ture, its membership gathered for worship in private homes. When the great flood of 1861 destroyed the sister church at Champoeg, the bell that until then had hung there was found in debris in a nearby creek. It was rescued and hung in the tower of the Butteville church. An auspicious religious attitude, however, did not prevail for long, for in the November 30, 1865 issue of the Spirit of Missions, the Episcopal publication of the day, the Rev. J. W. Sellwood mournfully observed in a field report: "This town, like most of the small towns of Oregon, is composed of such a confused mass of beliefs and unbeliefs..... It is indeed a moral wilderness, all denominations here deserted. It is a place smitten with the course of God. The field is left wholly to us....."
In the early 'sixties, L. and A. W. Rynearson—probably father and son—made ploughs and advertised the fact to the agricultural community in the Argus, claiming that they were "some of the best cast steel plows ever made on the coast," for sale at "prices to suite the Times." They boasted a substantial trade and announced that they intended to "keep up with the rapidly increasing demand. If you want a good plow," they concluded, "of easy draft, and sure to scour, get one of Rynearson's Butteville plows."
When the great flood of 1861 surged down the Willamette, it brought devastation to Butteville, inundating much of the town. There is no record of the amount of damage done but it was considerable. A few buildings, at least, withstood the water's force; sufficient to provide a nucleus for rebuilding. This the town did, slowly but with pertinacity. Following the destruction of the Oregon City headquarters of Multnomah Lodge No. 1, AF&AM, that body made its home at Butteville.
In 1862, G. A. Cone moved into town and opened a general store. He served also as postmaster, adding to his duties the office of justice of the peace. Meanwhile, Matthieu continued in business until the middle 60s, when he sold his store and retired to his farm. He had been a merchant for fifteen years and the town's central figure.
Butteville, which, for a quarter of a century, was a large shipper of wheat and other produce, met discouragement when, in 1871, the Oregon & California Railroad passed it
