History of Benton County, Oregon, Part 68

Author: David D. Fagan
Publication date: 1885
Publisher:
Number of Pages:

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KING'S VALLEY SAW AND PLANING MILL .- This enterprise is located on the Luckiamute, on the west side of King's Valley, and was built in 1875 by S. P. Frantz and P. F. Stone. At the end of two years the latter sold out to Joseph Conner and in 1883 it passed wholly into the hands of Frantz Brothers the present proprietors. The capacity of the mill is ten thousand feet per day, and gives employment to six men. There is a planer attached to it, the wood used being principally fir.

SUMMIT PRECINCT lies between the Yaquina country and Mary's river, extends from the county line on the north to the divide between the Yaquina and Little Elk rivers, and prolonged eastward on a coresponding line to Mary's river, and from east to west from the top of Norton Hill to the mouth of the Little Elk, being in the vicin- ity of six miles in length and about twelve in width. It is actually bounded on the north by the county line, on the south by Tum Tum precinct, on the west by Elk City precinct, and on the east by King's Valley precinct. Not far from its northeastern corner the Yaquina river enters Summit precinct, and running in a south westerly direction for between two and three miles through a deep gorge in the mountains, when the country becomes more open and the bottoms wider, and flowing onwards leaves the precinct at its southwestern corner.

Entering the precinct from the northeast, a little to the east of the central point of its northern line and extending about a mile into it is Rock creek, the valley of which is about four miles in length and a quarter of a mile in width, flanked on either hand by low open hills. Between this point and the Siletz Reservation, which is some two miles from the western boundary of the precinct, there is but little bottom land ; but on the North Fork, which comes in from the north in the vicinity of the line of the Reservation, is a wide bushy bottom which is easily capable of reclamation. Steer and Brush creeks both join Rock creek near the lower end of the valley, the former making its entry from the northeast and the latter from the southeast. On each of these streams are good bottom lands.

Midway between Rock creek and the Yaquina is a ridge of considerable altitude, running parallel with them, the hills on either side of which becoming gradually lower until the streams are attained. These are for the most part open and stock may roam about at will. After the Yaquina emerges from its mountain fastness we have some narrow bottom lands that are under cultivation, while the numerous small tributaries that join the Yaquina from the north and south all have along their margins good 59+

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though limited lands. Three miles south of the river the divide, which marks the southern boundary of the precinct, is gained, while, it may be observed, that during summer and winter stock roam at large and thrive.

A little south of the Yaquina, the North Fork of Mary's river rises and enters the precinct a short distance south of its northeast corner, after which flows nearly due south. It lies about five hundred feet higher than the waters that flow directly into the ocean, and is a tributary of the Willamette.

Along the banks of Mary's river was once a region covered with thick under- growth, but this has all been cleared and cultivated, and although the land reclaimed is not of the first quality, being damp and cold, still with drainage it could be made to yield abundantly. Near the Summit, on the hills contiguous to Mary's river, as well as on the western slope of Summit Hill are large groves of timber, from which the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company have drawn their supplies for building, while, in one of these, in the vicinage of Mary's river, they have a saw mill in which a large amount of lumber has been manufactured.

The line of the Oregon Pacific Railroad crosses the summit near the wagon road, and then takes a northerly direction. When it is taken into consideration that in a distance of but little more than a mile there is a descent of six or seven hundred feet, the difficulties to be surmounted by the company in this portion of the route will be appreciated. The labor of location has been prodigious. In this declension it has been necessary to make two tunnels, one of which, No. 1, being six hundred and seventy and the other, No. 2, three hundred and fifty feet; while there are deep cuttings besides and high tressels.

The industries of Summit precinct are very much the same as in the western por- tions of the county. Cattle and sheep raising, although carried on only to a limited extent, is usually attended with profit, while the farmers in the cultivation of their lands have aimed to produce such crops as are needed to supply the demand of travel on the road, thus furnishing a market for the fruits of their labor.

Portions of Summit precinct have been settled for a number of years, but these have been chiefly confined to the margin of the Yaquina and Mary's rivers, but it has not been possible to obtain any precise information as to who these were. A. J. Porter was among the earliest to take up his abode within its bounds and there his widow still lives.

The Warren Brothers, a view of whose place will be found in this history, enter- prising young Englishmen, own several hundred acres of land at the foot of Summit hill, which they yearly improve and which they are fast bringing into a state of per- fection. Their motto has been to carefully till the ground and rear the stock and in the future the labor of the present will have its reward. These extremely hospitable gentlemen and such like them, are a great acquisition to any country, and prove with much success what application to business and integrity of purpose, with honesty in business relations can effect.

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CHAPTER L.

YAQUINA PRECNCT.

Opened to Settlement-Description-Yaquina Bay-Cape Foulweather.

YAQUINA PRECINCT extends along the coast from the north line of the county to Lower Alsea precinct, at Beaver creek, and is about fifteen miles from north to south and four miles east and west, being bounded on the north by Tillamook county, on the south by Lower Alsea precinct, on the west by the Pacific ocean, and on the east by Toledo precinct.

After considerable delay and much discontent, early in January, 1866, intelligence was received that the country along the Yaquina river and bay was to be thrown open to settlers, a decision that instilled new vigor into the life of the promoters of the wagon road through that then little known country, thus reassuring them that their labor was not thrown away. Aside from any other consideration the land opened to settlement was a great acquisition to Benton county, while from the position of the bay it prom- ised all the ahvantages of a channel of transportation and a trade by the road and the bay with San Francisco, which would accomplish a great good if it did nothing else than reduce the prices of freight on general transprotation from other points. Thus we see the little cloud no bigger than a man's hand that was afterwards to expand into the railroad now completed and the line of steamers in connection with it between Yaquina bay and the metropolis of California.

The following official correspondence in respect to the opening of this region of settlement explains the action taken to that end :

" DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, January 8, 1866.

REGISTER AND RECEIVER, OREGON CITY, OREGON: Gentlemen-Inclosed here- with I transmit you a diagram of Oregon, wherein is represented in red ink a portion of the Coast Reservation for Indian purposes, lying on the Pacific, which, by order of the President of the United States, was released on the twenty-first ultimo. It is described as follows, to-wit:"

The land released from the reservation at this time, in accordance with the above, excerpt of a dispatch from the Commissioner of Indian affairs, was included within the following boundaries :

" Commencing at a point two miles south of the Siletz Agency ; thence west to the ocean ; thence south along the ocean to the mouth of Alsea river; thence up said river to the eastern boundary of the reservation ; thence north along said eastern boundary to a point due east of the place of beginning."

Upon this the Commissioner based his instructions to the agent not to interfere

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with any persons settling upon the lands relieved, so long as the intercourse laws were obeyed and they conducted themselves properly. He also referred to the acts of Con- gress, approved June 30, 1834, March 3, 1847, February 13, 1862, and March 15, 1864, and stated the fact, besides, that the lands on the western slope of the Coast mountains were unpurchased Indian country, the title to which was vested in the Indians, and settlers going there did so at their own hazard.

We quote from the act of Congress approved March 15, 1864, above referred to, which annuls that of June 30, 1834, as follows :

"SECTION 20. That if any person shall sell, exchange, give, barter or dispose of any spirituous liquor or wine to any Indians under the charge of any Superintendent or Indian Agent appointed by the United States, or shall introduce or attempt to intro- duce any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, such person, on conviction thereof before the proper District or Circuit Court of the United States, shall be imprisoned for a period not exceeding two years, and shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars. And if any Superintendent of Indian affairs, Indian Agent or sub- agent or commanding officer of a military post has reason to suspect, or is informed that any white person or Indian is about to introduce or has introduced any spirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, it shall be lawful for such Superintendent, agent, sub-agent or commanding officer, to cause the boats, stores, packages, wagons, sleds and places of deposit of such person to be searched, and if any such liquor is found therein, the same, together with the boats, teams, wagons and sleds used in con- veying the same, and also the goods, packages and peltries of such persons shall be seized and delivered to the proper officer, and shall be proceeded against, by libel, in the proper court, and forfeited, one-half to the informer and the other half to the use of the United States; and if such person be a trader his license shall be revoked and his bond put in suit. And it shall moreover be the duty of any person in the service of the United States, or for any Indians to take and destroy any ardent spirits or wine found in the Indian country, except such as may be introduced therein by lhe War Department. And in all cases arising under this act Indians shall be competent witnesses."

We will now proceed with the dispatch of the Commissioner. That officer con- tinues :

" On the eighth of August, 1864, this office laid before the Secretary of the Inter- ior a communication dated at Corvallis, Oregon, respecting the discovery of a harbor on the coast directly opposite the center of the Willamette valley and recommended that a town site be laid out and opened for sale by the Government; the locality of the newly discovered harbor being represented as affording peculiar advantages for the rapid building up of a town. These views may be fully carried out by pursuing either one or the other course indicated in the following, viz :

" First .- By a reservation under the first section of the act of Congress, approved March 3, 1863, vol. 12, p. 754, authorizing the President to 'reserve from the public lands whether surveyed or unsurveyed, town-sites on the shores of harbors, at the junction of rivers, important portages, or prospective centers of population,' or by

" Second .- The municipal residents availing themselves of the privileges of so much of the act of July 1, 1864, as relates to the disposal of town property, and of the

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act of March 3, 1865, supplemental thereto. Herewith I inclose circulars dated August 20, 1864 and April 21, 1865, containing instructions in view of said acts.

" If the actual residents are numerous enough to make out and establish a town and can properly meet the requirements of said acts of July 1, 1864, and March 3, 1865, they have the right to do so ; but if the condition of things is such that the existing residents cannot at once make the premises available under said acts of 1864 and 1865, it will be the duty of the Department to submit a plan indicating the limits of a suitable reservation under said act of 1863, and if after notice to the municipal residents no step is taken by them to secure the privileges conceded by the laws men- tioned under the second head, then you will forward to this office a plat exhibiting in the most exact manner that the natural features of the land will admit, the limits and extent which would be recommended to the President as a reservation."

Register Owen Wade and Recorder Warren, under date, April 7, 1866, issued from the Land office, Oregon City, the following circular :

" In conformity with the foregoing instructions the actual residents of the town or city on the harbor therein mentioned, are hereby notified to avail themselves of the privileges of the said acts of July 1, 1864, and March 3, 1865; if they desire to do so, by filing with the Recorder of the county in which the town or city is situate, the plat thereof, describing its exterior boundaries, which plat, or map, must exhibit the name of the town or city, the streets, squares, blocks, lots or alleys, the size of the same, with actual measurements and area of each municipal division, and a statement of the extent and general character of improvements ; such a map and statement to be verified by oath of the party acting for or in behalf of the town or city ; and within one month after filing the map or plat, with the Recorder of the county, a verified copy of said map and statement must be sent to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the testimony of two witnesses that such town has been established in good faith, and a similar copy of the map and statement must be filed in this office. The town or city being ou unsurveyed land the exterior lines of the same must be distinctly marked and established, so that, when the lines of the public surveys shall hereafter be run they may be properly closed thereon ; and yet it may be lawful to adjust the exterior of the limits of the premises with the lines of the public surveys, when it can be done without impairing the rights of others."

It may be interesting to note in regard to the manner of disposing of lots, that the act of July 1, 1864, referred to above, provides that such city or town shall not exceed in area six hundred and forty acres, while lots shall not be more than four thousand two hundred square feet. At any time after filing the map of the city or town in the General Land Office, it shall and may be lawful for the President to cause the lots to be offered at public sale, to the highest bidder, subject to a minimum of ten dollars for each lot ; and such lots as are offered and not sold shall thereafter be subject to private entry at the minimum, or at such decrease or diminution as the Secretary of the Interior may order. As to the mode of getting immediate possession of lots with assurance of obtaining good titles in the future .- Any actual settler upon any one lot, and upon any additional lot on which he may have substantial improvements, shall be entitled to prove up and purchase the same as a pre-emption at said minimum of ten dollars, at any time before the day fixed for the public sale.

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Upon the promulgation of the intelligence that the portion of the Siletz Reserva- tion lying between Alsea river on the south and Cape Foulweather on the north was opened for settlement there was a great rush to the region. Since then the country has been peopled with an industrious and permanent population, chiefly from the Western States. The climate of " The Bay " as the entire district is usually called, is pleasant and healthy ; fevers, ague and the ailments peculiar to malarious places are here unknown. Many people come annually to the place to recuperate failing consti- tutions and gather strength after illness, invariably attended with most desirable results. As a watering place for pleasure seekers, Yaquina bay has no equal in Oregon, combining picturesque scenery, salubrious climate, excellent water and the finest opportunities for sailing and fishing.

The soil is rich, even to the summits of the highest mountains. The country, however, is rough and broken, covered with dead timber and where the soil is best the undergrowth is thickest, though in no case can the cost of preparation for cultivation compare with like lands in the Middle or Western States. Wheat, oats, barley, rye and buckwheat do well ; corn, in some seasons, makes a fair crop; timothy, and, in fact, all grasses are heavy and thrifty. Owing to the mildness of the winter, stock do well the year through with but little feed-and in some seasons none. All kinds of vegetables yield largely and of the finest quality. Fruit compares favorably with any other part of the State, while berries, both native and cultivated, grow abundantly.

The timber for building purposes and shipment is fir ; several million feet of lum- ber being annually shipped to California. Coal has been found in many localities, on and near the bay, the quality being good, while so marked are the indications that it is highly probable a valuable coal bank will be finally discovered. Gold mines on the beach (the gold being very fine and mixed with almost inseparable, heavy, black sand) have been worked at times, for several years past, with indifferent success. Oysters, in large quantities, have been shipped to San Francisco, the beds of which are healthy and thriving. Eastern oysters transplanted grow finely. Salmon fishing would pay if properly managed, the fall run being the largest. A good quality of cod fish is caught five or six miles off shore, while sea bass, halibut, and other varieties are plentiful.

Several schooners and steamers have been built in Yaquina bay and enough has been done in that line to show conclusively that ship-building might be made a paying business. Steam saw-mills are in operation, while the region is well supplied with school facilities. A large portion of the country, back from the river, is unsurveyed and much of this is the best grazing land. A good wagon road from New- port to Corvallis, sixty miles in length, adds stability to all enterprise and improve- ment and with the railroad of the Oregon Pacific Company, promises much for the future of the bay.

It will now be our duty to present to the reader such information as we have been able to gather concerning Yaquina bay. The believers in the commercial advantages of this harbor were made jubilant by the receipt, March 14, 1868, of the following correspondence :

" WASHINGTON CITY, January 24, 1868.

" To MR. R. IRWIN, Corvallis, Oregon .- Please find herewith inclosed the answer

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of the Secretary of the Treasury to my letter urging the survey of Yaquina bay. I have no doubt but it will have early attention. If you think it best, you can have the Secretary's answer published in your local paper, that the petitioners may know that their request has been attended to.

Very Respectfully,

H. W. CORBETT." TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 23, 1868.

To HON. H. W. CORBETT, U. S. Senate: Sir-Yours of the tenth instant, inclos- ing petition from certain citizens of Oregon, asking for the survey of 'Yaquina Bay,' having been referred to the Superintendent of Coast Surveys, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of his report, from which it will be seen that a party was organized last year for the survey of several small bays on the coast of Oregon, but in consequence of the loss of the leader of the party, drowned in the breakers on the bar at Tillamook, Oregon, the work was delayed; further, that it is his intention to organ- ize another party as early as the season will admit, for survey of the . Yaquina ' and other bays and harbors on that coast. I am, etc.,

H. McCULLOCH, Sec. of Treasury. COAST SURVEY OFFICE, WASHINGTON, January 22, 1868.

To HON. H. McCULLOCH, Sec'y Treasury, Washington, D. C .: Sir-I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yours of January eleventh, transmitting letter from Hon. H. W. Corbett, United States Senate, inclosing petition from certain citizens of Oregon, asking for the survey of ' Yaquina bay,' and in answer beg leave to state that a party was organized last year for surveying the several small bays on the coast of Oregon, and Mr. Kinchloe placed in charge. The survey of Tillamook was nearly completed when Mr. Kinchloe was drowned by the swamping of his boat in the break- ers on the bar. Having no officer who could be employed for the continuance of the work, the party was disbanded. Had Mr. Kinchloe's life been spared, the survey of ' Yaquina Bay,' the next in order, would have been finished during the last year. I propose to organize another party to begin the work as early as the season will admit, for the survey of ' Yaquina ' and other bays and harbors on the coast of Oregon. Very Respectfully,

BENJAMIN PIERCE, Superintendent." WASHINGTON, January 27, 1868.

FRIEND CHENOWETH, Corvallis :- Yours of the fourteenth December duly received, contents noted. I am informed by the Secretary of the Treasury that the Yaquina Bay shall be surveyed next spring, early. Through R. Irwin, Esq., of your place, I received a long petition for it and for a post route. The answer of the Secretary of the Treasury I sent to Irwin. I have introduced a bill for the establishment of a post route from Corvallis to Newport. As to the Indians, no settled policy is as yet agreed upon. There is one thing certain, they must live somewhere, whether we will let them continue their tribulations, or citizenize them as some desire, thereby absorb them into the white population, is the question to determine.

Very Respectfully,

H. W. CORBETT.

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These communications evince an unmistakable desire on the part of the Govern- ment to cause the much needed survey to be made and it was not long before the pro- per instructions therefor were communicated to this coast. In July, 1868, the actual survey was commenced, and in the Corvallis Gazette of October 17, 1868, the follow- ing report of A. W. Chase, United States Coast Survey, was published :

"The entrance to Yaquina Bay is situated on the coast of Oregon, approximate : Lat. 44° 40" 30", Lon. 124° 03' West ; one hundred and five miles south of the mouth of the Columbia river.

"In approaching it from sea, should it be a clear day, navigators will first make out a peculiar square topped mountain, covered with dead pine trees, giving it a whitish color. This mountain, known as Alsea mountain, is on the head waters of the river of the same name, and is from sea apparently to the south and east of the entrance of Yaquina.

" Mary's Peak, a coincal shaped mountain in the interior, will also show (dark blue in color) to the north of Alsea.

"On nearing the shore, if coming from southward, a cluster of detached rocks will be seen about a mile from the sand beach and outlined against it. These rocks are called the ' Seal-ille-hee' or Seal Rocks, and are (aporoximate) eight miles below the mouth of the Yaquina, and between it and the Alsea river.

" Three and one-half miles to the north of Yaquina Heads, is a remarkable cape, known as Cape Foulweather. It is perfectly bare of timber, extends one mile out from the beach, and consists of two conical hills ; the inner one four hundred and seven, the outer three hundred and sixty feet above the low water mark; and ter- minates in a tongue or point of rocks, with one large detached islet lying off its extreme end. This cape being a very prominent landmark and unlike any other on the coast line, will identify the position of Yaquina entrance at once, if the mountains are not visible.

" The north shore, or ' Head' of Yaquina entrance consists of a bluff one hundred and thirty feet high, of sandstone formation, showing yellow from the sea. This bluff is crowned with an isolated grove of pine or fir trees, some dead and some alive. On its seaward face a beacon or signal has been erected, the base of which is one hundred and twenty feet high, directly under it, and extending towards the bar is a flat rock oblong in shape.

"The south beach is low and sandy, backed by sand dunes, and still farther back by a low range of hills bare of timber, on the highest of which a flagstaff (one hundred and fifty-eight feet at base) has been erected for celebrations, etc. This flagstaff has been boarded up thirty feet from the ground to serve as a beacon or range for entering the harbor (to be mentioned hereafter.) Back from thes hills there is a long ridge covered with a dense forest of living fir trees. On the point of the south beach, seen from sea, the roof of a large house, new 1868, will show prominently.

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History of Benton County, Oregon, Part 68

Author: David D. Fagan Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: David D. Fagan
Publication date: 1885
Publisher:
Number of Pages: