Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/529



residents say the railroad selected the name Rex, but no one seems to know why.

RHEA CREEK, Morrow County. The name Ray Creek is incorrect, The stream was named for Columbus Rhea, son of Elijah Rhea, pioneer of Lane County. Columbus Rhea settled in eastern Oregon about 1870, near the junction of Willow and Rhea creeks. Other brothers settled in the neighborhood. Columbus Rhea was engaged in a number of enterprises beside farming and was living in Heppner in 1928. He died July il, 1934.

RHINEHART, Union County. Rhinehart station is a flag stop on the Union Pacific Railroad a few miles south of Elgin, but the name is misspelled. Henry Rinehart and other members of the family were early and prominent settlers in the locality, and the station is supposed to bear the family name, but has too many of the letter "h." For information about members of the Rinehart family, see Illustrated History of Union and Wallowa Counties, pages 337, 344, and 411.

RHODA CREEK, Coos County. This stream flows into South Fork Coquille River south of Myrtle Point. It was named for William Rhoda, one of the so-called Baltimore party that settled nearby in pioneer days. Rhoda is said to have been a skilled cabinet maker.

RHODES CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream flows into Lightning Creek in the northeast part of the county. It was named for one Doc Rhodes, a local resident.

RHODODENDRON, Clackamas County. Rhododendron is the post office for a popular summer colony on the Mount Hood Loop Highway. The place was originally called Rowe for Henry S. Rowe, who was one time mayor of Portland and who was interested in the development of Oregon's scenic attractions. Later the post office was known as Zigzag. Still later the name was changed to Rhododendron because of the large number of rhododendron shrubs growing in the neighborhood.

RIBBON Ridge, Yamhill County. Ribbon Ridge is a spur in the southwest part of the Chehalem Mountains, about east of Yamhill. The top of the ridge twists like a ribbon, hence the name. A story in the Newberg Graphic, April 25, 1940, says that Ribbon Ridge was named by Colby Carter, who came to Oregon from Missouri in 1865, and was an early settler in the Chehalem Mountains. Rice CREEK, Douglas County. Rice Creek is east of Dillard. It was named for Harrison Rice, who settled near this creek in 1852.

RICE HILL, Douglas County. Rice Hill was named for I. F. Rice, who settled there in 1850. It is a summit on the Southern Pacific Company line on the watershed between Elk Creek and Umpqua River. For many years Rice Hill was the bugaboo of pioneer travelers and it even presented a problem in railroad construction. The elevation of the government bench mark near the top of Rice Hill is 710 feet. Rich GULCH, Malheur County. This gulch is in the very north part of the county, and drains south into Willow Creek a few miles west of Malheur. It was named during the gold fever of the '60s when rich placers were found in the vicinity.

RICHARDS BUTTE, Douglas County. This butte is about four miles north of Wilbur, and west of the Pacific Highway. It was named for James Richards, one of the earliest settlers in the lower Calapooya Creek section of the county.