Spotlight on Affiliates

Union County, Oregon History Project

Richard H. Engeman, editor
with assistance from Kristin Teigen and Eugene Smith

Union County, Oregon History Project P.O. Box 2841 La Grande, Oregon 97850 Phone 541-975-1694 E-mail: unionhistproj@eoni.com Web site: www.ucohp.org OHS Affiliate since 2002
The name of Union County, which was established in northwestern Oregon in 1864, is a legacy of the nation's Civil War. Gold mining brought a population boom during the 1860s, but mining soon gave way to agriculture — wheat, fruit, grass seed, livestock raising — and timber, the economic mainstays of the county during the past century. Those activities are now supplemented by education — the county seat, La Grande, is home to Eastern Oregon University — and tourism.	1
Efforts to document, exhibit, and preserve the history of Union County have led to the formation of several historical societies in the area, including the Cove Improvement Club's History Committee, the Elgin Museum and Historical Society, and the Union Museum. Despite their individual successes in preserving and interpreting the history of the county, these historical societies recognized that a critical piece of information was not being preserved. Much of the recent history of Union County was in the memories of local residents. As a result, in 2002, community members formed the Union County History Project to record the stories of what life in the county was like during the early twentieth century.	2
Since its founding, the Union County History Project has conducted nearly a hundred audio-taped interviews and has plans to conduct nearly a hundred more. The highly specific, personal, and often humorous interviews detail the history of the county's economy and culture. Farmer Claude Anson, for example, remembered the transition from horse-drawn plows to tractors, and Gerda Brownton spoke of how annual summer trips with a group called the Hen Party helped her develop a love of the region's landscape. Other interviewees recount attending one-room schools, the changes in town life after the arrival of the railroad, and the histories of particular buildings and neighborhood streets. The accounts provide insights that only personal recollections can give.	3
Several interviewees remembered Hot Lake Sanitarium, about six miles east of LaGrande, shown here in about 1910. Lola Young spoke about visiting as a child, and Jack Evans remembered having his appendix removed in the Hot Lake surgery. Courtesy Fred Hill
In addition to collecting individual stories, the History Project has committed to publishing a county encyclopedia that will build on the oral histories, supplementing them with scholarly research. Several county residents as well as students at Eastern Oregon University are involved in this work.	4
Excerpts from some of the oral history interviews can be read on the project's web site, and edited transcripts of all the completed interviews can be found at the Elgin Museum, the Union Museum, and county public libraries. Copies of many of the transcripts can be purchased at the Union County Chamber of Commerce, at area bookstores, or through the project's web site. Eventually, a CD set will be available that includes as many audio interviews as possible.	5
Within a few years, the Union County History Project will complete the interviews and the encyclopedia. It will then be dissolved, leaving behind a unique and valuable resource for the county and for all those interested in Oregon history.	6

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