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Clark Living dehibald Mall

CONCOMLY, Marion County. This station on the Oregon Electric railway about three miles southwest of Gervais is named for Chief Concomly head of the Chinook tribe, who is described in Irving's Astoria, and also in Alexander Henry's journal. He died in 1830, and his grave was visited by Wilkes in 1841. For references to Chief Comcomly see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, page 139. The spelling used by the railway company is a variation of the original name. Lewis and Clark met Concomly on November 20, 1805, and gave him medals and a flag. Irving describes him in a decidedly humorous vein. His daughter married Archibald McDonald of the Hudson's Bay Company and their son Ranald McDonald is an interesting figure in northwest history. Ranald MacDonald, 1824-1894, edited by Lewis and Murakami, and published in 1923 by the Eastern Washington State Historical Society, contains much interesting information about Concomly and his family, and also about McDonald's visit to Japan in 1848-49, which is of great historic interest. An editorial in the Oregonian for November 29, 1893, treats of McDonald's pretensions to the Chinook throne.

CONDON, Gilliam County. Condon is the county seat of Gilliam County, and has an elevation of 2844 feet. It is an important trading center and is on the John Day Highway, and is also the southern terminus of the Condon branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. About 1893 a man named Potter owned a homestead just north of Thirty-mile Creek, upon which there was a fine spring. He platted the land around the spring, but became involved in financial difficulties, and the land became the property of Condon and Cornish of Arlington. Condon and Cornish sold lots in the townsite, and in 1884 David B. Trimble took the necessary steps to secure a post office, and was appointed the first postmaster. Trimble suggested the name Condon, which was adopted by the department. The office was established July 10, 1884. Harvey C. Condon, for whom the place was named, was a practicing lawyer and located in Arlington, or as it was then known, Alkali, about 1882, and was a member of the firm of Condon and Cornish. He was the son of Judge J. B. Condon, a pioneer jurist of eastern Oregon, and the nephew of Dr. Thomas Condon, Oregon's great geologist. H. C. Condon lived in the state of Washington during the latter part of his life, and died at Vaughn, Washington, June 21, 1931.

CONDON BUTTE, Lane County. This butte is about five miles northwest of North Sister and one mile east of the McKenzie Highway. It was named in 1924 by Professor Edwin T. Hodge of the University of Oregon in honor of Dr. Thomas Condon (1822-1907), distinguished geologist and scientist, and for many years a member of the faculty of the University of Oregon. Dr. Condon's discoveries of the prehistoric horse had a large influence on the conclusions of scientists and went far to establish evolutionary theories. The richest field of his discoveries was in the John Day Valley. For details concerning his life and work see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume III, page 169, and McCornack's Thomas Condon. Dr. John C. Merriam of the Carnegie Institution chose the John Day fossil bed as the scene of intensive investigations looking toward the development of Dr. Condon's discoveries.

CONNLEY, Lake County. Connley post office and Connley Hills between Fort Rock and Silver Lake were named for a local family. The compiler has seen the name spelled in other ways, but Connley was the