Tigard Historical Quarterly © 2016, Tigard Historical Association, all rights reserved

Join THA in Celebrating

Curtis Tigard’s 107th Birthday April 16, 2016 1:00-3:00 At the John Tigard House

Thoughts from the President...

WINTER 2016 President: Martha Worley Vice President: Valri Darling Secretary: Phil Pasteris Treasurer: Karen Sadler-Fredd

Board of Directors Even with the promise of scattered showers and gusty winds, visitors looking forward to Christmas gathered at the John Tigard House on December 12th. Of course, Santa made his annual visit, handing out candy canes and smiles; quite a few pictures were taken (see our website) and children along with the adults enjoyed the Christmas trees laden with decorations. Children decorated cookies in the kitchen while the adults chatted with cider and hot cocoa. It's always surprising to hear that many of our visitors live in the neighborhood but have never been inside the house before. Everything evens out we have about the same number of guests each year. After Christmas, in the first week of January, we gave a tour to residents of the Elite Nursing Home. These seniors, some in wheelchairs and walkers, find a visit later (after the crowded events) easier to manage and are able to spend more time visiting. This year, after a 20-minute tour, we gathered in the kitchen for an hour and a half visit, sitting and sipping apple cider. What a pleasant time visiting, as they sat in a kitchen reminiscent of their earlier years. What a wonderful group, fun to talk with and they have so much of their history to share. Later in the year, we will be bringing in grade school children, another interesting group, who look at the past without its electronic distractions, as a lot of fun. Whatever time of year, it's always interesting to gather your information and we are planning this year's events with you in mind. You, not only to share your history, but to encourage you to join us in gathering as much of the history of Tigard as we possibly can. Have you time to join us as a volunteer at least once this year? Think about it - you may not be able to resist coming around more often to help out. -Martha Worley

THA is dedicated to preserving the cultural and historical legacy of the greater Tigard area through the conservation of the John Tigard House and its collection, research and exhibitions of our unique heritage, and educational programs.

Dr. Barbara Peterson Ruth Croft Yvonne Brod Sean Garvey

Contributors Historian: Dr. Barbara Peterson Exhibitions: Ruth Croft, Valri Darling, Sally Jones Collections Curator: Valri Darling Website Manager & Staff Photographer: Phil Pasteris Web Domain Master: Phil Pasteris Newsletter Editor: Karen Sadler-Fredd Children’s Education: Yvonne Brod, Amy Krebs Gardeners: Bret and Jennifer Kohler Advisors: Paul Clark, Sally Jones, Pat & Oliver Keerins, Gary & Sue Lass, Betty Parker, Curtis Tigard, David & Sandra Tigard

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An 1852 Wagon Train From Arkansas: Tigards to Oregon By Valri Darling In November of 1852, a settler in the Tualatin River valley wrote a letter to his wife's relatives in Arkansas, describing to them the hardships of a journey across the continent to Oregon. He wrote about the deaths along the trail, informing them of the friends and relatives who were no more. But he was pleased to report that as for their family group "we are all alive and well". This letter writer was Wilson McClendon Tigard and his letter is today preserved in the Library of the University of Arkansas. It provides an invaluable source of information on the people who made this trip and the circumstances they endured in order to reach the Oregon Territory. The journey took over six months. It began at Fort Smith, a gathering place for wagon trains leaving from Arkansas. Many of the pioneers were from the little community of West Fork in Washington County. Some of them were from surrounding areas. A wagon train that made the journey from West Fork the previous year had no difficulties so these pioneers anticipated a relative easy journey. However, they were to be sadly mistaken as their trip would include many hardships and deaths. They left Arkansas on April 12, 1852. They traveled in family groups, many of them interrelated to each other. Wilson Tigard was a young man of 26 years. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Ann, and his 2 year old son, John. Wilson's mother, Frances McClendon Tigard, aged 56 years, made the trip as well as her younger son, Andrew Jackson Tigard, Andrew's wife Sarah Edwards Tigard and their son James. Joseph Edwards, Sarah's brother, was also one of the group. Wilson's sister, Emily Adaline, age 17 years, made the journey. His other sister, Sarah Ann Tigard Gilbreath, traveled with her husband James Craig Gilbreath and their sons William Pollock Gilbreath and John Ewing Gilbreath. The Tigard family group was fortunate in that none of their party died along the trail. At one point, Wilson's mother, Fannie, had contracted cholera. Cholera was endemic along the Oregon Trail that year. The thousands of people and animals traveling the trail meant that most water sources were tainted. The usual procedure when someone came down with the dreaded illness was to stop and wait until the person either recovered or passed away. Fannie declared that they should keep going as she would either die or get better so they might as well continue on. Miraculously, she did recover. One of the families who suffered most dearly from the cholera epidemic was the Harer group. It was headed by Enos S. Harer who had been born in Kentucky in 1790. Enos' first wife, Jane Craig, had died in 1847 and he remarried to a widow named Huldah McMahon Dale. "Uncle Enos" as he is referred to in Wilson Tigard's letter, traveled the trail with an extended family group that included four sons, one daughter, two nephews and a niece. Enos' son, John W. Harer, was only 20 years old when he began the trip with his wife Sarah Huffmaster Harer and their children James and Martha Elizabeth. Sarah died at the end of August on the Snake River. John died at The Dalles on Oct. 14 and their son James died, date unknown. The only survivor was little Martha who was only two years old. James C. Harer, another son of Enos, his wife Jane "Mary" Standifer Harer and their child all died on the journey west. David Harer, at 33 yrs the oldest son to make the trip, survived along with his wife Sarah Standifer Harer, and their children Jemima and Alfred, but the baby Ann Elizabeth died along the way. Enos Samuel Harer, age 16, lived through the ordeal as did his step-mother Huldah, but sadly Uncle Enos did not, dying in October in Umatilla County, Oregon. Enos and Jane Craig Harer's daughter Lucinda had married James T. Crawford. They along with their 3 yr old son Archibald and a infant also were on the wagon train. The infant died at some point along the trail. One of the nephew's of Uncle Enos was Evan H. Harer who with his wife Eliza Jane Tulk and their son Stephen completed the journey but another child, not named in Wilson's letter, did not survive. The other nephew was William Millard "Willis" Harer whose wife Martha Ann Tulk and baby daughter Mary lived to see Oregon. A sister of Evan and Willis, Jemima Jane, had married Ewing P. Craig and they joined the train with their children. On or near the Snake River, Jemima Jane died on the 14th of August and Ewing on the 18th. Their children John, Hetty and Sarah were left orphans while a (continued on page 3)

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(continued from page 2)

fourth child died after reaching Oregon. The oldest daughter of Ewing and Jane Craig was Elizabeth Jane. She married John Hensley Winn, who was elected the captain of the train after Ewing's death. Stephen Marther Lewis, whose wife Sarah Jane was a Harer by birth, came west with their children Sarah Jane Obedience and little Ivan Louis who died on the trail. The Turnbow and Nelson families were another large group that came west with the Tigard's. Jeremiah Turnbow was born about 1805 in Tennessee. He first married Mary Shelton who passed away in 1845. He then married Ruth Louise Nelson. In 1850 they and their extended family were residents of West Fork. Accompanying Jeremiah and Ruth on the wagon train were Elizabeth, George Washington, Jane, Nancy, Dorcas, Franklin and Louisa, all children of Mary Shelton Turnbow. The children by the second marriage were David, Mahethalem "Hetha", and Joseph. Also part of this group was Ruth's father, David F. Nelson, his wife another Mahethalem and their children Sarah, Lucinda, Elizabeth, James, Richard, Elijah, John, Andrew and Lovcey Design. Jeremiah lost two of his daughters on the trip: Elizabeth and Dorcas Turnbow. David Nelson's daughter Elizabeth, who was crippled, was shot as she got into the wagon and either pulled or moved a gun which then discharged, killing her. Jeremiah reached Oregon but drowned while navigating the Columbia River in a log raft. The William R. Ingram family was from Benton County, Arkansas, just north of Washington County. William was accompanied on the trek by his second wife Sarah (Sally) Winn Graham, his children by his first wife: Samuel Pleasant, Ethelinda, Sara and William James, also by his children by Sarah: Leodicica, James M. and Lewis. Sarah (Sally) Winn's first husband, Moses H. Graham, had passed away. Her children from that marriage were also on the trail: Minerva, Elizabeth Caroline and Nancy Graham. Rounding out this group were Willis F. and Nancy McKinney McClendon, the parents of William R. Ingram's first wife, Martha McClendon. James M. Ingram, the 2 year old son of William and Sarah, died on the trail as did Nancy Graham, 12 yrs old, the daughter of Sarah and her first husband, Moses Graham. A sad loss of life occurred in the Huffmaster family. Jonathan Huffmaster, born in 1801 in Virginia, traveled with his wife Sarah Elizabeth West and their children Minerva and John. All four of them died on the trip, Jonathan and Sarah on the Snake River in August, Minerva and John presumably at other points on the trail. In his letter, Wilson Tigard states "Jacob Rush's widow and little girl is dead". Jacob and his family traveled the Oregon Trail in 1852 but it is unclear whether or not he was part of the Tigard train. The Rush and Shepherd families came together as witnessed by the Donation Land Claim of William Henry Shepherd which states that Samuel and Albert Rush were on the same train as the Shepherds. Wagon trains sometimes met with other trains along the way and traveled together, so this may have been the case with these two families. Jacob Rush traveled with his wife, Malinda Satterfield and their children Samuel, Richard, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Nancy, Susan and Mary Catherine. Jacob's nephew, Albert Rush, his wife Jane and their daughter Hannah were also part of the group. Jacob Rush died near the Little Blue River in Nebraska. His daughter Nancy died in September by the John Day River and the mother Malinda made it to Oregon but died on Oct. 23 at the mouth of the Sandy River and was buried there. The nephew Albert's wife Jane also died along the trail. The Shepherd family consisted of James, his wife Hannah Peters and their children Uriah, Gabriel, Susan, John, Elizabeth, James B., Catherine and Hannah. The oldest son, William Henry, traveled with his wife, Mary Mooney. The father James died near the Big Blue River in Kansas and three of his children, namely Gabriel, John and Hannah also died on the trail. The wagon train arrived in The Dalles on Oct. 12, 1852, according to Wilson's letter. There were about 120 people that left Arkansas, 32 of them died on the way or shortly after arrival. A letter written to the Portland Times in 1852 by Judge Delazon Smith said "There are perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 fresh graves between the Missouri River and The Dalles of the Columbia". Cholera wasn't the only obstacle the pioneers faced. In his letter, Wilson writes: "Grass was very scarce nearly all the way down the Snake River. Our cattle began to give out and a great many died. My teams all died or give up except 3 steers and 1 cow". His brother Jackson and brother-in-law James Gilbreath also lost cattle "so we left 2 of our wagons and every other thing that we possibly could do without and went on in 1 wagon". After the Snake River, "our provisions give out and we had like to have starved to death. We were over five weeks without any bread. We had to kill our own cattle for beef, poor as they were and eat them without bread or salt." Despite the hardship of the journey and loss of friends and family, these pioneers persevered, built homes, raised families and made a living. We owe them a debt of gratitude for all they endured. They helped to built the Pacific Northwest into what it has become today. I would like to acknowledge the help and assistance of Jenette Barricman and Donald Guenther in assembling this list of the people who made up the wagon train in which Wilson Tigard and his family came to Oregon.

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Germania Hall: First Business on Main Street Tigard By Barbara Bennett Peterson, Ph.D

The impetus for businesses to be established in Old Town Tigard along Main Street was the coming of the Oregon Electric Railroad which began operating on January 1, New Year’s Day, in 1908. In 1905 the Willamette Valley Traction Company had been organized to build an electric Interurban railroad between Portland and Salem with branches planned through communities like Tigardville. The rail track had been laid in 1907 and plans were being made to service the railroad as it came through. The city’s name Tigardville had been originally East Butte but had been changed in 1886 by Charles Fremont Tigard who was the local postmaster and named the mailing station and the city for his parents Wilson and Mary Ann (Yoes) Tigard. Charles Tigard had run Tigardville’s post office in his General Merchandise Store located on Pacific Highway on the northeast corner of Pacific and McDonald Streets. When the railroad was coming through on Main Germania Hall ca. 1908 when it opened on Main Street Tigard. This was the first business on Tigard’s Main Street Street, what Tigardville needed was a hotel to built after the coming of the Oregon Electric railroad which started service through our community on January 1, 1908. serve the rail customers and this need was answered by Adolph and Anna (Bongartz) Schamoni and their new Germania Hall hotel. This was the first business in Old Town on Main Street and it became the center of social life of the community. Adolph Schamoni had been born in Geseke in Westphalia, Germany in 1861 and his wife Anna (Bongartz) Schamoni had been born in Essen, Germany in 1868. Adolph originally came as an immigrant to the United States when he was sixteen or seventeen and married Anna Bongartz in Kansas about 1887 where he had established a bakery. The Schamonis moved farther west to Portland, then Tualatin and finally to Tigardville in 1907. Adolph and Anna purchased 3 1⁄ 2 acres south of the railroad tracks on the east side of Main Street and later added another 9 1⁄ 2 acres extending their property to Burnham Street. Two-story Germania Hall was opened about 1908 and included a hotel and dance hall upstairs and a grocery store and a restaurant downstairs. Main Street was as yet unpaved and all lumber to build the structure was hauled in by a four-horse drawn wagon. It was a major project and when completed was an elegant large structure for its time and became the center of community activity and the business center moving to Main Street. Tigardville’s name was shortened to Tigard ca. 1908 after the coming of the railroad so that local freight would not be lost or confused with the next stop on the rail line--Wilsonville. The prominent Germania Hall had become the focal point of Tigard. Anna Schamoni was an excellent cook and made chicken pot pies, meat loaf and ham and potato salad to serve her customers at midnight on the evenings of the dances: the price 25 cents. Her flaky pie crust was reportedly 3/4ths of an inch thick dripping with thick delicious chicken gravy and the aroma floated out of the hotel’s windows as the best advertisement for her culinary arts. She baked her own bread with Adolph sometimes lending a hand recalling his days as a baker in Kansas. In the early days of the Schamoni family enterprise there was only well water tapped outside in their backyard and all water for baths and washing up by hotel guests had to be heated on the kitchen stove. Adolph and Anna lived in family quarters in the back of the hotel. Adolph Schamoni built a large home behind his Main Street properties which included two other buildings on Main Street next door to one another. Germania Hall was closest to the Oregon Electric Railroad. The Adolph Schamonis also established a livery stable on the east side corner of Main and Burnham Streets so that customers could park their wagons, carriages, and horses before coming to stay or eat at Germania Hall. This livery stable was later purchased by the family of Harry Kuehne and relocated across the street. (continued on page 5)

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(Germania Hall, continued from page 4)

Adolph and Anna Schamoni had four children who lived to adulthood—Josephine , William (Bill), Mary, and Carl and they attended local schools in Tigardville/Tigard and Tualatin. Daughter Josephine bought the third Schamoni building next to William’s German style barber shop and she served as the postmistress of Tigardville/Tigard for five years in her store. She married Floyd Burtch a member of Portland’s Police Force and they had one son and moved to Portland. William Schamoni married Odie Hall from Wenatchee, Washington in 1930. William became a barber, establishing his shop in the quaint German style small building next to Germania Hall. He kept a ball of string which was ever-growing in size and displayed in the barber shop’s front window to attract customers. String was saved from the packaged wash towels used by barbers after giving a shave which were placed warm over the customer’s face. Bill had attended Moler Barber College in Portland and he and his wife occupied the large home built by his father Adolph behind his properties. Brother Carl also became a barber, and in 1922 took over and ran his brother’s barber shop, and for years he contributed to the famous ball of string. Bill taught for a time at Moler Barber College. Carl Schamoni married Mae Haugen and they had two daughters, Mae and Carol. The famous string ball which had grown to five feet tall was later placed at the Moler Barber College and the string ball story continued there. Adolph and Anna’s daughter Mary married Jim North and they moved to Portland. Adolph and Anna continued to run Germania Hall living close to their children and remaining part of their lives. Anna died in 1927 and Adolph died in 1936 in Tigard. A number of Schamonis still live in Geseke, Germany and all of them are related according to a recent visitor from Germany, Winfried Heimann, who visited the John Tigard House Museum and was hosted for lunch on Tigard’s Main Street by the THA on September 26th 2015 at Café Allegro. This restaurant now occupies the third Schamoni building that belonged to daughter Josephine. Jean Shultz who is directly related to Adolph and Anna Schamoni also attended the THA lunch and she, like Winfried, enjoyed seeing what Main Street Tigard had become today. Both visitors were pleased to know that the Schamoni family legacy lives on in Tigard’s local history. Jean Shultz is the great granddaughter of Adolph’s brother Joseph Schamoni who also came to America as a German immigrant. Jean’s grandmother was Adolph Schamoni’s niece. In 2010 a large family reunion with 50 to 60 people (all Schamonis) in attendance was held in Geseke. Jean Shultz is Winfried Heimann’s distant cousin. Mr. Heimann donated photos and letters written in German from the Schamoni family both in the U.S. and in Germany to the archives of the John Tigard House Museum. In 1910 plans to extend the Oregon Electric rail service to Eugene were carried out by Jim Hill who owned the Northern Pacific Railroad and who had purchased the Oregon Electric which became a subsidiary of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. The railroad had introduced urbanization into Tigard and spawned by 2016 seventy-four businesses in Old Town Tigard. The author would like to thank Martha Worley, Kasey Jakob Lawson, Manager of the Café Allegro, the Neva Root research archives at the Local History Room, Tigard Public Library, Joel Miller, Valri Darling, Phil Pasteris, Sean Garvey, Yvonne Brod, Mary Payne’s “Schamoni” section in her book Tigardville/Tigard, Karen Sadler-Fredd, and Curtis Tigard for assisting this article. (Editor’s note: this article was revised 4/2016 to reflect new research on Tigard’s Main Street)

Members of the Tigard Historical Association and guests. Curtis Tigard stands in the center. Visiting guest Winfried Heimann from Germany stands fourth from the right and guest Jean Shultz appears on the far right. THA Photo: Phil Pasteris.

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THA Webpage Happenings The Tigard Historical Association webpage (http:// www.tigardhistorical.org/) provides a window into Tigard’s past and future. The main page lists upcoming events and recent events that are traditionally held at the John Tigard House. You can view photos taken at recent events or view a copy of our quarterly newsletter by “clicking” on one of the topics on the left side of the main page. If you want to travel back in time, scanned historical photos and documents are available in “The Collection” section. We invite you to contribute photos and documents to our website. Just send a note to [email protected] to contact us about your historical treasures!

THE JOHN TIGARD HOUSE MUSEUM 103RD & Canterbury Lane PO Box 230402, Tigard, OR 97281 Phone: 503-747-9856 Email: [email protected] Website: www.tigardhistorical.org

THA Photo

The John Tigard House Museum is open throughout the year by special appointment. THA encourages you to phone 503-747-9856 for an appointment for your club, church, friends and family. If you would like to display your own personal collection during one of our special events, call Ruth at 503-245-0240.

2016 Schedule of Events Curtis Tigard’s Birthday - April 16, 1:00-3:00 pm Annual Meeting - June 13, 1:00-3:00 pm Ice Cream Social - July 9, 1:00-4:00 pm Apple Harvest Festival - September 17 , 1:00-4:00 pm Victorian Christmas - December 3, 1:00-4:00 pm

We want to hear from you! Do you have ideas for a future article? Or information you would like to share regarding Tigard history? Please contact the editor at: [email protected] or by phone at 503-318-9372.

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THA would like to say Thank You! We couldn't do it without your support. It would not be possible to fulfill our mission to preserve the history of the Tigard area without the assistance of the wonderful people who donate to the Tigard Historical Association. These include our volunteers who give hours of their time and talents, as well as the following people who have given monetary donations and artifacts for the museum in the preceding year. Thanks to the following people who donated items to the THA collection in 2015: Ruth Croft, Yvonne Brod, Ron Ambes, William Tigard Baker, Philip Yount, Melvin Propst, Beaverton High School, Barbara Peterson, Christine Klima, Winfried Heimann, Mary Feller, Loyce Martinazzi and the Tualatin Historical Society, and Suzanne Edmiston.

Thanks to the following members for their monetary donations to THA in 2015:

Barber, Vlasta Barricman, Jenette Bell, Reta Mae Cook, John and Teresa Darling, Valri DeBelloy, Betty Doherty, Margaret Frewing, John and Gayle Kauffman Guenther, Donald Heise, Monica Higgins, Joanne and Peter Holmboe, Judith Hunziker, Ed and Delores

Jones, John and Sally Lass, Gary and Sue Meyer, Mike and Susan Pasteris , Phil and Rosemary Peterson, Drs. Frank and Barbara Pietila, Linda Reisbeck, Ralph Smelter, Julie Snyder, Shirley Stack, Richard and Judy Stapleton, Eleanor Willis, Joan Worley, Martha

TIGARD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 230402 Tigard, OR 97281

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