Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/318

 mann is wrong. The stream was named for an early settler, James H. Herman.

HERMAN CREEK, Lane County. Herman Creek flows southward near the east line of township 16 south, range 10 west, into Indian Creek, a little to the northwest of Reed. It was named in compliment to Binger Hermann, prominent Oregon pioneer and for many years a representative in Congress from this state. The name was applied by Stephen Milledge, a local resident. There is a minor discrepancy in the spelling, but the form Herman has been so long in use that it will probably not be changed.

HERMANN, Lane County. Hermann was a post office in western Lane county north of Mapleton and always at or near the main fork of Indian Creek. The office was named for Binger Hermann, Coos County pioneer, and for many years a representative in Congress from Oregon. He was in Congress at the time the office was established and doubtless was of some assistance in getting the installation. Hermann post office was established June 26, 1889, with Mrs. Laura J. Dickey first of four postmasters. The office was closed March 16, 1900, with papers to Mapleton. There is still a Herman School at the forks of Indian Creek, but the spelling has been slightly changed. In 1906 a post office called Belle was established to serve the area, but it was closed in 1908.

HERMANSVILLE, Coos County. Hermansville post office was situated about seven miles south of Myrtle Point on South Fork Coquille River and was named in compliment to Dr. Henry H. Hermann, one of the most prominent of the Coos County pioneers. Dr. Hermann was the prime mover in the Baltimore Company, an organization that came to Oregon by Panama in 1859. See Dodge's Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 390. For biography of Dr. Hermann, ibid., Biographical Appendix, page 41. It will be noticed that there is a slight discrepancy in the spelling of Dr. Hermann's name and the name of the post office, Hermansville. The compiler has been unable to get satisfactory early history of this post office. Levi Gant was the first postmaster, but the year of establishment is uncertain, apparently prior to 1872. With one intermission the office operated until October 17, 1881. A. H. Bender of Myrtle Point, a grandson of Dr. Hermann, has been kind enough to furnish the compiler with information about several Coos County geographic names.

HERMISTON, Umatilla County. Hermiston was named by Colonel J. F. McNaught, a pioneer settler in the community. The name was suggested by Robert Louis Stevenson's unfinished novel, Weir of Hermiston, Colonel McNaught liked the sound of the name, and found that it did not duplicate any other post office name in the United States. The railroad station at Hermiston was originally called Maxwell probably after A. L. Maxwell, who was at one time a passenger traffic official of the railroad company. Postal authorities would not accept the name Maxwell as a post office name because of duplication, and it was for this reason that Colonel McNaught picked out a new name.

HERSHAL, Baker County. A. C. Moore wrote in the Oregonian, December 13, 1926, editorial page, that this place was named for Dr. Herschel E. Currey, a physician of Baker. It was at one time known as Currey, but the post office was later called Hershal. The office was discontinued in 1928. For biography of Dr. Herschel Eugene Currey, see