Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/619



THREEMILE CREEK, Coos County. The Coos County gold rush of 1853-55 was largely centered at Randolph, a mining town near the mouth of Whisky Run north of Coquille River. Threemile Creek was named because it was about three miles north along the beach from Randolph.

THREEMILE CREEK, Douglas County. This is a small creek flowing into the Pacific Ocean north of the mouth of Umpqua River. It was named on the assumption that its mouth was three miles from the river. As a matter of fact it was about four miles.

THREEMILE CREEK, Harney County. Threemile Creek flows westward from Steens Mountain into Catlow Valley at a point about three miles south of Home Creek and the Home Creek Ranch, It got its name on that account.

THREEMILE CREEK, Wasco County. This stream was so named because the pioneer road from The Dalles into central Oregon crossed it about three miles from town. The mouth of the stream is also about three miles east of The Dalles, but the compiler is of the opinion that this fact was not the original reason for the name.

THREEPINES, Josephine County. Threepines was the name of a post office on the Southern Pacific line a few miles south of Hugo that operated from November, 1910, until November, 1921. W. E. Daniel was the first postmaster. The place was named for three prominent pine trees nearby:

THUNDER ROCK, Clackamas County. This rock, in the northeast corner of the county, was named by R. S. Shelley of the Forest Service in the fall of 1906 because he was caught there in a violent thunder storm.

THURSTON, Lane County. Geo. H. Kelly of Portland told the compiler in 1926 that this town was named for George H. Thurston, a pioneer settler of Lane County. Among other things, he was one of the early day land surveyors of the county. He was born in Burlington, Iowa, December 2, 1846, and was the son of Samuel R. Thurston, who was later Oregon's first territorial delegate in Congress. George H. Thurston was brought to Oregon before he was a year old. For biographical information, see Hines' Ilustrated History of the State of Oregon, pages 475 and 1272. A post office named Thurston was established December 31, 1853, with Gamaliel Parrish postmaster. It was near the present site of Harrisburg, Linn County, and had nothing to do with the place in Lane County. It was discontinued December 3, 1856. Tiara, Harney County. Tiara was a word originally used to refer to an ancient roval Persian headdress, but the meaning has been extended to include several forms of head ornament, including a style of coronet. On May 18, 1916, Tiara post office was established in Harney County with Mrs. Minerva Benson first and only postmaster. The office was closed January 15, 1917. It was in township 32 south, range 31 cast, near the north end of Catlow Valley. In June, 1947, Mrs. Benson, then living in Albany, wrote the compiler that the name Tiara was selected for the post office by her son, Hill M. Benson, because it was at the head of the valley.

TICHENOR ROCK, Curry County. Tichenor Rock is south of The Heads and southwest of Port Orford, and is a well-known landmark. It was named for Captain William Tichenor, who was born at Newark,