Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/374



Bempa was establis employed forsage finally

LAMPA CREEK, Coos County. Lampa Creek is tributary to Coquille River a few miles east of Bandon. The name has been spelled several ways. It was originally called Lamper or Lampa Creek, for an old settler. The name of this settler is given as Seth Lampa in Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, page 395. The stream was later called Lampy Creek by a local property owner, and the style Lamprey was used on some government maps. Local usage finally crystallized on Lampa, and that style has been employed for a good many years. A post office called Lampa was established near this stream on May 9, 1905, with James L. Bean first and only postmaster. The office was closed to Bandon on October 15, 1918. Highway signs use the style Lampa.

LANCASTER, Malheur County. This station was named for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by D. M. Brogan, who was born in the Pennsylvania town. Lancaster is between Vale and Brogan.

LANDAX, Lane County. The name Landax was first used by the Southern Pacific Company for a siding, but the compiler has been unable to determine why the selection was made. When the post office was established nearby in December, 1914, the name was used for the office. Wilbur H. Hyland was the first postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Signal on June 16, 1927, and this office was discontinued in November, 1938. The writer does not know if Landax and Signal were in exactly the same place.

LANDRITH BRIDGE, Coos County. This bridge is over South Fork Coos River east of the town of Coos Bay. In May, 1943, Mrs. S. B. Cathcart, formerly Dora Landrith, of Coos Bay, wrote the compiler that the correct spelling of this pioneer family name is Landrith and not Landreth. The bridge was named for a member of the family who owned land nearby. Lane County. Lane County was created January 28, 1851, by the territorial legislature. It has a land area of 4594 square miles. It was named for Joseph Lane, who came to Oregon in 1849, as first territorial governor. In 1851 and 1853 he led the campaigns against the Rogue River Indians. In 1859 he was elected United States Senator. He supported the contentions of the seceding states in 1860-61, and when his term as senator expired in 1861, he retired to private life. In 1860 he was nominee for vice-president with Breckenridge. His death occurred April 19, 1881, at Roseburg. Joseph Lane was born in North Carolina December 14, 1801. Prior to coming to Oregon, he had distinguished himself in the Mexican War, and had been a member of the Indiana legislature. His attitude on secession wholly changed his political standing in Oregon. For references to Lane, see OGN, 1928 edition, pages 193-194. For history of early boundaries of Lane County, by F. V. Holman, see

OHQ, volume XI, page 33.

LANE CREEK, Jackson County. Lane Creek is a short stream that flows into Willow Creek from the west about three miles west of Central Point. Walling, in History of Southern Oregon, page 377, says the stream was named for an old man named Lane, who was murdered on its banks in very early days. There was active gold mining along Lane Creek in the early '50s. The community of Willow Springs, one of the first settlements in Jackson County, was situated near the junction of Lane and Willow creeks.

LANE MOUNTAIN, Douglas County. This niountain, about 12 miles