Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/599



springs, which flow cold mineral water, have been known from pioneer days. Sulphur Springs post office was one of the earliest offices in the west part of the county. It was established February 6, 1878, with John Cowan first postmaster. That was the same day that Norfolk post office was established not very far away. Sulphur Springs post office was closed to Reedsport on March 31, 1920.

SUMAC CREEK, Wallowa County. Sumac Creek is near Chico, in township 3 north, range 45 east. The stream was named for the sumac, Rhus glabra occidentalis.

SUMMER LAKE, Lake County. Summer Lake is one of the larger lakes of the arid part of the state and has an area of about 60 square miles. Its main source of supply is Ana River which is a spring-fed stream attaining great volume within a short distance from its source. Summer Lake has no outlet and as a result its water is strongly impregnated with salts, particularly of sodium. The lake was discovered and named by then Captain John C. Fremont, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, on December 16, 1843. As he looked down from the ridge which his party had climbed from the west he saw the sun shining on the lake, bordered with the green grass and the contrast was so great that he named the mountain Winter Ridge and the lake Summer Lake.

SUMMERVILLE, Union County. William Patten, one of the founders of this community, named it for his friend and neighbor, Alexander Sommerville. The two had lived about six miles from Harrisburg in the Willamette Valley. They moved to Grande Ronde Valley in 1857, according to information furnished the compiler by Edgar J. Sommerville of Pendleton in 1926. Summerville post office was established on May 30, 1865, with Patten first postmaster. The compiler does not know why the spelling was changed from Sommerville to Summerville. There may have been a mistake somewhere along the line or Patten and the postal authorities may have concluded that the public would prefer the usual style and adopt it sooner or later instead of the family name. The locality of Summerville was known as Indian Valley at one time.

SUMMIT, Benton County. Summit is on the watershed between Willamette Valley and Yaquina River and the name is descriptive. One time the place was called Summitville.

SUMMIT LAKE, Klamath County. Summit Lake, elevation 5554 feet, is in the extreme northwest part of the county and drains eastward into Crescent Lake. It is very close to the summit of the Cascade Range, hence its name. Summit Lake must have been known in the days of the immigrations, but the first use of the name that has come to the compiler's attention is in a report on the Oregon Central Military Road, by B. J. Pengra, dated November 29, 1865. Part of this report is on file at the Oregon Historical Society. The report seems to indicate that the name Summit Lake was applied in July, 1865, by Pengra and W. H. Odell while making a reconnaissance of that part of Oregon.

SUMNER, Coos County. Steel says this community was founded in 1888 by John B. Dalley and named for Charles Sumner, (1811-1876), Massachusetts statesman. The date must be wrong, for the post office was established on September 18, 1874, with Dalley first postmaster.

SUMPTER, Baker County. C. A. Moore of Baker informed the compiler in 1927 that Sumpter was settled during the early days of the Civil War, and was named for Fort Sumter, South Carolina, because of the