Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/398

288 chairman of the stockholders' meeting and then at such meeting passed a resolution authorizing the chairman to subscribe $7,000,000 to the stock of the company as follows: "Oregon Central Railroad Company by George L. Woods, chairman, 70,000 shares — $7,000,000." Upon this fictitious subscription the company was organized by electing a board of directors and George L. Woods (then governor of Oregon) as president, and S. A. Clarke, secretary. And upon this organization the Salem company located its road upon the east side of the Willamette river, secured some local donations, some aid from James B. Stevens, proprietor of the then East Portland townsite, and induced Bernard Goldsmith, of Portland, to advance $20,000 on the bonds of the company, and commenced the work of constructing their road. I am thus particular in set- ting out these facts to show how the railroad was located on the east side of the Willamette valley.

Up to this point the Elliott scheme, concocted in San Francisco, and swallowed by the Salem people, baited with unassessable stock, was an attack on the interests of Portland. The prejudice in the Willamette valley against Portland was greater then than it is now. And the fact that the Salem company had been promoted from San Francisco, while the company Gaston represented was a Portland corporation with Portland incorporators, having its office here, and making Portland the terminus of its railroad, created all the antagonism be- tween tITe rival parties and engendered the long and bitter contest for the land grant.

The Gaston, or Portland company "broke ground" and commenced the work of grading their line on the 15th of April, 1868, in the presence of about two thousand people, and great enthusiasm, in the street at what is now the southwest corner of the county hospital block, in Caruthers addition to the city. And besides an address from the president of the company showing the prospects of the enterprise, speeches were made by Gov. Gibbs, and Col. W. W. Chapman, Mrs. Rebecca Lewis, wife of the chief engineer of the company, mother of Mrs. P. J. Mann, who is now building "The Old Peoples Home" near Rose City park, then and there cast the first shovel full of earth in grad- ing the Oregon railroad system.

The east side or Salem company "broke ground" the next day, April 10, at the point where the Southern Pacific Company's car shops are located, south of Stephen's addition to the city, and pushed their grading with energy.

The following is the original list of stock subscriptions in Portland with which the Oregon Central Railroad Company commenced construction work; Ladd & Tilton, five shares ; C. M. Carter, five shares ; F. Dekum, five shares ; S. Coffin, five shares ; Jacob Kamm, five shares ; A. H. Johnson, five shares ; T. J. Carter, five shares ; John M. Breck, five shares ; Wm. Cree, five shares ; David Monastes, five shares ; W. H. Hayden, five shares ; Walter Moffett, five shares ; E. J. Northrop, five shares ; Hiram Smith, ten shares ; Hannah M. Smith, ten shares ; J. A. Fisher, ten shares ; J. Myrick, five shares ; J. B. Harker, five shares ; J. C. Ainsworth, five shares ; Joseph Teal, five shares ; S. G. Reed, five shares ; T. R. Cornelius, five shares ; R. C. Kinney, five shares ; R. Glisan, five shares ; D. C. Lewis, five shares ; CincinnattiCincinnati [sic] Bills, five shares ; A. B. Hallock, five shares ; J. S. Smith, five shares ; Lansing Stout, five shares ; G. M. Vaughn, five shares ; John McCraken, five shares ; J. W. Cook, five shares ; Sam Lowenstein, five shares ; D. Simon, ten shares ; A. Harker, ten shares ; Joseph Knott, ten shares ; Wiberg & Strowbridge, five shares; C. A. Burchardt, five shares; John Green, five shares ; R. R. Thompson, five shares ; Estes & Stimson, five shares ; E. Mil- wain, five shares ; J. W. Ladd, five shares ; T. M. Ritchey, fifteen shares ; W. Lair Hill, five shares ; M. F. Mulkey, five shares ; R. J. Ladd, five shares, Alex P. Ankeny, five shares ; Labbe Brothers, five shares.

These men have all passed on, except John McCraken, Lair Hill, J. W. Cook, Blaise Labbe and Samuel Lowenstein.