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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. 32 Homesteaders continued, Houses and Horses
(This page was typed and edited by Dean Bones.)
| Ep and ? Emmett | Mr. ? and Minnie Bower Sandy |
| Jerome and Lizzie Whiteman Dunn* | M.A. and ? Bower |
| Cyrus and ? Whiteman* | J. L. and Alice Coffey |
| Alex Fraser (single at the time) | John and Zurelda Bainbridge Dunn* |
* Have descendants living in this section at the present time.
A few of the original cabins of the Indians were very good. The one on the homestead acquired by Chris Christensen for $30.00 was made of heavy planks which had washed ashore at the mouth of Slab Creek off a wrecked vessel. The cabin on the homestead of James B. Upton was a very well built log cabin. It was in this cabin Chris Christensen had the first post office and here Will Christensen (the first white child) was born previous to the date James B. Upton moved his family there. For the first year, Mrs. Anna Hardman Christensen coked on the Indian fireplace. The flue and firebox were made of wood with rocks in the center. Her baking was done in a homemade Dutch oven which was a round iron box set in a bed of hot coals.
The first houses built by the Homesteaders were of logs. Later on, men rived out by hand eight foot shakes in the timber with an iron instrument called a "frow".
The first lumber house was built by Hardy Rock on his claim. The second one was built by Jeff Shannon on property he bought from his brother-in-law, James B. Upton. The lumber was brought into the bay on vessel "Kate and Ann". The Jeff Shaw house stood where Earl Porter now has mink houses and was burned down in 1908. The house of Hardy Rock was moved from its original site north of the present house of John Rock (his son) to where it now stands across the road east of the large barn belonging to W. D. Rock (Bill). A new kitchen was added there because the original kitchen was torn down to facilitate moving. The Homesteaders had no furniture except that made by hand from lumber picked up on the beach.
Some of the original fireplaces were still used for cooking as late as 1887.
About 1902, the family of John Weckart lived up Slab Creek on the homestead of a Mr. Lyon which is the present home of Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Mr. Weckart was working in the Valley. There was no store nearer than Al Southmayd's at Ocean Park (now Pacific City), consequently every so often Mrs. Jennie Weckart sent her oldest son, Russel, horseback to the store with an extra pack saddle horse, a large grey one, twelve years old and a pet of the family.
To get to Ocean Park, Russell went down Slab Creek to Neskowin; thence north to Oretown; then easterly to Meda, crossed the bridge there; thence up hill over the old and first road built on the north side of the Little Nestucca River near Meda; thence westerly to Ocean Park. His mother gave the boy $12.00 to buy groceries and one pair of shoes for a younger son.
Russell always took two days for the trip remaining at Ocean Park overnight. He got the groceries and shoes into a pack on the pack saddle on the grey horse and started home. Along the Big Nestucca River, the road skirted close to the river which was especially high at that time of the year. There the back horse deliberately walked out into the river and began to swim.
Continue to page 33 of "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers!"