woodward, he would ride 25 miles to do a days work in the horse and raced to The Dalles, he learned that his claim was in the La Grande district and that the man had hoarded a stage for that point. Mr. Jordan rode home, secured another horse and beat the stage to La Grande and made his filing. That was without a stop nor rest. Mr. Jordan was ever ready to welcome new settlers and to help any who needed assistance. As the country became settled with cattle raisers the matter of selling the surplus animals was a real problem. Mr. Jordan and neighbors drove steers across the Rocky Moun tains to Wyoming, or Lang, a cat tle buyer came into the country and bought large herds of beef and trailed them East. Mr. Jordan married Missouria Haney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs Jack Haney who settled at The Pines on Rhea Creek. The child ren of this union were four sons and a daughter, Orlean, who married Volney Ray of lone. Luther Jordan was born Nov. 21, 1877; he is now living in Portland and is the last to carry the name Jordan. When the stock range became overcrowded he sold his part of ranch which was below the forks of the creek, to Fred Geinger. George Geinger and Andrew Geinger, and retained that which was on Rhea Creek. He later bought Fred Geinger out, that is where G. Herman now lives. The first school house on the creek was built on Mr. Jordan's place, that was where the Rhea Creek road crosses Willow Creek Being the first man to do things for the community was John Jor field. Mr. Jordan had the help of: dan, he brought in the first Mc- both his neighbors when it came time to gather his crops. The story which showed the real test of a mans staminy was one of where Mr. Jordan had taken a weary traveler and kept him thru the winter and the man learned that Mr. Jordan was just a squatter on the land and the man left, but did hint to some Cormick mower, this had a reap ing attachment, and he went out among his neighbors to cut hay and grain, the former method was to cut with a sythe, or a cradel. The grain was bound by hand and then tramped out by leading horses around over where it was piled on the ground, then it was cleaned by tossing it into the one that he was going to The wind. A hand powered fanning mill was another first. He was the first man to build a hotel in Alkali, that is now Arl ington. This was built in 1881, Dalles to file claim on Mr. Jor dans land. A friend informed Mr. Jordan of the man's inten tion and he mounted his best It's Here! flmO INTERNATIONAL Newest, eosiest-to-drive pickup in the lowest-priced field! they operated the hold until 1891 when they moved to Mon mouth, Oregon where he built j and operated another hotel. Twoj small sons died while the family j were at Alkali; these were buried! in Penlands cemetery, where Lexington now is. j They had gone to Monmouth to! educate the children and when the eldest son died at Monmouth. i they were broken up and returned I to the ranch. Again Mr. Jordan became another first. He set out a 7 acre field of Hops, and erected a dryer;he harvested 2 crops of hops and as the price was only .07ia PT pound, lie pulled the vines. They tore down the Arlington hotel and used the materia to build a large ranch home, that has been remodeled and is now owned by Mr. Herman. John Jordan died at his pio neer home i n"l 900 and was buried besides his three sons, in the new Lexington cemetery. Missouria Haney Jordan was married at a very early age and learned all the duties of a pioneer wife and was a natural born nurse and helper and in her later years was the most sought woman when sickness occurred in the neighborhood. After Mr. Jor dan's death she spent a few years on the old ranch, then moved into lone, where she operated a rest home. She was a very poor customer with drug stores, as she used simple remedies and depended mostly upon good care in nurs ing. In spring time when wild tansy came into bloom she would gather large sacks of it , and it was dried, and when a patient needed medicine she used her judgment, wdether they needed a pultice or a stomach liquid; either could be made from tansy. Doc- lone Legion Auxiliary Names Contest Winners By Echo Palmateer Winners in the Americanism contest sponsored by the Ameri can Legion Auxiliary in the school were: Gerry White, first in the senior division and Judy Howton first in the junior divi sion. Jean Ann Swanson received second in the senior division and Mardine Baker second in the junior division. The seniors con sisted of the 10th, 11th and 12th grades and the juniors are the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Mrs. John Eubanks is Ameri canism chairman of the lone unit. She wishes to thank the judges superintendent Chester L. Ward, Miss Jean Knighton, James Mai Ion and the students that took part in the contest. The judges were Rev. Alfred Shirley, Mrs. Roland Bergstrom, Mrs. Norman Nelson. The first prize was $5 and the second $2.50. The essay was not over 500 wyrds and the names were not revealed until after the judges made their de cision. The senior division wrote on the subject "What It Means to Me to be an American", and the juniors on the subject. "Why the V. S. A. is Called the Cradle of Democracy." Mrs. Bryce Keen was re elected as president of the lone Extension I'nit at a meeting Thursday April (Continued on Page 2) i Long Distance Nation-Wide Moving Service Mayflower Agents Padded Vans Penland Bros. TRANSFER CO. Pendleton, Oregon Phone 338 "iTytjyjTH lors sometimes became alarmed anoui tne condition ot their pa tients, but Mrs. Jordan took them; into her keeping and they camei through and lived for a long time. I Many people who lived around lone for the period from 1900 to 1930 can tell that mother Jordan was the one who welcomed them into the community. Her passing was a loss which was felt by very many residents of the vicinity. She was put to rest in the lone cemetery, as the family plot in Lexington cemetery was filled. Orlean Jordan Ray is in a rest home in Hood River. . Lulher Jordan lives at 5025 S. E. Ellis street, Portland, Oregon. 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