Early Times in Halsey
By Ed Jewett
Transcribed by Joanne Skelton Dec 2009
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 29 Sep 1932, page 2
I met Miss Nettie Spencer recently, and she asked me to write about the early history of Halsey. I will have to depend entirely on memory, and as my story goes back 58 years, there will doubtless be many events and persons that I cannot recall; nor can I give the dates exactly, and shall not attempt to do so.
Halsey was started in the fall of 1870 or early in the spring of 1871, when the Oregon & California railroad (now the S. P.) reached that place. Halsey was named for Col. Halsey. (first name unknown) who was I think, the first vice president of the O. and C. R. R. Co., or he may have been the present; I wasn’t here at the time, not until July, 1874. At that time Ben Holliday was president, and continued so till his death, I think. The road had then reached Roseburg, where it stopped for several years.
When I came in 1874, the town had increased, till by the end of the year the population was, as near as I can enumerate it from memory, about 150. There were four general merchandise stores, one drug store, one tin shop, one harness shop, two blacksmith shops, a wagon shop, a butcher shop, three grain warehouses; (and two more were built within a year or two: one hotel, and my father, Reuben Jewett started a shoe shop that fall.
Of the stores, the principal one was that of Jacob Thomson & Son; then Carey & Hamilton; then Frank Suiter; then John Morgan, who was also postmaster; and an odd old nut called Major Smith ran a drug store; or that’s the name it went by; though he filled more bottles with bad whiskey than he did prescriptions. (Note: One of the first stores in Halsey was opened by C. C. Clement & Connell in 1870. They sold out this store to the Grange, with Tom Black as the manager. –Nettie Spencer.)
Phil Star had the tin shop; and most of his ware, such as tin cups, lard pails, fruit cans, stove pipes, wash boilers, water and milk pails and milk pans in fact had to be cut out of sheet tin and put together and soldered by hand. About all the pressed tin ware those days was pie tins and tin plates—but I am not writing a history of tinware, but of Halsey . . . so to proceed . . . next down the street was an old two story shack with a paint shop on the first floor and the Good Templar’s Lodge on the second; next came the hotel. It was first built by Mr. Boise, but he died, and when I came to town it was owned and operated by Henry Penland & wife (with emphasis on the wife) their family of four children, two boys nearly grown, and two younger girls; all living yet, I think, except Clara, the first girl. E. F. still lives in Halsey; the others, I don’t know now where they live.
Down the street on the next corner we come to the harness and saddle shop of James Crawford. His family at that time consisted of one daughter, Luella, and I think one son, Fred, though he might have come later, as did two more girls, Maud and Edna. By the way, before I leave this fine family, I wish to say that Mr. Crawford is now living in Portland—at this time, July 1932, he is 92 years old. I saw him and his daughter, Luella, (now Mrs. McCoy) at a reunion of old residents of Halsey and Harrisburg on July 17 at Laurelhurst Park, Portland. The old man is still quite spry for a man of his age, and I greatly enjoyed meeting him as I had not seen him for at least 40 years; and it has been longer than that since I had seen Luella. Fred is dead; the other two girls are living in Portland. I do not know their present name or addresses. At the same time and place I met Lew Powell, who learned the harness trade with Mr. Crawford. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 6 Oct 1932, page 2
Well, resuming our march down First street, the next place was the blacksmith shop, run by George McNeil & Sons. He and his family lived just out of town at the time, on the Brownsville road. There were John and Bill, and a grandson, George Grubb; Lizzie, a daughter, afterward became a missionary to Africa, and married another missionary by the name of Bookwalter. She became of some note in her line of work, and as a lecturer after she returned to America. She is living in California now; and the others, I think, are dead.
Then came a house where a man by the name of Lafe Grubb lived. He only lived there a short time. There were two girls, whose names I have forgotten. They moved to Eastern Oregon, and I don’t know what became of them.
Next came another blacksmith shop, but I can’t remember who ran it then. Next came Ebenezer Hayes, on whose farm a large part of the town was built. His family consisted at that time of his second wife and one child (who died in infancy) and one son, Earnest, from his first marriage. Hayes had a small chair factory, and made rawhide bottom chairs, some of which I have no doubt may be found in the community. While he at one time owned about one third of the townsite, he died in poverty.
And now, while we rest and take a smoke; we will go back to the south end of the street, and see what was on that side; first was the section house, where the foreman, Martin Casey, lived; his family consisted of his wife and two girls, Anna and Maggie, as bonny a pair or Irish girls as ever lived. Across the track was a hut where his Chinese section crew lived, like hogs in a pen, and about as filthy. Next came two small warehouses; I don’t remember who owned the first one; the second one belonged to Whipple Hayes. Thompson & Sons built another one shortly afterward. It was sold and torn down when they failed in business. Next came the depot, then came another warehouse, owned by a stock company of farmers, called the Farmers Warehouse Co. Then John Morgan built a warehouse, but did not run it long before he went broke, as will be ________later. These, with the R. R. stock corrals completes First street as it was then.
We will now take up the early merchants and see what became of them. Frank Suiter _____run a wagon out through the county, trading goods for poultry and eggs in the summer time leaving a clerk in charge of the sort; and the one I remember was Dan Runbain; he afterward engaged in the hardware and implement business in Albany, and I think was later County Clerk. Suiter later moved his store Alford station, or Muddy, as it was called; he there built a warehouse; he then went broke, and I don’t know became of him after that. Carey & Hamilton sold out to a stock company of Grangers under the name of the Halsey Store & Warehouse Co., with T. J. Black, Joseph Pearl, Tom Porter, John Robb and several others interested in the company. They bought and moved the Morgan warehouse, placing it between the other two warehouses, connecting them together into one. Black, Pearl, Porter and Robb soon acquired the rest of the stock and it then became Black, Pearl & Co. We all thought is should have been called Black Robb(ed) Porter and Pearl; for that’s what Black did. Porter died and Black soon owned the entire business, and did for several years. He then sold the store to ___Knowlton. Black then engaged in politic; served 1 or 2 terms I the legislature, and was then appointed Collector of Customs at Portland. He still owned the warehouse; some of the time he ran it, and sometimes he rented it to others. After his term as Collector expired he continued in the grain business until his death, which was thought to be suicide. He was found to be deeply in debt and insolvent and liable to criminal prosecution for selling the farmers’ grain without leave; so that was the end of T. J. Black. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 13 Oct 1932, page 2
And now to go back to the old timers again. Major Smith continued to run his alleged drug store for many years, getting dirtier and worse as time went by, until he went crazy and was sent to the State Hospital, where he died.
Thompson & Sons finally went broke, and made an assignment to John Hedges, one of the clerks; who, after selling most of the goods, sold out to a Mr. Sanders and Mr. Hahn. After a short time they moved to Prineville hauling the goods across the mountains with teams. Henry Thompson went with them as clerk or partner—I don’t know which. Jake Thompson and son Jim went into the livery stable business, buying out Elias Presley, who had built the stable and ran it for a few years. They also ran it for a few years, and sold it to J. R. Bond. The Thompsons then went to Bend, Oregon. I think they are all dead now, unless it is Henry, who may still be living. So that’s the story of that firm.
In the meantime, Martin V. Koontz, a former clerk of Thompson’s, had, in ’75 or ’76, built a store, and after Thompson broke up, he took Joseph Lame and his son Fred in as partners, and then bought the Thompson building; he then moved his little store building, and added it to the other. They continued in business for several years, when Koontz bought Joe Lame out; but in the meantime, Fred Lame died, and Alex Powers married his widow and thus became a member of the firm, which now became Koontz & Powers. After a few years, Koontz bought Powers out, and owned the entire business until his death. He had willed the business to his wife, and son Clyde; they took the daughter, Mrs. Edith Drinkard, into the company, and incorporated as the M. V. Koontz Mercantile Co., with Clyde as manager, and they still continue in business at the old stand, and are now the leading merchants of the town.
The next firm to be taken up and finished is the Starr tin shop. Philo Starr ran it for several years until he married Fannie Penland. He then sold the shop to his brothers, Orin and Fletcher. Orin didn’t stay long; Fletcher ran the shop for several years; then moved to Eugene, that closed up the Starr tin shop in Halsey. Philo, in the meantime, had moved onto his wife’s portion of the Penland farm, where he farmed for several years; then went to Sherman county and _______a homestead. After that he took up the study of Osteopathy, but after various moved, came back to Halsey and died there. Fletcher also studied Osteopathy and is now practicing in Eugene, I think.
Well, we have been on First street a long time; let’s go to Second street. There was nothing on the east side of the street, but two or three barns. At the south end lived Jim Pearl; he ran a butcher shop for several years, but went broke and sold it out to two of his hired men. His family at that time consisted of his wife and one boy, Ray—a baby in arms when I first saw him. There were two girls came later, Hallie and Lulu. His wife was Sidney Miller, a daughter of Enough Miller, a farmer near town. I do not know what became of Ray; the two girls live in Portland. I saw Lulu at the picnic at Laurelhurst Park, that I mentioned before. She is running a restaurant on First street. Jim and his first wife separated and are both dead now.
Well, if we stop in every house this long, we never will get through. The next was Ila Bramford; her family at that time consisted of Theodore, Rose and Rufus. Rose married Aubrey Powell. She is now a widow, and lives in Halsey, or did when I left there. Rufus still lives in his mother’s old house; Theodore, I think, is dead. In the next house lived the Jewett family, of which the writer of these memoirs was one. At the time we came there I was a boy of 11. I lived there most of my life, though not in the same place. I never did anything of special notice. Here I am now, nearly 70, and live in the I.O.O.F. Home in Portland—and that’s how I come to have so much leisure to write these memoirs. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 20 Oct 1932, page 2
As I retrace in memory, those old familiar streets, or rather, folk as they were then; as in fancy I come to each house or store or shop, I seem to see them again just as they were so long ago; and the people come to my mind just as they looked then—even to Rufus Bramford and his calf hitched to a little wagon. It seems so plain that I can almost count the spots on the calf’s sides; and as I come to those who have gone astray on the path of life, I have to stop and wipe away the tears before I can proceed.
My father lived only four or five years after we came to Halsey, and my brother Willie died a few years later. My sister married Oliver Howell, who then lived near Monroe. They now live in Lebanon. My dear old mother passed away in her 76th year, so I am alone. (for I never married) just waiting till I can go to them; but perfectly happy, and in no hurry to go. But I have taken more space with my family than I should have, so will pass on down the street.
The next house was occupied just a few days after we came, by a family—or rather a composite of two large families—the man’s name was Stevenson; he had a large family, and then married a widow, named Miller, with several children. We will take up the Stevensons first. There was Albert, then a man grown, then Bayard, nearly grown, then Dave, and Ruth, a young woman. Albert married Nora Hill. He died a short time ago in Halsey, and Bayard died there just a few days before he did, while on a visit to his brother Dave and sister Ruth. I don’t know if they are living or not. Ruth married a young man by the name of John Morgan. An older sister, Rachel, married one of her step brothers, George Miller. She died shortly after they came to Halsey. There was also a small girl of the later union named Ida. Of the Millers, there was John, then a young man; he now lives in the north of town, but is no longer young. Then Delia, a young woman, then Frank, who was 11 or 12 at that time. Ida may be living yet, I think the others are dead.
In the next house lived the Crawfords, whose story I have already told; on the next corner (but a little later) was built a two story building, with a blacksmith on the first floor and a lodge hall above. Here, I think, Wildey Lodge No. 67 I.O.O.F. was organized. I don’t remember just what year, but about ’77 or ’78, I think, though it may have been later. The blacksmith shop changed hands so often that I can’t remember all of them, so I will omit all of them. (The same shop, but without the lodge hall, is still standing, and is being run at present by J. W. Moore.—Ed.) On the next corner was the little store, post office and residence of John Morgan and his family, consisting of his wife, two girls and three boys. He later studied medicine with Dr. S. A. Smith. He later abandoned his family and I think ran off with another woman. His family went to Philomath; and that is the end of their story, as far as Halsey is concerned.
The next place was the livery stable. Its early history I have already told. A little farther down we come to the last house on the street, at that time occupied by Jim Read and wife. He was the depot agent at that time, but only remained a year or two after that. The place was bought by T. J. Black, who lived there as long as he stayed in Halsey, which was for many years. Of the family were Ida, George, Jim and Haide, of the Blacks, and his wife’s children by her first husband—Doug, Jo, John and Adda Crabb; all dead with the possible exception of Ida Black (now Tobey) and Jo and John Crabb. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 27 Oct 1932, page 2
A few years later Jo Lame built a house a block farther down, and lived there as long as he remained in town. Their family consisted of Fred, Marie, Viola, and Ethel, as she was commonly known. I think they are all dead now. This was all on Second street, but as we may not get back this far again, let us go a little father, and interview the old pioneer physician, Dr. A. S. Smith and wife and daughter Josephine, or Jo, as she was known. She married John Geary, who later studied medicine with the old doctor, then practiced in partnership with him for many years. I don’t know if any of them are still living; and now we meander back to the extreme south end of town again, a whole mile, but let’s light our pipe before we go, as we have a large composite family to enumerate when we get there.
Well, here we are at the residence of Wm. Chastain. Mrs. Chastain’s first husband’s name was Larue, but he doesn’t enter into the picture at all, as he was dead long before our story begins. Of the Chastains, there was Eliza, Jo and Minerva; of the Larues, there was John, a deaf mute, Mary, and Jimmie, a cripple—a victim of rickets; then there was Alice Stillwell, a granddaughter, and Orin Rose, a nephew of Mrs. Chastain. Stephen Stillwell, the father of Alice, lived there part of the time. Eliza married Orin Rose, and after living in and near Halsey for several years, they moved to eastern Oregon, where they separated; she is now the wife of Jack Garett. Minerva married Jo Crabb; I don’t know where they live now. Jo Chastain is dead; Alice Stillwell married Jim Garrett; he died a short time ago while on a visit to Halsey. John Larue still lives in Halsey; Mary Larue died about a year ago. Jimmie died many years ago. Well, after that big family, we will rest until after dinner.
The next was Jake Thompson, whose story has already been told. Then Jim Thompson, on the opposite corner. In his family were Owen, Guy and Neil. The last I know of them Owen lived in Burns, Ore., and Guy in Albany, the rest are dead. Next was Frank Moore, who ran a wagon shop for a while. With him part of the time lived two brothers—Jimmie, a painter, and Billie. The last I knew of Jimmie, he lived in Eugene, and was a preacher in the Christian church. I don’t know what became of the others.
Next came William Allen, whose family was Ben, W. J. and Arey. Some twenty years later, Lena was born. Ben, I think, lives in Oregon City; I don’t know if Arey is living or not. (She is—her name is now Miller, and she lives now in Washington.—Ed.) Lena is, or was, living in or near Los Angeles. Wid is dead.
Then came the M. E. church, which for several years stood unfinished, but finally was completed, and became the leading church of the town. Then over on Fourth street was the U. P. church. This was an old shack, moved in from the country, or from Peoria. Later, they built a new one farther south, and sold the old one to the Baptist. Both organizations have long since died out, and the buildings have been torn down.
Next, but later, came Thomson Rowland and family. Mrs. Rowland was a school teacher, and I acquired a good share of my meager education from her. They moved to Eugene, and I lost track of them. Next came W. W. Francis, at first a boot and shoe maker, then, in succession, a druggist, newspaper man, and a farmer, later he was county recorder. They moved to Albany, he served two terms as county recorder, and two terms as treasurer He also served one year as Grand Patriarch of the Encampment Branch of the I.O.O.F., was a delegate to the Sovreign Grand Lodge, and was treasurer of the Grand Encampment until his death. His family of two boys and two girls are scattered and I don’t know where they are. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 3 Nov 1932, page 2
Next was Martin Koontz, whose career I have already sketched. In the next house, when I first came there, lived Elias Keeny, an old pioneer farmer; but as neither he nor his family lived there long, but moved back to the farm, I will not take any more space with them; not but what he deserves it, for he was a fine man, and had a fine family, but they had little to do with the making of Halsey, although he was always a prominent member of the M. E. church.
This finishes the west side except a few single men and women, and later comers, who will be taken up later. But I am getting tired, and will rest awhile before going to the east side.
Well, here we are, at the extreme south end of town—in fact, at a farm house, the residence of Whipple Hayes, who owned about two thirds of the town site before he sold it the Townsite Co. or the O & C R R Co. The house stands close to the railroad, on the east side of the track. Mr. Hayes had a large family, having been married twice. Of the first, there was Dan and Steven; of the second, Frank, Gertrude and May, and a son of Mrs. Hayes, Ira Vawters. Mr. Hayes was an active business man, as well as a farmer. He was, for awhile, in the Grange store, the Halsey store and Warehouse Co. before described, in the fall of 1876. He was murdered by a worthless, drunken saloon keeper named Kay Neil, who was afterwards hanged for the crime. Dan Hayes still lives in Halsey, and still owns a portion of the old place, including the residence. He married Mary Vanlandingham; he now lives with one of his daughters Mrs. Ruby Standish, and is still interested in farming. Steve Hayes lives in Portland. He early went to Sherman county, and was engaged in horse raising, He was county clerk of Moro county for several years, but is now retired; and lives with a daughter in Portland. Frank went astray, and I do not know if he is living or not. Gertrude, I think, lives in or near Los Angeles; May died soon after her father did. Ira Vawters went to Medford, and engaged in the banking business. He rose to prominence there, and was at one time a candidate for congress, but was not elected. He served in the legislature, and was Grand Master of the I.O.O.F. at one time. He died several years ago. Mrs. Hayes, several years later, was married to W. J. Ribelin; they lived in Halsey for many years, but both are now dead.
I have devoted a good deal of space to the Hayes family, because, at that time, they were the most prominent family in Halsey; and also because I am a nephew of the elder Hayes, my mother being a sister of Whipple and Ebenezer Hayes.
Now we will walk down the railroad track till we come to the old school house, where I didn’t graduate, but got what little schooling I ever had. I never took many prizes, especially in the spelling classes. The old school house was later moved away and is now a residence, and a new one was erected in its place. It, in its turn, is now old. The next place was a small residence built a few years after our story opens, by John Thompson, at that time station agent. It has since been replaced by a larger one.
The next one was another small house owned by Dan Hayes, and later sold to J. R. Bone. He only lived there a short time, as his wife did not like the noise of the trains so close, as she was very nervous; and while we are there, might as well write their biography. Bone, after farming awhile, bought the livery stable, which he ran for many years, as already recorded, he built a residence in the edge of town. This family had one boy and two girls. Charles moved to eastern Washington, and I think is now dead. Arminda did live in Wenatchee, Wash., and I am not sure whether she is living or not. Lilly, I think, lives in Athena, Ore. J. R. and his wife are both dead. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 10 Nov 1932, page 2
We now come to the Halsey Hotel, first called the Villard House, built and run for many years by Andy Laubner and wife, Mag. He was Dutch, she was Irish; they have long since passed away. They had no children. The hotel has since had a number of owners, but is no longer being run.
We next come to the first and only saloon that Halsey every had, built and run for a short time by Kay Neil, who murdered Whipple Hayes; he ended his noble career on the gallows. The town was incorporated as a city a short time afterwards, and by a provision in the charter, it was practically impossible to get a license for a saloon, but that didn’t keep whiskey out of town, as there was always one, and generally two drug stores that sold it by the bottle, and the liquor people have never respected or obeyed the law and never will. They say that Prohibition and the Volstead act created the moonshiner, and the bootlegger; but I know that one barrel received by the drug store would make three barrels when retailed; and that bootleggers were as plentiful around Halsey then as they are now, or even more so—but let’s go on to the next house. I don’t remember who did build it, bu Joseph Pearl bought it and traded with Eb Hayes who built a large house that he was unable to finish. Mr. Pearl had a large family, and needed a large house. I will try to enumerate them—the four or five already married, and doing for themselves, these I will skip for the present, at least. Then there were Ida, Alice, Oliver, Sile (or Henry), Bill and Cleve. Mr. Pearl was what the Methodist call a local preacher; that is, he never took a regular charge, but preached occasionally. He preached without notes, but as the Spirit gave him utterance, (so to speak). He was superintendent of the Sunday School for many years, and was a fine old man. Ida married John Robb; she now lives in Portland. Alice never married, and I think now lives with Ida, as does Bill. I don’t know what became of Olive after she left Halsey, nor of Henry and Cleave. The old folks have been dead for many years.
Returning to the east side, the next house was built by a school teacher named Bedford; he only lived there a year or less, and the place was bought by a quaint old man by the name of John Wilson, but more familiarly known as Ginger Wilson. He was a gunsmith of sorts, an old bachelor, and when he died and was buried, that ended his history.
Further down the street lived Uncle Bart Allen, a queer old bird, and as good as he was old. His wife was an invalid for a long time. They had no children. She died, and late in life, he married again, a widow, Aunt Nelly Carter. He only lived a short time afterwards.
The next building was the planing mill, a big tall building 2 ˝ stories high. In the loft, the Masons held their meetings. The mill changed hands frequently, and I don’t remember who all ran it; David Allingham was one of the early ones. He lived in Halsey at different times and at different places, off and on, for a good many years, and I am not sure but what he died there. He had a large family—Lank, Carter, Lorin, Otho, Gay, Belle, Dolly, and one other girl whose name I can’t now recall. Carter died in Portland about three years ago; Dolly lives in Portland; Gay, I met about a year ago—I don’t know where he lives, or whether any more of them are living or not. (to be continued)
Published in HALSEY JOURNAL: 17 Nov 1932, page 2
Now we will go to the east edge of town. In an old shack lived for awhile, Samuel Colins and family. He had, at that time, a boy and girl by a former wife, John and Ada; and Alice, by his second wife. That was all, I think at that time; they had several children later, after they left Halsey. All of them are now dead.
Then there was Mathew Marks and family; they did not stay long. Now, switching back a little, we come to Marion Morgan, who built a small house shortly after I came to town; and lived there many years. They had no children at that time, but later had two boys; all are, I think, now dead.
Then back to the edge again. There stood an unfinished large house which John Caldwell bought, and partly finished, but didn’t stay long. They all are gone long ago. Then, later, came the house of J. R. Bone, already counted. Then, west a block, Frank Presley built a rather large house. He lived only a few years. He was one of the Halsey Store and Warehouse Co. for awhile, but his family are all scattered, and mostly dead long ago. Then came Elias Presley. He built the old livery stable; I don’t remember enough about his family to be worth telling, as they soon moved east of the mountains. His house was afterwards bought by old Grandfather James Pearl; of his large family, there only lived with him then his wife, (who, I believe, was his third), and two sons, Redmond and Sherman, and two girls, Florence and Etta. Red is the only one living in Halsey at this time; the others are scattered or dead.
The next house was built by Charles Knott, who succeeded Jim Pearl in the butcher business. He married Nell Coker, a widow, with a son, Frank, and a daughter, Laura. All are now dead.
This at last completes the list, except for a few strays, who are hardly worth recording, but I will mention a few. There was Nathan Canady, who was an old bachelor, he was a clerk for Thompson & Son for awhile, and later bought a farm.
Then there was old Charley DeWire, a painter. He fell from a ladder and was badly crippled. He then did sign painting for a number of years, then went to Oregon City, where he died.
Then there lived with his aunt, Mrs. Penland, a boy named Bert Barker. He is now vice president of Oregon University. And last, but not least, Miss Nettie Spencer, a sister of Mrs. Penland. And, as I have nothing more to write about, I will now close. I thank all who may read this, for their kind attention, and hope they enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it.
I have forgotten to mention the Christian Church, as it was built a little later than the time I was mostly writing about. They built a very nice church on Second street, and have a membership almost equal to the Methodists. These two are now the only churches in Halsey.
The End