Fifty Years in Oregon was written by Theodore T.
Geer, a grandson of Joseph Carey Geer and a shirttail ancestor of
ours.
I have put much of the book on
this website. I started because several
chapters describe the early roots of our family history in Oregon. I
kept going because
I found many of the chapters from this perspective on the early
settlers and the history of Oregon to be quite
interesting.
Perhaps in no county in Oregon has there been
more bitterness injected into political contests or more lasting enmities caused
by their outcome than in Union. And the origin of most of them lay in the
county-seat contest, which began in 1872. In the session of the Legislature two
years before, Hon. James Hendershott, then State Senator, secured the passage of
a law providing for a vote on the re-location of the county-seat. It was the
beginning of a contest longer drawn out and provoking more animosity than any
other in the history of Oregon.
Upon the creation of Union County in 1864 by
setting off the northern part of Baker, the county seat was located at La
Grande, which is on the extreme western edge of the Grand Ronde valley, and
therefore far from the center of population. But it was the largest town in the
valley, was on the line of the stage coaches from Umatilla Landing to the Idaho
mines, and was for that reason selected. But within a few years the town of
Union, on the opposite side of the valley, which was also on the stage line and
centrally located in a magnificent agricultural section, becoming ambitious,
began clamoring for a vote on the re-location of the county seat. The unrest and
aspirations of Union became contagious and the outcome of the agitation was the
enactment of the enabling law referred to, which provided that at the
Presidential election in November of that year a vote should be taken on the
proposition, and that five towns, La Grande, Union, Cove, Island City and
Summerville, should be candidates for the coming honor. If no one of these
secured a majority of all the votes cast, a subsequent election should be held
at which the two highest contestants should have a final tryout.
The outcome of the election gave La Grande the
highest vote, but it was less than a majority. An interesting question here
arose, however, as to which aspirant should be the second contestant. In the
earlier days Cove was officially designated “Forest Cove,” but its name had been
changed by the Post-Office Department to “Cove” in order to prevent the frequent
miscarriage of letters in the mails resulting from the similarity of the names
“Forest Cove” and “Forest Grove,”
But the change had not become familiar to some
of the early settlers when the county-seat vote was taken, and in the returns
there were six votes for “Forest Cove.” It happened that the vote between the
Cove and Union was so close that the counting of these six votes for Cove would
put that town in the second place; but if they were counted separately, it would
give Union the privilege of contesting with La Grande. Naturally, it gave rise
to much feeling, for it was soon discovered that all the Wilkinson family in
High Valley, old settlers and numbering six voters, had inadvertently voted for
“Forest” Cove. In the wrangle which at once arose between Union and Cove, the
former, of course, insisted upon its rights according to a strict construction
of the returns, but Cove proposed to contend for those six Votes, which were
admittedly intended for itself though technically cast for another locality.
A meeting was held by the citizens of Cove to
consider what was best to do and I was chosen to take up the legal phase of the
matter with Hon. James H. Lasater, of Walla Walla, all the lawyers of Union
County at that time residing in La Grande. I had attended school under Mr.
Lasater in Silverton when but nine years old, and had known him later quite
intimately. He counseled acquiescence in the returns as shown on their face,
stating that the outcome of the suit would be uncertain, and that it would
certainly be expensive, so the matter was dropped and the second election gave
the decision to Union. Had those six votes for “Forest” Cove been counted for
Cove, it would have put that place in the contest against La Grande, and it
would without doubt have been chosen the county-seat. This would have surely
affected materially the political history of Union County, as well as the public
careers of many of its prominent citizens, for in the forty years following men
have been voted up and voted down and voted out with a beautiful disregard for
fitness or political affiliation – the all-important question being as to their
stand on the fight between Union and La Grande. For thirty-five years it raged
with relentless fury, and after the first steps were taken ‘way back in the
early days, boys were born, grew to manhood, became candidates for office and
were slaughtered, whether Republicans or Democrats, sickened, died and passed to
their reward – but the old fight kept up with unabated interest and with
frequent stiletto thrusts, followed by telling results.
Southeast of the town of Union is what has
long been known as the “Panhandle,” a narrow strip of country which runs out
into the Cornucopia Mountains, forty miles away, and which geographically
belongs to Baker County, but its attachment to Union County upon its creation
had given to Union its political strength, or, rather, its balance of power in
the struggle for the retention of the county-seat. For years, efforts were made
to have it joined to Baker County, as most of the people, when obliged to go to
Union on business of any kind, went to Baker City, left their teams there and
went to Union by train. It was held that, since a trip to Union necessitated
going through Baker, they might as well belong to that county and save this
extra travel.
But the change was always stubbornly resisted
by Union, for obvious reasons. At the legislative session of 1901, however, a
bill for that purpose was passed after a most bitter contest. It was fathered by
Senator William Smith, of Baker, and the opposition was led by Senator Wade, of
Union. It had passed the House without being seriously contested, it being the
intention of the Union people to center their efforts upon killing the measure
in the Senate. On the morning of the day upon which it had been made a special
order, Senator Smith came into my office and said he had heard that I intended
to do what I could to defeat the “Panhandle” bill in the Senate. I assured him
that such report was entirely unfounded, that I intended to keep my hands off
the contest, it being a local measure, and that the winning side might rest
assured that no executive veto would interfere with the result of the final
vote. Senator Smith went away saying that that was all he asked.
Within an hour Senator Wade entered my office
in a somewhat excited state of mind and said the report had reached him that I
intended to assist the Baker County people in their effort to wrest the
“Panhandle” from his county, upon which I gave him the same assurance I had
extended to Senator Smith – which was perfectly satisfactory to him.
After a debate which consumed much of the
forenoon, the vote was taken and Baker County won the “Panhandle.” Personally, I
regretted the result, since I had been so closely connected with the people of
Union in my boyhood days, but it was not a case where there would be any
justification for interference and I permitted the law to stand.
A strong effort was made, however, by the
people of Union to induce me to veto the measure, and they secured a large
petition – signed, it was said, by many citizens of the Panhandle – but as my
stand had been taken and assurance given to the contrary, it was impossible to
comply with their request.
Six years after this episode, I was a
candidate before the people under the direct primary law for the Republican
nomination for Governor, and came within some two hundred and fifty votes of
winning it. A more complete scanning of the vote cast after the different
counties were heard from by precincts disclosed the interesting, as well as
significant, fact that of the two precincts in the town of Union, the
Republicans had cast about one hundred and fifty votes, and but three of them
had been given to me! Always before, when candidate, I had received practically
the unanimous support of the Union Republicans, which, if accorded me on the
occasion referred to, would have given me the nomination for Governor.
Immediately after the passage of the
“Panhandle” bill, a vote was taken upon the re-location of the county-seat in
Union County, and La Grande won it from Union by quite a decided majority. So
far as I can see, that solar plexus I received at the hands of Union was the
last exhibition of the bitterness which had been raging in that county for
thirty-five years as to the location of the county-seat.
Union is a beautiful little city, in the midst
of one of the best agricultural sections in the West, has a splendid water
power, vast timber resources, a fine lot of people of the substantial pioneer
stock and is progressing rapidly in its development – even without the county
capital, and the rest from an eternal wrangle which it is enjoying hath its
compensations which are not to be despised.
But a county-seat contest is surely noted for
its vitality. It has a faculty of staying “put.” It usually has nine lives, and
one never knows when it is loaded.
Next Chapter -
Political campaigns of Union County in the early 1870s were lively with the
likes of James Hendershott, Sam Hannah and others.
If you are interested in finding this book, Fifty
Years in Oregon, it can
often be located at Powell's Books in Portland
which is one of the largest used book stores in the United States or, through the
Alibris service
which catalogs used books from stores across the country. For more information on the Geer Family, visit the Geer Family website. Other resources
and references include:
