Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/647

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VOORHIES, Jackson County. This station was named for Colonel Gordon Voorhies, who for many years operated an orchard nearby. Colonel Voorhies was a native of Kentucky and a graduate of West Point. He served in the Spanish-American War with rank of captain, and about 1899 retired from the army because of impaired health. He volunteered his services for World War I and reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel, serving with distinction. He died in September, 1940.

VOSBURG, Tillamook County. Vosburg post office was established June 28, 1901, with J. L. Vosburg postmaster. The office was closed December 15, 1903. Vosburg was named for the postmaster, who was an early-day lumberman and was later connected with the Wheeler sawmill. The office was at or near the present site of the Wheeler mill and about a half mile west of what later became the community of Wheeler. Wheeler post office was established in August, 1910, and served the locality previously served by Vosburg office. Some years later the Wheeler office was moved eastward to the community of Wheeler and a third office, Hoevet, was established to serve the locality of the mill. Hoevet post office was not in service when this paragraph was written.

WACONDA, Marion County. Waconda is a station on the Oregon Electric Railway north of Salem. It was named when the railroad was built about 1907, and the post office was established in 1912. Waconda is an old name in that part of the Willamette Valley, and was originally applied to a community about a mile south of Gervais, at the point where the present Pacific Highway East is crossed by the old road from Parkersville to Saint Louis. This old community has disappeared. The name Waconda was probably brought to Oregon from the Plains. Wakonda is used by tribes of the Siouan family to mean something consecrated and as a verb, it means to worship. It is hard to give an exact definition of wakonda. See Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 897.

Wades FLAT, Douglas County. Wades Flat is southwest of Reedsport. Captain Henry Wade and his brother settled on a ranch on this flat in early days, and the locality is named for them. For information about Henry Wade, see Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, page 185.

WAGNER, Wheeler County. Wagner post office was established March 21, 1882, and was given the family name of the first postmaster, Carl N. Wagner. The office was then in Grant County, as Wheeler County had not yet been created. It was on or near the upper reaches of Kahler Creek and a few miles north of John Day River. The office was closed April 27, 1901.

WAGNER CREEK, Jackson County. This stream is northwest of Ashland. It was named for Jacob Wagner, who was born in Ohio in 1820 and came to Oregon in 1850. He settled on Wagner Creek two years later, and in 1862 moved to Ashland, where he ran the Ashland flour mills. For additional biographical information, see Walling's History of Southern Oregon, page 542. The community of Talent was once known as Wagner or Wagner Creek.

WAGONTIRE MOUNTAIN, Harney and Lake counties. Wagontire Mountain is one of the important landmarks in central Oregon. It has an elevation of 6504 feet, according to the USC&GS. It received its