Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/25

, Sherman County. Ainsworth is a locality just east of the mouth of Deschutes River. It has had several names. In 1909 the Harriman system began the construction of a railroad south from the Columbia River up the Deschutes Canyon into central Oregon, and the construction was carried on by the Des Chutes Railroad Company. The point of departure from the main line of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company was called Deschutes Junction. The junction was about a mile and a half east of the station called Deschutes, now Miller. When the railroads reached central Oregon, a station Deschutes was established a few miles north of Bend. This called for new names for the older stations, so Deschutes was changed to Miller and Deschutes Junction was changed to Sherman, because it was in Sherman County. The change to Sherman was made in 1912. This name later caused confusion with other stations named Sherman in Oregon and elsewhere, so in October, 1930, the station was renamed Ainsworth. This was in honor of Captain J. C. Ainsworth.

Captain Ainsworth was one of the most prominent of Oregon's pioneer citizens. He was born in Ohio on June 6, 1822, and came to Oregon in 1850. As a youth he became acquainted with steamboat activity on the Mississippi River. After reaching Oregon he became interested in transportation. He was the leading spirit in the founding of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. He moved to Oakland, California, in 1880, and died near that city on December 30, 1893. His son, John C. Ainsworth, became a prominent Oregon business man and gave freely of his time to public affairs.

In 1936 much of the branch line up Deschutes River was scrapped, and the junction at Ainsworth was abandoned. However, the locality is still known as Ainsworth. For editorial comment about Captain Ainsworth, see the Oregonian, December 31, 1893.

, Polk County. This was the southern terminus of the narrow gage line of the Oregonian Railway Company, Limited. The tracks were subsequently widened to standard gage, and the property acquired by the Southern Pacific Company. The station was named for the Earl of Airlie in Scotland. He was president of the Oregonian Railway Company, Limited, and visited Oregon during the course of construction. Most of the track on the Airlie branch was taken out in 1929.

, Gilliam County. Ajax is a locality about sixteen miles airline northwest of Condon, between Ferry and Devils canyons. It supported a post office at one time, but now there is not much in the place. The office operated intermittently from 1888 to 1921. There is a story to the effect that a cowboy named Gardner volunteered to carry the mail in the new office, without pay, and that he suggested the name for the steamer Ajax. Gardner had come to Oregon from California on that ship and had a sentimental interest in the name.

, Grant County. Alamo, a Spanish word meaning poplar or cottonwood tree, was made famous in American history in 1836 when a small band of Texans was annihilated by Mexican troops. The Texans were defending their positions in the Alamo Chapel in San Antonio. As a result of this encounter the name Alamo has been used in many places throughout the country. Alamo post office was about six or seven miles by road southwest of Granite and is said to have been named for the Alamo mine nearby. The compiler cannot determine if the mine was named for