JOHN DAY

John Day is the second town in population and importance in Grant county, and if its present rapid growth continues it will not be long until Canyon City, the present metropolis, will have to share honors equally with its neighbor. Even at the present time it would be impossible to say which of these two thriving towns transacts the most business, so evenly is the trade of this section divided. Both have a population of between four and five hundred, and if a miracle were to be wrought and these two centers combined. the city thus formed would be the equal of any in Oregon of its size. From the border of one town to the border of the other the distance is only about a mile and a half, an excellent highway connecting the two places. Perhaps the day will come, it is not an improbability, when the wealth garnered from the depths of Canyon mountain, the sands of the John Day and the mineralized section which lies between the two, from the fruit and agricultural industries of the John Day valley and the stock-raising interests of the outlying ranges, will build a city on Canyon creek which will extend from Canyon City to John Day and include both these towns.

John Day was founded under the same circumstances, at the same time, by the same class of settlers. grew up under the same influences and is now sustained by practically the same industries that sustain Canyon City. Quite naturally the business of this mining district had a tendency to concentrate in one place, and as the latter named settlement was nearest the center of the mines, it grew more rapidly and became the principal town. The story of the discovery of the Canyon creek and Marysville mines in April. 1862, has been narrated at length elsewhere of how the creek bed from Whisky Flat to the mouth of the creek was taken up in claims within a few weeks after the arrival of the first miners. Mining was the sole support of the community then; and agriculture was as yet but a misty dream of the future and the fertile John Day valley in its virgin condition.

Among those prominently identified with the discovery and operation of the first mines at the mouth of Canyon creek may be mentioned G. I. Hazeltine, P. Van Middlesworth and C. B. Cobb. A town was unthought of then. The following year. 1863, the numerous population of this district demanded a nearer trading point than the settlement up the creek, and so Captain E. B. Fearing erected a small store near where Main and Canyon streets now intersect. A saloon was also opened. The natural advantages of this place as a commercial center were soon recognized and this same summer a small hotel was opened In 1864 A. R. McCallum and G. I. Hazeltine, with keen foresight, recognized in the richness and extent of the mines and the thousands of acres of fertile agricultural land in the valley thefactors that would result in a permanent settlement here, and, with commendable enterprise, they built a small flouring mill in the little settlement near the mouth of Canyon creek. At that time a few settlers had taken up agricultural land and these promised to sow wheat if a mill were started. Flour then sold at twenty-five dollars per fifty-pound sack. McCallum & Hazeltine paid from ten to fifteen cents a pound for getting the machinery in, nearly all of it having to be packed in on horses from The Dalles, two hundred miles away. Although this mill was a small one, it proved a financial success and assisted in no small way in firmly establishing the agricultural industry here. This mill was used until the ‘eighties, when it was remodeled and enlarged. Power is furnished by water taken from the John Day river. The mill is now owned by H. M. Basford.

In 1864, also, another small store was opened and two saloons were doing business, one kept by a man named Hiatt, the other by a man familiarly known as “Shorty.” E. Mosier was another pioneer of John Day, having built a blacksmith shop there in 1865. At this time, as heretofore stated, miners were scattered along the creek, and while the upper settlement was known as Canyon City, that at the mouth of the canyon was always referred to as the “Lower Town.” About this time, however, the inhabitants of this section christened their business center “John Day,” after the famed stream which flows through the valley and gives it its name.

In those days there was much lawlessness in this region. Robberies occurred in the community almost nightly; weapons were carried by every one and petty crimes were frequent. In short, the Canyon Creek camp was typical of most mining centers of the rugged west, and yet. in comparison with some of the early Nevada, Colorado and California camps, the wickedness of this camp was never great.

During the latter ‘sixties the population here began to scatter, the placer mines giving out, and all through the ‘seventies time Chinese were about the only miners who considered the tailings on Canyon creek worth re-working. The transition period between the passing of the great placer mines and the rise into first importance of stock-raising and agriculture lies in the seventies. Stock-raising was the first to relegate the mining industry to secondary importance and it gained very rapidly after the first few years. The John Day valley was quickly divided into small holdings of land, the tributary valleys were populated, immense herds of cattle and horses and bands of sheep occupied the ranges and very slowly, but with ever increasing momentum, the county forged to the front as one of the permanent and rich agricultural and stock-raising communities of the state.

Prairie City and Long Creek sprang into existence and Canyon City and John Day were lifted into greater importance by this rising tide of prosperity. In 1878 John Day was designated as a post office and Frank I. McCallum was appointed the first postmaster. The rapid settlement of the valley around there brought about this action. Until this time the small hamlet here could hardly be called a town, and its inhabitants considered its existence as temporary, though its excellent geographical location was apparent. When, in 1876, Anton Hacheney decided to open a general store at this point amid for that purpose erected what was probably the first stone building built in Grant county. There were between forty and fifty people living there. A small variety store was kept by a man named Sloss and there were two other small tobacco stores or stands. The next year, 1877, Miss Metschan built a stone building across the street from Mr. Hacheney's place, but this was not occupied as a store until the following year, when Haptonstall, Dart & Company opened a store here. Earlier in 1878 Frank I. McCallum built a small frame building on Main street and also opened a store. E. A. McCoy afterward became a partner of Mr. McCallum. Haptonstall, Dart & Company continued in business until 1896, when G. W. Dart bought out the remaining interests, also the remnant of Mr. Hacheney's stock, he having gone out of business in that year. Among other pioneer business men here we may mention William Davis, who kept a saloon known as the "Mt. Hood" saloon until his death in a street fight about 1868; Charles B. Cobb, who conducted a hotel about 1880; and Daniel A. Reamer, a blacksmith of this same period.

In November, 1881, according to a correspondent of the Bedrock Democrat (Baker City, OR), John Day possessed two general stores, two small hotels, two livery barns, a harness shop, a flouring mill, a blacksmith shop, a meat market, a good school, one church (the Methodist), one saloon and three secret orders. From 1883 to 1893 the town grew quite rapidly, and appears to have received mroe benefit from the growing industries of sheep, cattle and horse-raising and farming than did Canyon City. This period was one of great prosperity and John Day received its full share. After the destruction of the Chinese portion of Canyon City by fire in 1885, and the subsequent refusal of residnets of that place to allow the Chinese to rebuild, the Mongolians removed to John Day and added their numbers to the Chinese settlement already there. Thus quite a large Chinese town grew up, which at one time numbered between five and six hundred inhabitants. At present there are perhaps a hundred Chinamen in John Day. They have their own stores, three in number, and the community apart from the main town. Theinhabitants of this quaint settlement are orderly and apparently contented, and while, as is their way, they do not mingle with Americans nor do they adopt American manners and customs, they are not considered a detriment to the town.

During the hard times which prevailed throughout the country between 1893 and 1897 John Day was at a standstill, going backward if moving at all. But with the dawn of prosperity which has flooded the country with its penetrating and warming rays of progress, happiness and peace since then, the present John Day takes its beginning. The past five or six years marks the greatest and most substantial development of the town, and especially the past three years. From a small hamlet it has attained to the population and importance of a large town - and it is still growing.

From a geographical point of view, John Day is the natural commerical center of the county. Situtated at the mouth of Canyon creek, it is the gateway to all that territory which lies on Canyon creek and south of Canyon mountain; the only road through the John Day valley passes through the town; while it is connected with Long Creek and the northern and western portions of the county by excellent roads. John Day is a natural terminus for all these highways. At the present time the different stage lines terminate at Canyon City, but, with the exception of the Burns and Izee stages, all pass through John Day.

The town lies at the mouth of the creek canyon and on a rolling tract of land. Formerly this was all occupied as mining claims and most of it has been worked for the gold deposited in the soil. Until June 1, 1880, the townsite might be sopoken of as government land, as by that time the mines had been abandoned and the claims had thus reverted to the government. However, William H. Kelly, an old settler, took up forty acres of this land as a homestead during the latter part of the 'seventies, and on June 1, 1880, was granted a United States patent by President Garfield, On this land most of the town is situated.

John Day possesses several fine avenues. The town is fairly embowered in magnificent groves of poplars and other shade trees, which fringe the streets and roads leading into the place, giving it a very pretty and cozy appearance. Like the majority of mining towns, however, its streets are very irregularly laid out, the most important being Main street, on which the business houses are situtated, and Canyon street, leading up the canyon to Canyon City. Many beautiful homes and yars lend beauty and attractiveness tot the town, while its business structures are buildings of which many larger towns in eastern Oregon might well feel proud. Several are built of stone, a number are frame building of recent construction, while the most substantial and commodious building in the county is now being erected by Clarence and William H. Johnson. This is being built of brick with stone trimmings, whill be two stories high, with an eight-foot stone basement, and its ground dimensions are sixty-four by seventy-four feet. When completed it will be occupied by a hardware store, a dry goods establishment and a bank, besides which there will be a spacious hall in the second story. T. T. Kelly, of Sumpter, is the contractor, and it is estimated that the aggregate cost of the building will approximate $10,000.

At this point the John Day valley is about a mile wide.

Return to History List