Looking Around the County
Clint from pane 7
Because there were no Im
proved roads in the area for
years, all produce was shipp
ed by local express trains
which were often stopped for
id .ire than an hour loading
crated melons, fruit and
cream.
Since the improved highway
came, lrrigon has changed
considerably. It has several
churches, a fine grade scho
ol. A.C. Houghton School,
1952) and several new busi
nesses. BLALOCK ISLAND
An especially interesting
4,000 acre island, Blalock
Island, in the middle of the
Columbia was covered by the
waters backed up by the John
Day Dam. Various attempts
were made to mine gold there.
As late as 1957, using crude
makeshift equipment, Lee
Tyler of Edmonds, Wa took
out $4,000 in gold, unoffi
cial assays running $1.30 and
$1.70 per yard. Now the
gold, many Indian relics, and
some ancestral burial grou
nds are under water.
STRAWBERRY AND
COYOTE
1904 saw postoffices estab
lished atStrawberry in March
and at Coyote in June. Str
awberry was discontinued in
1908; Coyote lasted until
1912. Little has been writ
ten about these communities.
Strawberry's original post
master was J.C. White. The
community was named by dre
amer who visualized fields of
lucious strawberries there
along the projected canal and
under constant irrigation.
The Strawberry School was
north of the Devine School,
south of the Juniper School,
northwest of theHodsdonSch
ool and southeast of the Lone
Tree School according to an
early map.
Coyote was a stage coach
stop on the Columbia River
o
has been in business
for
Thank you,
Mrs. Ida Farra
676-9446
rather close to where Board
man now stands, Its first
postmaster was not listed.
PARKERS MILL
The Parker Mill is writ
ten of in Tim Bisbee's diary
by 1676, and was in business
for many years before a Par
kers Mill Postoffice was es
tablished in 1907 under Milt
Maxwell. This office was
discontinued in 1925 and its
mail sent to Hardnian. This
community had a hotel and
a school and was a busy pl
ace, according to Mr. Bis
bee, during the 1878 Indian
War. Around 40 pupils at
tended the school there under
early teachers Mrs. Barker,
Mrs. E.L. Freeland, Ada Jo
nes, (Mrs. Ben Parker),
Flora Ward (Mrs. Joe Nys).
The area was widely known
for its three-day 4th of July
celebrations, consisting of
horse races, bucking conte
sts, bull riding, ball games
and dances.
SIN'NOTT AND
SEPANEK
In August 1917 Bertha Se
panek was postmistress at
Sepanek, Oregon where the
postoffice was discontinued
in Sept. 1918 and its mall
sent to Echo.
The Sinnott Postoffice ex
isted from April 1916 to Feb.
1918 when it was disconti
nued and its mail sent to
Lexington. S. Osborn is lis
ted as original postmaster.
Does anyone remember these
postoffices?
The list of Postoffices does
not include the names of some
of the early communities.
Morrow County had 59 school
districts at one time; where
ever several families with
children settled and the need
for a school was felt a com
munity feeling developed. So
me of these pioneer commu
nities were along creeks or
in canyons, and some of them
have been included in some
early history books.
27 years and
mighty proud
to be Dart
"
of this community.
kJ j; G J k vv;
r- ? L .: ( U "
r " TT
BURTON VALLEY, Dist.No.
51, in the mountains south
of Hardnian was noted for Its
lumber mill established by
Mr. Howston, Mr. Cantwell
and Mr. Mallory. At one
time there were 60 att
ending Sunday School there
and 50 in the daily school,
which operated three months
in the spring and three mon
ths in the fall, starting in
March and ending in Novem
ber because of weather con
ditions in the mountains. The
last session of school there
was taught by Marguerite Gla
vey who teaches in Heppner
now.
CAMAS PRAIRIE, DIST. NO.
7, is south of Burton Val
ley. Some early families in
that area were: Steers, Jun
kins, Grahams, Robinsons,
Medlocks, Hastings, Harry
Frenchs and the McDonalds.
DEE COX, No. 59 was east
of Hardnian.
FAIRVIEW community a
bout 10 miles south of lone
was settled in the 18H0's.
Some of the early families
there included the Menzo A.
Oldens, the Sam Warfields,
the Robert Simpsons, Thomas
Morgan and his brother-in-law
Hamelet and Downing,
John Peterson, Jerry Bar
low and Jbhn Cox.
Other early districts south
of Heppner were no. 3 Wil
low Way, no. 6 Golden West,
no. 49 Hall Ridge, and no.
19 Rood Canyon. Toward the
east were McDonald Canyon
no. 24, Pleasant Point no.
48, Upper Willow Creek no.
34 Twin pines & Frk
no. 42, and no. 33 Gurdane,
quite
a community with a
that lasted for many
store
years.
Some communities north
and east of Lexington were
Strawberry no. 18, Devine no.
23, Blackhorse no. 17, Al
pine, no. 27, Sand Hollow
no. 46, Juniper no. 20, Gal
loway no. 55 and of course,
Pine City, which even had a
four-year high school.
East of the highway and
north of lone were-Lone Tree
no. 9, Ella no. 16, Four
Mile no. 28, Cecil no. 8,
zc:
;'z 1901
Willows no. 39, and Board
man no. 25, and lrrigon no.
10.
In the west going north
from Golden West, which
must have been near Ruggs,
were: Eight Mile Center
no. 31. Democrat Gulch no.
22, Missouri Ridge no. 21,
Rocky Bluff no. 29, Goose
berry no. 36, Liberty no. 11,
Clarks Canyon no. 15.
Continuing in a northerly
direction from west of Hep
pner were: Fairview no.
37, David no. 4, Bunker Hill
no, 38, Social Ridge no. 53,
Rhea Creek no. 32, Shilohno.
30, Pleasant Vale no. 14,
and Hardesty no. 52, and Mor
gan no. 41, (Lexington was
no. 12 and lone no. 35.)
The map showing the school
districts on pg. 14 of Yes
teryears does not show no.
13 Coplinger, no, 45 Wilmot,
and no. 50 Hodsdon, which
later consolidated with Lexington
i t.'ont. on page 9 c
Every Day At
HeppnerAuto Parts
For a Complete Line
of Automobile Parts
and Supplies
Bob and Aloha DeSpain
1959 Morrow County was the
first county in the state of
Oregon to aperate under the
County Unit System, and cut
down from 59 different school
boards to just one.
BUARDMAN
The newest existing post
office was established July
13, 1916 at Boardman, with
Mrs. Olive Payne in charge.
Boardman is named after its
first settler, Sam Boardman,
who filed on his homestead
there In 1903. He and Mrs.
Boardman, who joined him
there later, waited through
many dry years for irrigation
water which finallyarrived in
new cem?nt ditches in 1916
After a long tenure as the
first state park superintin
dent, Sam Boardman died in
January 1953 at the age of
78.
The families of five who
worked on the cement ditch
es stayed in the area- The