The Central Railroad of Oregon Oregon’s Blue Mountain Route by Richard R Roth
Hard Cover
237 pages
Copyright 2015
CONTENTS
Background and Introduction 1 - 7
Union as a Railroad Town - Initial Efforts 8 - 21
The Union Railway - A Dream Realized 22 - 37
The Union Street and Suburban Railway 38 - 47
The Union, Cove and Valley Railway Company 48 - 53
The Central Railway of Oregon 54 - 93
The Central Railroad of Oregon 94 - 180
The Post Central Years 181 - 196
Uncompleted Rail Projects 197 - 211
John B. Mahana - Visionary Genius or Con Artist? 212 - 228
Index 229 – 237
BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION
In retail it is often said location is everything. Not only does this apply to individual businesses but towns and communities as well which rise and fall with the vagaries of politics, geography and changes in technology. These factors played out in the Grande Ronde Valley of Oregon for several years between the towns of Union and La Grande in terms of railroad issues. Once the transcontinental railroad became a reality when the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. (O. R. 86 N.) pushed through the valley in 1884, near La Grande and bypassed Union, the stage was set for rivalry and conflict between the two major communities of the time. After several decades, only one would survive as the "railroad town".
During 1865, the Oregon State Legislature created Union County and named La Grande as the county seat. A rival settlement located some fourteen miles east of La Grande across the Grande Ronde Valley was the town of Union that also coveted this recognition. Following the county election of 1874, Union claimed the honor of being named county seat, but would lose it at a later date. Union and La Grande continued to vie for some thirty years over this issue until the argument was finally settled during the election of 1904 as to which town would claim the title on a permanent basis.
The challenge for getting products to market from farms and lumber mills of the Grande Ronde Valley required access to eastern markets or the seaports of Portland and San Francisco. Access could only be provided by good roads or a rail connection. Eastern Oregon provided a wealth of timber and agricultural products. A quick-growth mining economy also started in the area beginning in the 1860s. This development created a demand for people and supplies to be transported by stage or rail to remote areas in Northeastern Oregon as well as the Seven Devils area of Idaho. Access to markets by rail and accommodations for travelers would be far more efficient and cost effective than those provided by horse-drawn stagecoaches and freight wagons. However, until 1884, the Grande Ronde Valley had limited availability to outside markets due to few roads of questionable dependability and not always passable on a year-around basis.
An old Umatilla Indian trail came into the valley across the Blue Mountains from the West and cut southeast into the northwest part of the valley. The Thomas and Ruckles road, which was completed by 1865, followed this same general route. When the two partners (Thomas and Ruckles) completed their road across the Blues, a stage line was also established running from Walla Walla to the mines in Idaho. The result was that stagecoaches entering the valley from the West would arrive at Summerville first. The stage line then continued on from Summerville to Union.
The other major route, known as the Meacham Road, crossed the Blue Mountains directly running from east to west and had the lowest pass elevation at 4,185 feet. It was also corduroyed and withstood the weather better than other roads then available. By 1882, the Meacham Brothers sold the right-of-way to the O. R. 86 N. Railroad and this route was followed by railroad engineers during 1884 to bring their line into the Grande Ronde Valley.
Prior to 1884, there had been some local proposals for rail access from the Grande Ronde Valley to the outside world. The formation of the Grande Ronde and Walla Walla Railroad Co. occurred during 1872 at the instigation of H. J. Meacham (Meacham Road) and James Hendershott who was the state representative from Cove, Oregon. This line, if constructed, would have allied the communities of Union, Cove and Summerville with the route running through Summerville to Walla Walla. The citizens of Union were still smarting from their town not being named as the county seat by Oregon's 1865 legislature.
Another investment consideration called for the construction of a narrow gauge rail line connecting the Grande Ronde Valley to the Columbia River landing at Wallula, W. T. Neither of these ventures ever bore fruit. Several other fascinating railroad proposals came and went over the years that would place Union on a main transcontinental railroad route, before and after the creation of the "Central". These will be covered in a separate chapter. The various schemes, if successful, would support Union's bid to be equal to, if not surpass La Grande's importance as a "railroad town". By 1890, it is safe to say that "railroad fever" had hit the town of Union hard.
The arrival of the O. R. 86 N. near La Grande in 1884 and its route through the Grande Ronde Valley affected several communities in different ways. The inhabitants of the original town site of La Grande relocated their community to be near the railroad. It proved to be worth the effort.
The community of Hot Lake, prior to 1884, was located on a county road (a three-mile diversion from the original Old Oregon Trail) at the base of the foothills. The site consisted of a small six room log hotel and two wood baths. Hot Lake received its name from a major mineral hot spring which was developed into a commercial establishment by early homesteaders Samuel F. Newhard and William Clark in 1864. The wood tubs were filled with the healing waters from the hot spring to serve weary drivers of freight wagons who would stop to rest and partake of the hot waters to alleviate their aches and pains for a night or two before traveling on.
Following the death of William Clark in 1878, and with the coming of the railroad, Newhard would enlarge the premises, and after a time, the business developed into the famous Hot Lake Sanatorium known regionally and nationally as a major healthcare facility from circa 1901-1931. Growth of this business was in no small part due to the geographic proximity near the major east-west rail line that could bring guests and patients more easily and efficiently than the early roads of the day. During 1887 Hot Lake became a flag stop on the railroad and was marked as such in the O. R. 86 N. time table.
