Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/92

 pointed May 8, 1891, and served until May 1, 1893. Despite diligent effort the compiler has been unable to get information about the location of this post office.

BROUGHTON BLUFF, Multnomah County. Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, commander of the armed tender Chatham of the Vancouver expedition, explored the Columbia River in the fall of 1792, and as far as known, was the first white man to visit the vicinity of the mouth of Willamette River. Broughton reached a point east of Troutdale on October 30, 1792. He wrote quite accurately of the geography of the mouth of Sandy River, and his maps, though on a small scale, were carefully made. The bluff east of Troutdale has always been a prominent landmark, but bore no name until 1926, when at the request of the Girl Scouts of Portland, the USBGN officially adopted for it the name of Broughton Bluff. It seems to the compiler that Broughton, who was one of Vancouver's principal assistants, should have his name perpetuated on the maps of the country he was the first to explore. For the history of Broughton, see Meany's Vancouver's Discovery of Puget Sound, page 264.

BROWER, Multnomah County. Brower was the name of a post office in the hills about two miles south-southeast of Bridal Veil and at the north base of Pepper Mountain. It was named for a pioneer local settler, about whom the compiler has been unable to get further information. Brower post office was established December 20, 1889, with Robert C. Bell first postmaster. The compiler does not know the closing date, but it was probably about 1895.

BROWN, Benton County. Brown post office was established July 5, 1902, with Clara Huggins first and only postmaster. The office was closed March 10, 1903. Robert Johnson informed the compiler that the office was situated at the home of William and Clara Huggins on the Brown place some eight or ten miles southwest of Corvallis.

BROWN MEADOWS, Wallowa County. These meadows are in section 16, township 4 north, range 41 east. They bear the name of John Brown, a homesteader.

BROWN MOUNTAIN, Wallowa County. This is a high peak in the Wallowa Mountains northwest of Eagle Cap. It was named because of its characteristic color near the top.

BROWNLEE, Baker County. Two men named Brownlee, uncle and nephew, settled on the Idaho side of Snake River in the '60s. When the railroad was built down the Oregon side, the company named the station Brownlee, and the post office used the same name. Browns MOUNTAIN, Deschutes County. Browns Mountain, elevation 5370 feet, is south of Crane Prairie, and Browns Creek is nearby. These features were named for a negro homesteader who settled in the neighbor. hood. Judge H. C. Ellis told the compiler in 1932 that Brown ran cattle near Crane Prairie, and eventually left the country. However, C. J. Keefer is authority for the statement that Brown was a trapper and hunter, and always paid his bills in gold. This led to the notion that there was gold buried near the old homestead, but no one has reported finding it. Keefer is also authority for the story that Brown was buried near the remains of the cabin. The reader may take his pick of these stories, or wield his pick for Brown and the gold.

BROWNSBORO, Jackson County. This place was named in 1853 for Henry R. Brown, on whose land the community was established. Browns