Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/335



airline northwest of Suntex. These buttes bear the popular name of the rimrock or lava bed sheep. This wild sheep resembles the Rocky Mountain bighorn, but the two varieties are not identical. The lava bed bighorn ranged over a large part of eastern Oregon. There is a good deal about both varieties in Mammals and Life Zones of Oregon, by Vernon Bailey. There is a popular notion that there was at one time a post office called Ibex in the vicinity of the buttes, but the compiler has not been able to find any trace of it in post office records,

IDANHA, Marion County. Idanha is a place on North Santiam River about four miles upstream from Detroit. Idanha post office was first established June 20, 1895, with Alma Kriesel postmaster. It has operated intermittently.

IDAVILLE, Tillamook County. Idaville was platted about 1870 by Warren N. Vaughn, and the land was part of his donation land claim. He named the place for his oldest daughter, Ida Vaughn.

IDEA, Gilliam County. Idea is obviously an odd name for a post office, but that is the record. This office was established February 5, 1886, probably in section 10, township 4 south, range 22 east. This locality is about six miles east of Condon. James W. Hyatt was the first postmaster at Idea and he was succeeded by Royse James. James' tenure of office was very short and the post office was closed July 26, 1889. What little business there was, was turned over to Gooseberry. In September, 1948, J. D. Weed, of Condon, told the compiler that it was intended to name the post office Ida for the wife of a local settler, but somewhere along the line the name was misspelled.

IDLEYLD PARK, Douglas County. Idleyld Park is one of Oregon's mystery names. The place is on North Umpqua River near the mouth of Rock Creek, a locality formerly served by Tioga post office, later by the Hoaglin office. In January, 1946, K. D. Lytle of Roseburg, division engineer of the Oregon State Highway Commission, wrote the writer that about 1918-19 an amusement hall was built in the place and the owner named it Idleyld Park for a similar place he had heard of in California. There is a post office in California named Idyllwild. If that name is the genesis of the Oregon name, there has been some fancy confusion along the line. As nearly as the writer can determine, the post office at Idleyld Park was established December 1, 1932, by change of name from Hoaglin. Earl D. Vosburgh was postmaster at the time.

IDOL, Harney County. A post office with the name Idol was established on the Harney County list as of March 25, 1892, with Joseph Morris first and only postmaster. The office was closed to Harney on August 9, 1893. In 1947 Archie McGowan of Burns wrote the compiler that in the early '90s gold was discovered on the head of Trout Creek north of Harney. There was a mild stampede to the diggings, but the gold petered out. Even to this day after the spring freshets small grubstakes of very fine gold are recovered. Joseph Morris, better known as Joe, moved his store from Harney to the new camp, which was called Idol City. No one seems to remember why this name was selected, unless it was because gold was the idol of miners the world over.

IGO, Gilliam County. In July, 1946, J. D. Weed, then district attorney at Condon, sent the following information about Igo: "Igo was a post office in the Ferry Canyon country, and it was named for John Igo, an early settler. There is a Grange hall there at the present time Alorris first and arney County list office with thmaster at the timange of that in the 893. In 1944 Amaster. The officarch 25, 1892.) was estab.