Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/501

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
OREGON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
481

from Iowa in 1875, and his wife was born at Talent, Oregon, of pioner parents, in 1858. They settled on a homestead at the present site of Persist post office in 1884, and after 18 years of persistent effort, secured an office to serve their immediate neighborhood in 1902 with Willits first postmaster. The name Persist means all it implies to those who for many years pioneered in this part of Oregon with road work, school development and other problems. Mail was first had at Trail post office, 22 miles away by trail, or ten miles by trail to Prospect. The Willits suggested the name Persist on account of their pioneering.

Peter Skene Ogden Park, Jefferson County. Peter Skene Ogden was the explorer of central Oregon during the period of the fur traders. He was born in Quebec in 1794 and entered the service of North West Company in 1811. He entered the Oregon country in 1818 at the head of a trapping party, with headquarters at Fort George, now Astoria. He discovered and named Mount Shasta, California, February 14, 1827. He was one of the first to describe and name geographic features in eastern Oregon. He discovered the Humboldt River in Nevada in 1828, and the city of Ogden, Utah, is named in his honor. He was a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver; he rescued the survivors of the Whitman massacre in December, 1847; and died in Oregon City on September 27, 1854. He is buried in Mounain View cemetery in Oregon City, where a monument was erected by pioneer and historical organizations, and dedicated to his memory on October 27, 1923. Summaries of Peter Skene Ogden's Journals, edited by T. C. Elliott, appear in the OHQ, volume X, page 331; volume XI, pages 201, 229 and 355. The complete Ogden journals of 1824–25 and 1825–26 were published in 1950 by the Hudson's Bay Record Society. The Oregon State Highway Commission has given the name Peter Skene Ogden Park to land adjacent to the Crooked River bridge on The Dalles-California highway in the south part of Jefferson County, to commemorate Ogden's explorations into central Oregon. For article by John W. Kelly about Peter Skene Ogden, see the Oregonian, magazine section, June 26, 1927, and for information about the dedication of Peter Skene Ogden Park, ibid., July 16, 1927. The name Peter Skene Ogden Park was suggested by Robert W. Sawyer of Bend.

Peterson Butte, Linn County. Peterson Butte is southwest of Lebanon and has an elevation of 1430 feet. It was originally called Washington Butte, but in the course of time local custom changed the name to Peterson. It was named in honor of Asa H. Peterson, who crossed the plains in 1845, and settled in that locality. He was one of the party that was piloted from Fort Hall westward by Stephen Meek.

Petes Mountain, Clackamas County. Petes Mountain, maximum elevation 830 feet, is a well-known ridge south of Tualatin River and west of the town of Willamette. In July, 1945, Raymond P. Caufield of Oregon City informed the compiler that Peter A. Weiss received a patent for land on the slopes of this mountain in June, 1868, and that as far as could be learned the ridge was named for him.

Petes Point, Wallowa County. Petes Point is south of Wallowa Lake. This point was named for Peter Beaudoin, a Frenchman who was at one time one of the largest sheep owners in eastern Oregon. He started in the sheep business in the Wallowa Valley about 1884.

Petteys, Morrow County. A post office with the name Pettysville