Image provided by: North Santiam Historic Society; Gates, OR
About The Mill City enterprise. (Mill City, Or.) 1949-1998 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1959)
A volunteer fire department was 16 years. at Idanha. Nellie at Detroit, and cuiiants in Idanha at the time organized, and two fire trucks w®r» In 1926 the original highway to In April 1941, Milo Harns aceom- Mamie at Hall’s Camp. Two other purchased through taxation of fk» ,ister», Josie and Hazel also taught and beyond Idanha, was Forest Ser-| named by his brother Albert came to community Fire equipment mainten Vice built. east Milo vice Duni. The 1 ne large iaige rock rwi on the — ---; I Idanha. •----- — -- built .. .. - a tie mil1 ° _ n at Detroit and Hall’s Camp. ance is also attained through tara- The first school in the Canyon side of town was baud drilled and melig Creek While moving up they tion. The present Fire Chief is David by Forest Service crews. Ed tipped the truck over near Fnchels area was at Berry which wax a “shot” L. _______ a A. X. _ ‘ _ ...... „«I! anil mm pni Roberts. thriving mill town for the times, and I Collins, now deceased, was in charge Camp, scattering saw mill equipment The finshing Club all v.c« over the side of hill and down worx nugn — the -— ... ------- - of - the - —- quarters . Hugh Mathews ... located west of Old Detroit. The of the powder work now re iding in Gates was road fore- on the railroad track. Albert was in- above the f're hall w A s financed by ; -chool was started in 1897 and clos ed around 19<>8. The first Detroit man There was no one residing in jured quite seriously but recovered the City of Idanha. The attractive __ dub room is much tn in demand for club I i elub [ chool wa- opened in 1898 in a log Idanha at the time the road was con- later. ,U U «^. -------------------------------- , In March of 1942. Harris purchas- , meetings a"d civic gatherings Active structed. Roy Robinett, now deceased, ■ ] By Bontà <'han>«»u»n cabin above the town of Old Detroit. IMPS by the Corvallis 4 Eastern Editor’s Note: Th»» hiatery <’f In the early 19OO's a sawmill was trapped a bear just above the rock ed the interests of Short Brothers in organizations in the are, include the Railway com ¡»any. This was only eoi structed a<. Hoover, by Hoover while the road was under construe-1 a steam mill which formerly was American rican Legion, Lc-gion, the American Le ' eg- Idanha prepar>-d for The Enter ion Auxiliary, the Willing Worker» completed to the town of Idar.ha, but Brothers, approximately two miles tion. the present site of the L 0 "/ “ prise by Boots Champion, ha- I located on the grade «a- MO percent completed we-t of Idanha. The Commissary and Inc. The Boy rx Scouts been done so through the ««oper »CUCCI, gtiv. a ••a. • mill ..... c,ub r> T- . the a rrn 1_ and the Deatxha About 1932 the Bureau ox Public North 1 omnium Santiam Veneer, to the Ca cade Summit, approximate- Po t Office was operated by Gates was owned jointly by L*o Manthe D^anha P T- A ation of man) Idaaha residents Roads established a Maintenance 1’’ 10 mile» East of Idanha and then Cochran, who was also the Company's camp, -- whom »he thanks at th*» time. and moved a rock crusher into and Milo - Harris. - Following repairs , ngs are held at the Detroit school and One construction camp bookkeeper. The mill continued to the Idanha area. The rock crusher and additions the mill began opera-1 „__ include the membership of Marion Idanha is a quaint little town lo abandoned » "was known : Por>“ *"d Detroit. cated in the Willamette National " a located about where the present operate until 1910 when it was com formerly operated where Clyde’s Sup- tion» June 1912. The mill ---- The towns business district and Forest of the Cascade Range ap Hoodoo Bowl ski area is today. pletely destroyed by fire. The mill -■r Service Station i- now located, a Pamelia Lumber Company, and Right-of-ways were cleared and in was under the management of Man- some residences are directly on high- proximately 62 miles Inset of Salem. Some years later a timber man by ne^er was rebuilt. most of the res.dentr^l it is said the town w».< numed af- the name of Curtis gamed 'control About 1922 the Hammond Lumber some instances the course of ' 1 the the and Harris until January 1945, W“X ■ 1 ....................... ( interest was purchas- area ’» on clos* to the beauH- tor an Indian Princes« In the early of the railroad and raised freight Co., ceased operations at Idanha, or Sautiam river was changed to make when Manthe ’ s days a tribe of Indians came down rates between Idanha and Mill City what was then known as Camp 11 I way for highway 22, or more com- , >*d by Harris. Harris continued to op- ful North Santiam River. In recent the North Santiam River to spend to such an exorbitant height that all nd moved back to Detroit. Bunk tnonly known as the North Santiam erate the mill until October ’45 when years the town has extended acroaa the summer in the vicinity which is mills in the area were forced to close houses owned by the Company were I highway. Pavement was completed by it a* destroyed by fire Mill was the river with a residential district now Idanha. Thia wi»» du« to the fact Thia included the Hoover Lumber Co. also moved to Detroit. Years later Milne Construction Co., from Idanha again rebuilt and was in operation by called New Idanha. ....... Decern- _ that it was such a (Jesirable place to John Smith 4 Judd. Hollingsworth some of the houses were moved back to the Junction in 4938. ¡June 1947 and continued until 1 The City’s present population 1» established I ber 1955. when it was dismantled and spend the summer mouths. It U even Si McClennon. Through these un to Idanha, when the town began to A C. C- C. Camp was < . ' ” ' ' ' 2“ ' " ” ' ‘ J approximately 272. more desirable now, ips it is a thriv ethical practices Curtis lost control rebuild. One of these houses, the | in 1933 xuoo au u.c u .u Hoover .u.:» ».«,,™ to .o Deschute« at the old mill -1-, site, h j moved Deschutes (near Bend) | About 194. the partnership of ing, modern tow« located ia a sec of the railroad and the Southern Pa Jack Haseman residence is still p west of - Dry and Centerville, Calif- Follow lc'te,r» ®n<l Andersen constructed a : - Creek, 7 • and continued . . Oregon, r - - . - , . for - tn the main business district tion noted for its beaauful scenery. cific then entered the picture. Dur -landing. and occupied at the present I operation until 1936. Following theiri ing operations in California ap- . building in It is a fisherman’s paradise, and ia ing the day of the old C4E. Sunday During the early logging days of departure A A ERA proximately two Eni (Emergency ¡Emerarencv Re- 'nrnvimatolv tw« years vears the the Milo Milo Har- Har- ot I'1M"|'a wb>ch was used as a the»t- excursions were made between Idan the Hammond Lumber Company, the rich in natural resources. lief Agency) Crew- occupied the ris’ returned to Idanha in June of r*‘ Although this building was not The first settlors of Idanha were ha and Yaquina. spending a day at Company built a railroad across the V.mp xor auou« «i..« C. at the present time clas.-ufied as a modern theatre it did Camp for about a a year. year. Ti.e The three Cs .¿¿<4, 1958, ,nd and at the present time are are classified hard working, thrifty and very pro each place on alternate Sundays. Santiam river, near the present high- moved in again, and the Camp was building the North Santiam Veneer >'*r'e ne purpose. Vickers operated To secure right-of-way for the day bridge. Earl Stahlman of De discontinued at the out-break gressive people It is the >*mc today. of I plant at the former site of the Pa- •thls theatre for a year or more and The first known settlers of the Railroad, the Company had promised troit. ran the donkey engine used in World War II. melia Lumber Co It is n«w in op- the" his equipment to Detroit, when construction of the Detroit Dam area were the homesteader, up to build a wagon road paralleling the [ the chunking out the right of way In the year of 193d Oscar Raines eration, Boulder Creek, by name. Allison, tracks and a committee of three was preceding the building of bridges in established the Idanha Lumber Co., | DuBois Logging Company pur- i ' began. the Thomas brothers. Frank Perkett, named to inspect this road, which the »tea Clarence Monroe, now de and approximately the same time the ; chased the Barton timber holdings on The Idar.ha Community Church waa John Outerson, Janse«. UolUagswurth never became more than a foot path. ceased was the hooker. Early logging Idanha Shingle Mill was bcilt by | Boulder Creek in the year of 1941. ¡constructed in 1949 with a special uaa The chairman of the committee, one operations were accomplished with and Archie Kemp, and others. Vt. T .Chesnut and the late C. T The'same year the Company re-op- j permit grant on Forest Service land. The Church is non-denominational The first town of Idanha was just Bill Clark, being addicted to the “cup horses and oxen. Haseman. ened the cook house which continued east of Bounder Creek on the flat that cheers’’ was persuaded to give In the fall of 1923 a large forest Shortly after the Idanha Lumber untj] 1943 The puBois logging oper- and is located on the South side of along the river, below the site of his approval without actually ever fire broke out in the Idanha area Co., was established. August V ' ‘_____ _________ _________ L®h- ations _ discontinued in December 1947, the Santiam river in the addition the Idanha Lumber Co. Mill. The seeing the path. threatening the Westerbergs Pole, linger went into partnership with when the Company's "holdings i was known as New Idanha. The average town came into being about 1898 at attendance is about 70. Later the railroad was torn up, Yard. Employees loaded their be- j Raines. 11_ I bought by Mt. Jefferson Lumber the end of the railroad and had a dowu to Hoover and not replaced un longing- on a locomotive and with Also about 1949. Van Sumern «*- Highway construction being com- Company, large hotel located on the Santiam til the Hammond Lumber Co., estab the trottie wide open hit for Detroit. pleted enough to allow trucking, it 1 tablished a clothing store in the A fire destroyed the Idanha Shin-1 theatre building and operated it un- river and near a wonderful cold lished a camp in 1920. The first They stayed at the Detroit Hotel, granted an opportunity for logging £ Mill in 1942. The mill was im- til Noy. 1. 1951, when Mr. and Mr», spring. The are« Was heavily tim Idanha school was opened about that owned and operated by John Cooper concerns to operate in the area— |-.c j mediately re-built and put back into, L c Davig formerly of Ben<J and bered and its park-like appearance time and the schools at Idanha, De and Harry Christian, until it was namely, Johnson Brothers, Bud Har attracted many picnic groups. troit and Hall’s camp were taught safe to return back to work. The Pole ris and Loyd Hadley, who logged at operation Fire struck the mill again | Detmit purriiased the property The known ' Davig»8 Railroad construction started in by three Bostrock sisters. Caroline yard employees were the only oc- Marion Forks and hauled logs to in 1945 leveling it to the ground The i store toda Imill was never rebuilt. ¡Clothing and Variety Store. Idanha to be milled or reloaded. In December 1949. a dream was In the immediate area of Idanha xT^ Id:±a Vndpr p ant/” I the Elmer Lyda Logg.ng company fn i ^/ m A M^ok over The^plant reahMd Whe" th* t0Wn inc°rPorated rr“n 2“ M H I ’ C 1932 C0"” with a population of 442 The City oh i “ . L°gglrii P»nv purchased the mill in 1956 In incorporated under a Municipal form Other known early logging compan 1956 the mill started two shifts with of government and its first Mayor ies were Sullivan King, Mitchell a crew of 53 to 54 men. Log footage wa- C T Haseman. now deceased. | Lumber Co., Myers & Young Logging capacity is now 23 million feet of fir The present Mayor is Warren Stoll. The City is Council governed. Co., anq Seitzinger Lumber Co.. The veneer on a 1-8’’ basis cut. The partnership of Bob Stuckart Silver Falls Lumber Co. maintained 1943 was also the year the three C- and A J. Minden and Jim Healy con ■ a log reload at a siding in mid-town I’amp disbanded and the Government Idanha. The Seitzinger Lumber Co., buildings automatically reverted to structed a «awmill formerly known which was located near White Wat- ! the Hoover estate. B. G. (Gates) as the Termite Lumber Company in I er Creek, constructed a storage yard Cochran became sole owner of the about 1950 or 1951. The mill is lo- tor lumber, and a loading dock sid Hoover estate and buildings jn 1948 , eated on the North Santiam highway ing at the end of the track on the or '49 Due to the construction of the on the east end of the business dis trict of Idanha. Later Stuckart and eastern outskirts of Idanha. Detroit Dam. the buildings were mov Mills only operated during day ed to higher ground across the high Minden purchased the H 'aly interest light hours and closed during the way a short distance above the form and the firm today is known as winter months. There was no elec er site. This apartment settlement is Stuckart and Minden Lumber Com tricity in the area at the time. A ' now included within the boundary pany The mill employes 16 men. About the same time Mr. and Mrs few years later a small diesel plant lines of Idanha. I | Cecil Brile« constructed a core mill | was installed which gave only dim In the following yars new busi lights to the little town. As to the nesses sprung up and some of the old ion the western out skirts of the water source it is presumed homes industries changed hands. Ford Har 'City, following a disastrerous fire were furnished with water via the vey operated a pole yard west of Dry which destroyed their mill in Old De- ! troit Th»y also operated a general mills. Through tree fanning — the grow Creek, and later constructed a saw About 1935 or 1936. Sam Palmer- mill. This mill was sold to George merchandise store located near the ing of timber as a crop — we can | ton constructed a tavern on Barton Russell about 1945. In Sept. 1951. Mr. mill. The mill and store discontinued property, known as the Town Tavern. and Mrs. Julian Rudy purcha-ed the peration« in 1957. harvest the wood we need today On November 1. r*52. the Postof- Sam opened and operated the tavern I mill from Russell, and the mill is now while growing timber for tomorrow. for awhile. Next in line were the known as Rudy’s Lumber Company. fice wa- move,) to a new, modem, fire Dewey Flatmans of Mill City, who Extensive improvements have been proof building, whieh the City built operated the tavern until 1940, when made, including a re-saw and planer and lea nd to the Government. Quincy Mr. and Mrs. Edward Smith took to be installed in the spring of this E Smith is the Postmaster. The of over. The Smiths continued in this year The company employe« 14 men fice ha • 185 boxes. One Star route business until January 1944 when | with an added 4 to 7 men -n the from, the office «erves the Canyon up as far the Fish Hatchery at Mar Mr. and Mrs. Jewel Myers rented woods during the summer months. ion Forks. the business and added a kitchen and Huber Ray and Ralph Adams pur Water rights was also purchased dining room The C. T. Hasemans chased the Idanha Lumbe- Company acquired the property some where from Oscar Raines and August Ueh- on July 1. 1952 from the Idanha along the line at a date unknown. linger in 1944 John Sundquist joined Lumber Company and is now muni Next in line were the Ernie Smiths the partnership the fere part of 1945 cipally owned Due to the fact thaf the TV recep followed by Geschers who purchased and he retired in 1951. Extensive im the property and operated until provements were made by the new tion wa- so poor in the area, the In- March 15. 1949. when Mr and Mrs. partnership including a dry kiln anha Television Company wa« formed Marion Aiderman and the Earl Electrical equipment was installed in 1955 by Henry Hiebert and Ed. Cartes purchased the property. The throughout the plant. The mill oper Nash A cable system was installed name was changed by them to “Spill ated the year around. Mt. Jefferson this bringing to Idanha two channels way.” In 1954 the Aldermans pur Lumber Company purcha ed the mill 6 and 8. A monthly fee is charged chased the interests of the Earl in 1955 and it was dismantled in the for this service. A colored rock mining company Cartes. Extensive improvements have year of 1958. been added to the establishment, in Idanha's first church was located wa« formed by Harold Hill and the cluding a cafe. in the central part of town and was Geek Brothers, Ted and Larry re The first general merchandise I constructed in 1945 by a group of spectively in the summer of 1958, A store was constructed and opened by people residing in the area on land . laim was also filed by John Young a Mr. Stoddard in June 1937. This donated by the late T. C Haseman about the same time. The mines are business was purchased by Louis This church was later sold back to located approximately two miles up Johnson in 1939. He operated the Mr Haseman to be used a’ a real Boulder Creek The Hill-Geck part—- ner«hip Company is known as the store until 1944 when Don Norton «lence. Santiam Rock Company. A former purchased it. He owned and operated and Edison Vickers Fred Andersen the store until 1946. selling It then came to Idanha in the fall of 1945. sawmill has been purchase«! at In to Girod ami Collins. Girod bought an«l constructed a store, cafe. anJ a dependence by this Company where Collins interest in 1947. The pres club in the main part of th business rock will be hauled and then re ent owners are Mr. and Mrs. War district. The store was operated by sawed before marketing The mine ren Stoll who purchased the busi Mr. and Mrs. Ted Gillespie from will re-open thi« spring or sum mer. ness in 1950. ibout 1947 to 1952. The postoffice In February of 1958, Raymond The first Postoffice wa< opened was moved into the building the early July 1. 1937. with Mrs. R. C. Hase part of 1946. with Quincy Smith as Sophy of Detriot, constructed a small man as Postamaster This structure Postmaster. The club and cafe operat- east of Boulder Creek, on the west and a Service Station was built by I -d until about 1953 and then closed ern out-skirts of Idanha. The mill C. T. Haseman on their premises. 1945 was also the year the Idanha is known as Sophy» Lumber Com R. C. Haseman operated the gas | Gun Club organized. The Club contin pany. Logging Companies operating in station. Years later the postoffice was u'd to function until about 1949, when moved. Previous to the 1937 date, heavy snow collapsed the building on the Idanba area are. Savage Logging Idanha residents received their mail th« grounds. The Club was located Company. HAW Logging Company and ReMine Logging Company. Frank Lumber Company Young & Morgan Logging Co. at Detroit. spproximately 2 miles west of Idan- Logging operations are seaaonaL Pupils residing in this area were . ha. MlH City, Oregon Idanha receives mail service once Idanha, Orrgoo sent by bus to Detroit public school A First Aid station was construct- As mills and I«HTglng industr.es '•d by the Idanha Lumbar Company a day. Bix* service are one round progressed so did the little town of ibout 1946. and Charles DeSully serv- trip daily In the winter twice daily Oregon Pulp & Paper Co. H 4 W Logging Co. Idanha More families moved into i -'d for several years as a first aid in the summer. the area and more homes were con I employee. Ambulance service was Idanha »nd dates are not »worn to 1029 S. IV. Alder Portland. Oregon This is just a brief history of the Mill City, Oregon structed. »bailable for a period of years. In the On July 4. 1939, Mr and Mrs. Paul winter of 1951 Dr. Wilkut who for town of Idanha and the dates may Reynohts accompanied by his parents merly had an office in the Hanan not be exactly right Wilts® Trucking Co. Stuckart & Minden Logging Co. Mr and Mrs. Walter Reynolds came Theatre building at Detroit, meved to Idanha to select a location for a his office into the first aid station. Mehama, Oregon Idanha. Oregon hydro-electric dam. The site selected He was called to Texas by the illness was a little Island on the North San of a former Dr. friend and partner, tiam River on the South Side of Idan and left in the Spring of 1962. This Wills Bros. Shingle Co. Howell & Gulliford ha. With the completion of the hy building was later used as a barber po-electric plant within a reason- «hop It is rumored that we may see Oaten. Oregon Mil! City, Oregon ble time. Idanha received adequate t used as a First Aid station again ower for the first time. In 1952 Ben in the very near future. ton Lincoln purchased the Reynolds The year 1947 brought fire pro Parkett Logging Co. Simpson Logging Co. interests following the construction tection to the community when the of the Detroit Dam Today th:» Idanha Rural Fire Protection District Mehama, Oregon l.yona, Oregon source of power is known as Con 1 came into being A fire sail was con- sumers Power. Inc i structed by the rural district shortly The Reynolds resided in Idanha for after. •—THE Mil l. CITS ENTERPRISE TH I'BSD AY. JI NE IM. IS5S History of City of Idanha Centennial Feature of Enterprise Subscribe to The Mil Gty Enterprise Today.. $3.00 per Year Read It Every Week
