Road to Troy
Contributions from Mary Burrows Wallowa History Center
Wallowa Sun June 19, 1913
Road to Troy
Many Hogs Marketed in Wallowa
Completion of New Wagon Road From Wallowa to Troy
A new road has been completed and opened for travel and decreases the distance of Troy from Wallowa by 16 miles of road.
Troy was formerly 52 from Wallowa by the old wagon road through Flora. Over the new Road the distance is only 36 miles. The first load to be hauled over the new road started from Troy land Friday where D. M Silver started a four horse team and wagon loaded with grain to supply feeding points along the road for hogs which he is now driving out to.
The Wallowa market
D. M and John Silver of Troy started with 84 head of hogs for Wallowa. They were joined by another 26 from Eden making 115 head. They expect to be in Wallowa by the end of the week.
City of Wallowa 41 years old January 1
Incidents of the First Day are Recalled
As the town of
Wallowa was 41 years old upon January 1, 1927, and as there are now very few in
this community who were preset upon the occasion of its birth, some incidents
relating thereto may be of interest to the readers of " the Wallowa sun". In
order to write of these matters understandingly, your correspondent must of
necessity take somewhat of a running start.
A Lostine merchant, matt Johnson by name, believing that the site of this
village was a good place to start a town, in the summer of 1885, purchased a
half acre of land from l. J. Cole, upon whose homestead the village is largely
located. Upon this plot, which is just west of the Wallowa roller mills, he had
erected a two-story building, shelved up below, and with a hall above for public
gatherings.
Having just completed a term of school in lower valley, in which Ernest F.
Johnson, W. T. Dougherty, L. T. Powers, W. H. Boyd, Mrs. Bessie Hamilton, Mrs.
Kate McElroy, Mrs. Sarah Knott and about 50 others were pupils, Mr. Johnson
employed me to take charge of the store soon to be opened.. Upon the afternoon
some freight teams drew up to the building and left the first consignment of
goods.
I had arranged to board with the Cole family whose log residence was near by,
so, bright and early the next morning I fell to tearing open boxes and bales and
displaying the goods upon the hitherto empty shelves, endeavoring to make $500
worth of goods look like $2500 worth. The doors were opened, there were treats
for everyone, business was doing, and the town was launched, new year's day
1886.
Now as it seems customary to celebrate every momentous occasion with a grand
ball, the natal day of this infant village furnished no exception. Plans and
arrangements had been made, so, as evening approached, scores of devotees of the
art terpsichorean, were to be seen coming from all directions, determined to
shake the foot or ornament the wall. Good music was furnished by a local
orchestra and the revelry continued until the " wee, small hours."
The weather that had been mild and spring-like for several
weeks, suddenly changed upon the evening in question and a furious snow storm
set in. The stairway leading down from the hall was outside the building, and as
a young man by the name of Saunders came out upon the landing, the fierce wind
lifted his hat and he never saw it more. Several hung their head gear upon nails
provided for the purpose. When Henry Edwards, now of Umatilla and lately a
visitor here, reached for his hat, he found in its place a loppy, greasy old
affair which some individual with more enterprise than honesty, had exchanged
for Henry's brand new tile. I do not wish to be understood as advertising our
winter climate or the character of the citizenry of that remote period. Much
change has been possible in each during the last 40 years. If these lines should
fall beneath the eye of him who purloined that hat, and the recollection should
induce repentance and restitution , then this article would surely not have been
written in vain.
The little town was a puny child and not until the arrival of the M & M Co.,
(Island City Mercantile and Milling co) that came about 1890, to give it
nourishment, did it show signs of growth and vigor. Later the advent of the
railroad put it upon the map in quite substantial form. And now as it enters
upon its forty -second year, may the attitude of its citizenry toward morals,
manners and business be such that it will fulfils a helpful and practical
mission, and grow in honor, influence and size as it grows in days and years.
The Wallowa Sun, Thursday September 17, 1914
Three Horses Die In Fire
Monday Night
Wallowa Livery Stable, Barn And Stevens Building Completely Destroyed
A fire completely destroying the N. D. Crofutt Livery stable, a building
belonging to Mrs. Minnie Stevens of Cove, on Main St, and a barn back of the
livery stable owned by H. D. Driver, occurred in Wallowa on Monday evening at
9:30 o'clock. Three horses belonging to B.F. and G. W. Ross were also burned.
The origin of the fire is unknown. Mr. Crofutt states he had no fire in any part
of the stable that day. Some men who intended to sleep in the barn that night
had retired; one of them, who had not yet fallen asleep, noticed smoke coming up
through one of the hay shutes and upon examination discovered the lower part of
the barn ablaze. The alarm was immediately given and the fire brigade was soon
upon the scene.
A number of horses were in the barn, five belonging to Ross Bros. and all were
rescued with the exception of the three horses belonging to these gentleman. The
horses were valued at $640, this price having been refused only a short time
before, and a pet racehorse. They also lost a camp outfit worth $300. They felt
their loss keenly both being old gentlemen, who were on their way to Baker. B.F.
Ross narrowly escaped with his life.
Owing to such a strong wind, the fire gained such rapid headway that it proved
utterly impossible to save the buildings or much of the contents.
The residence of E. A. Holmes occupied by E. L Holmes was saved only by the
miraculous efforts of the men, as it lay directly in the path of the wind. The
west side of the residence was slightly damaged, and the fruit trees between the
house and the Stevens building were ruined, Other buildings slightly damaged
were the roof on Morelock's Opera House, and the front of the building occupied
by Enterprise Electric Co. Had it not been for the steady down pour of rain, the
greater part of the town would have been in ashes, as the water pressure would
not have been great enough to extinguish the fire.
N. D. Crofutt estimates his loss at $2,000 and carried no insurance, the
insurance having run out only a few days previous. Mr. Driver's loss is valued
at $500 and no insurance. The Stevens Building was insured for $900
The livery stable was one of the first buildings in Wallowa and was built about
25 years ago.
James Hickman Pioneer of County Passes at Modesto
June 7, 1928
James Hickman, 84 years old, and a pioneer of Wallowa County as well as a
veteran of the Civil war passed away at the home of his daughter Mrs. L. M.
Campbell, at Modesto California, the evening of Memorial Day according to word
received here. Funeral services were held Friday with Internment at Modesto.
Mr. Hickman came to this county from the Willamette valley in 1887. The first
winter he spent in the North Woods, in the spring coming to the valley and
homesteaded on Diamond Prairie, and operated a shingle mill in the canyon just
above the house on the former McDonald ranch,
Mr. Hickman, who was a member of the True Follower Church, also preached in the
old school house, known as the Diamond Prairie schoolhouse, which stood by the
large fir tree near the slaughterhouse by the Maxwell stockyards.
After removing from Wallowa in 1903. Mr. Hickman went to Parma later to Modesto.
He is survived by six children: Mrs. Cordelia Powers, Mrs. Lu Lu Adams and C
Henry Hickman of Parma, Idaho, Albert of Gerber, Calif., Mrs. Ben Rich and Mrs
L. M Campbell of Modesto. Mr. Hickman was a native of Tennessee and served in
the 2nd Tennessee Rgt., during the war