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
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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
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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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