A Rich Bounty from Yamhill County Soil and Climate

Yamhill County was one of the original counties of “Oregon Country” consisting of 12,000 square miles, including all of the land west of the Willamette River and south of the Yamhill River to the California border.  Twelve counties were carved from its original area with 709 square miles of the choicest remaining within the borders of present-day Yamhill County.

The soil of the valley is of alluvial origin (deposited by flooding events); it varies in texture from clay to silt loam.  The hill soils developed mostly from volcanic basalt (Dundee Hills) or from uplifted marine sediments (Yamhill-Carlton area).  The basaltic soils are famous for their red color and tenaciously sticky clay.

As early as 1850 wheat was an important crop.  In subsequent years, the important agricultural products were hay and seed, hops, berries and grapes, vegetables, and nuts. The agricultural economy also was fueled by dairies, poultry, and livestock.

Oregon’s wine industry began in the mid-1800s but was effectively wiped out by Prohibition. But since a resurgence of the winemaking industry by the “new pioneers” in the mid 1980s—a century after Martha’s Cottage was built—vineyards have been a mainstay of the agricultural scene.  Now Martha’s Cottage sits near dozens of vineyards and wineries.  Read more about the area’s wine history and wineries at http://avalonwines.com/ire-wine-history.php, www.oregonwine.org., and http://willamettewine.com.

Dayton in the Early Years

(Excerpted mostly from Dayton Centennial:  1880-1980, produced by the 1980 Dayton Centennial Commission; authors of this material include Ruth Stoller and June Bienz, the book’s editor.)

It was inevitable that one of Yamhill County’s oldest towns would be founded on the site of present Dayton. The site had all the necessary attributes for an early Oregon metropolis. Three things in particular drew Joel Palmer, founder of Dayton, to the place. The site was the head of navigation on the Yamhill River, and close-by Palmer Creek could provide a water power for running machinery. The third thing, and possibly the most important to Palmer, was that the site was available to him. His daughter and son-in-law claimed it as part of their land claim. Palmer purchased part of Smith’s claim and added some vacant land next to it to make a donation land claim of 465 acres on which he settled in February 1850.

Soon after Palmer’s arrival on his new claim, the town of Dayton was laid out, with Main Street as the dividing line. The first building he erected was a hotel, which he kept for a year or two, and then moved to a newly erected home on the outskirts of the town (now the site of Joel Palmer House, a renowned restaurant, www.joelpalmerhouse.com). About this same time Palmer put up a saw mill on Palmer Creek. The hotel itself lasted until the early 1920s.

Christopher Taylor became one of Dayton’s first merchants and also its first postmaster. He had the honor of naming the town after his old home, Dayton, Ohio.

Palmer’s town was a busy place during the 1850s. Boats ran regularly to and from Portland, carrying freight and passengers. Warehouses sprang up along the river bank. Merchants came—and went.

In 1853 Palmer was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory. During the next few years he spent a good deal of time away from home. Chris Taylor sold his business and went with him.

Palmer left the superintendency in 1856 and turned his attention back to his town. When the courthouse at Lafayette burned in 1857, Palmer made a bid to have the county seat moved to Dayton. He set aside a city block and called it the Courthouse Square. The courthouse remained at Lafayette, but the block is still officially the Courthouse Square, used today as a city park.

Much of the business area of the town had grown up near the river, so it was no wonder that the devastating flood of 1871 swept away many businesses and warehouses. However, the town managed to recover from the blow. Palmer, in partnership with Samuel Brown of Marion County, put up a water-powered flour mill. Below that was erected a steam-powered saw mill, which for years was one of Dayton’s main industries. About the same time, Christopher Taylor returned to Dayton and once again became a merchant in the town.

During the 1870s a large wagon shop was built and citizens of the town voted a tax for the building of a new school. New warehouses went up along the river. But the most important happening of that decade was the building of the narrow-gauge railroad between Sheridan and Dayton. This road was largely inspired by the need to get farm produce to the river during the months of the year that the roads were nearly impassable. It was largely financed by the farmers of Yamhill and Polk Counties and had its terminus at the warehouses along the Yamhill at Dayton. The railroad was built in 1878 and was in financial trouble from the start. By January 1879 it had gone into receivership, but was soon purchased by William Reid and the Scotch corporation he represented.

January 1880 was a devastating month for the town of Dayton. The Yamhill River bridge at Dayton was badly damaged by flood, the flour mill burned, and railroad tracks were washed out. Nevertheless, the town continued to be optimistic about its future. On October 15, 1880, the town was incorporated with a population of 375.

In 1881, Benjamin Morse built the house that is now Martha’s Cottage.  His Morse & Mauts Carriage Company was built a few years later.

During the 1890s and into the new century Dayton was prosperous. But in 1906 Dayton was struck by the worst disaster it had yet known. In August the whole block south of the city park—the main business block in town—was destroyed by fire. Again Dayton rose to the occasion and, out of the ashes, came the present block of brick buildings that are the core of Dayton’s business area.

The town continued to be a real force in the life of the surrounding area.  With the establishment of a four-year course in the high school in 1907, the town took on a new significance in the lives of the youth in the surrounding communities, and ultimately became the educational center of a large area.

The Fort Yamhill Blockhouse was moved to Dayton in 1911 from the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation and placed in Courthouse Square as a memorial to Joel Palmer.