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History

"Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" written about South Tillamook County, Oregon

The page below was written by Mrs. Hardy Rock (Alexandria LEY Rock) and published in 1949.  NVMS students have retyped her history so that many may read it.  Although some punctuation errors have been corrected the text remains as written by Mrs. Rock.

Note that Alexandria LEY Rock's "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" has been republished in book form as of January 2007 and is now being offered for sale by the Tillamook County Historical Society!

p. 47 Near Tragedies continued and Trails

(This page was typed by Susie Bentley, NVMS staff member.)

On Oct. 30 and 31, the "Gerald C" had trouble on its last trip and was tossed about terribly by heavy sea losing its anchor and chain.  John, Willie and Ole Redberg made five attempts to raise them without success.  They did get part of the chain.  Nov. 6th, they made another perilous attempt and did raise the anchor and rest of the chain, delivering them to the cannery dock.

July 7, 1912, after the drowning of the Johnson boys, the fishermen tried to find the body of Warren by blasting near the mouth of the Bay to raise it.  Clair Follett, Clint Miles and Ole Redberg worked in one boat; Bert Ray, Lester Atterbury and John Redberg in another boat.  This was a difficult and dangerous feat and was not successful.  Warren's coat was later found half-way between the Bar and Slab Creek.  Jim Johnson's body was found on the north Spit. 

On Aug. 28, 1914, Frank Follett and Richard Miles while fishing on the bar, were tossed onto the south spit by heavy breakers but escaped any serious consequences.

June 25, 1915, while Jim Whitman was engaged putting up signal flags for the Bar entrance, the Mer. Co. Launch he was using was pushed by heavy seas among the rocks near the reef close to the Bar and he had to leave it there.  It was later retrieved. 

Sept. 11 and 12, 1912, sunken in Nestucca Bay below the Salmon Cannery was what fishermen called "Steamboat Snag" a menace to vessels and fishermen.  Two blasts of dynamite were made and on Sept. 25th, two more shots removed the snag.  It was redwood, 40 feet long, 8 feet in diameter and must have been there at least thirty years.

In 1925, Carmen Taggert, daughter of Oscar Taggert, whose home was on Slab Creek, contracted polio which left her so badly crippled she spent the balance of her young life in a wheelchair.  She received private school lessons at home and graduated with her class from grade school.  At age 16, she passed away.

No doubt there have been many other near tragedies which I have not known of.

Trails

The first trail into Little Nestucca Section was an old Indian trail, located on high top ridges of the coast mountains to avoid fording the river and also swamps where ponies and mules mired their bellies in mud.  A large number of the earliest Pioneer brought their families over this trail to their homesteads.

According to an article by Hardy Rock, one of the earliest Pioneers, printed in Tillamook Headlight March 3, 1926, they traveled by team and wagon to old Grande Ronde Agency to become the guests of Pat Sinott (Indian Agent) until the waters of the Yamhill River subsided enough to permit them to safely ford that stream.  Driving as far as the nome of Dave Leno, 2 1/2 miles from the agency, they secured cayuses from the Indians; thence followed the old original Indian trail to Three Rivers where they took the Gauldy Trail over the mountains.  A good many logs lay across the trail.  If night overtook them, they gathered long strips of bark fallen from he big firs, piled them up to make a shelter large enough to crawl under to keep out the rain.

It was this Gauldy Trail, Wm. Foster, brother of Job Foster, in 1884 was frozen to death while traveling alone in the dead of winter.

Over this trail, provisions were packed by oxen, mule or cayuse from Gilbert Litchfield store situated on the hill beside the house built for General Sheridan.

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