Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/645



turn of the century. This office, which was in the south part of the Christmas Lake Valley, was established April 9, 1910, with Bertha C. Hach first postmaster. The office was discontinued September 30, 1918. In 1946 Mrs. Delbert Cloud, New Pine Creek, Oregon, wrote about the homesteaders' post offices in Lake County. Mrs. Cloud said she visited the vicinity of Viewpoint office about the time it was discontinued. She said that the people had all left. The newspaper mail had not been distributed and was still scattered around. The office door had blown away, but the post office books were there. Sic transit gloria Viewpoint.

VILLARD GLACIER, Deschutes County. This small glacier is on the north slope of the North Sister. It was named by Professor E. T. Hodge of the University of Oregon. See Mount Multnomah. Henry Villard was a great factor in the material development of Oregon, and did his share from a civic point of view as well, and he should have had something more than a small glacier named for him. Henry Villard was born April 10, 1835, in Bavaria. His family name was Hilgard. He came to the United States when he was 18 years old, and here entered upon a career as teacher, editor, war correspondent and finally railroad builder that lasted nearly half a century, and made him an outstanding figure in the history of transportation in America. For detailed accounts of his railroad construction work in Oregon, see many references in Scott's History of the Oregon Country, and also Villard's Memoirs. He died November 12, 1900. He was a firm supporter of the University of Oregon, where Villard Hall is named in his honor. See also under HILGARD.

VINCENT, Wallowa County. J. H. Horner of Enterprise informed the compiler that this place was named for Vincent Palmer of the Palmer Lumber Company.

VINCENT CREEK, Grant County. This creek is west of Austin. Patsy Daly of Prairie City told the compiler that it was named for a nearby resident who was engaged in mining.

VINEMAPLE, Clatsop County. The vine maple or shrub, Acer circinatum, grows so abundantly and so persistently throughout western Oregon that it is surprising so few geographic features have been named for it, but such seems to be the case. About the turn of the century there was a post office in the Nehalem Valley called Vinemaple. This office was about six miles downstream, or southwest, from Jewell. Available records are not clear as to the opening and closing dates, but they were probably May 6, 1891, and May 12, 1902. The office was apparently closed out to Grand Rapids. Today the old name is retained by Vinemaple School and Vinemaple Log Church, both of which are a little south of the river on the road to Elsie.

VINEYARD Hill, Benton County. Vineyard Hill, elevation about 1500 feet, is north of Corvallis, in the east part of section 3, township 11 south, range 5 west, on the boundary of the McDonald Forest of Oregon State College. It bears the name of an early settler who had a land claim nearby. It is the southward and larger of two hills of about the same height and about a half mile apart.

VINGIE CREEK, Lincoln County. This stream flows into Pacific Ocean about two miles north of Yachats. It bears the name of an early settler who owned land near the head of the creek. The name Divinity Creek is wrong and is due to a mis-hearing of the correct name.

VINSON. Umatilla County, Vinson was named for John S. Vinson,