for James P. Chesher, its first postmaster. The office was established April 1, 1875, and was closed August 21, 1890. It was reestablished December 27, 1892, the name was changed to Varien and it went with that name until June 7, 1895, when it was closed again. For a short biography of J. P. Chesher, see Illustrated History of Lane County, page 500. The post office was a few miles west of what is now Veneta, not far from the present community Noti, in the Coast Range on the upper drainage of Long Tom River. The name should not be confused with Cheshire, later applied to a place west of Junction City. The name Varien came from Paul Varien Bollman, son of John W. Bollman, the postmaster at the time the name was changed.
CHESHIRE, Lane County. Cheshire is a station on the line of the Southern Pacific Company south of Corvallis. It is near the Long Tom River. It was platted in 1913 as Hubert, but this caused confusion with another station on the same line, Huber, so the railroad company changed the name to Cheshire. The name Hubert was selected to compliment Hubert Cheshire, a favorite small boy of the neighborhood. Hubert post office was established March 20, 1914, with Henry C. Ball postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Cheshire on May 12, 1914. The Cheshire family has been prominent in the locality.
CHESNIMNUS CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream flows into Joseph Creek, and for many years was shown on maps as Chesninimus Creek. Investigations by the U. S. Forest Service indicated that this spelling was in error, and the USBGN adopted the shorter form. The word is Indian in its origin and according to J. H. Horner of Enterprise means Thorn Butte, referring to a locality near the head of the stream where there were several thorn thickets. The Indians camped there and called the place Sis-nim-mux, accent on the second syllable. The suffix mux meant butte or mount.
CHESTNUT SPRING, Wallowa County. Chestnut Spring is about ten miles southeast of Minam. It bears the name of Ed Chestnut, who had a homestead in the vicinity. He was an early settler on Cricket Flat.
CHETCO RIVER, Curry County. The name is applied to various features in southwest Oregon, and is derived from the name of a small Indian tribe that lived along the lower reaches of the river. Early day spelling was Chetko and Chitko. For information about the Chetco Indians see Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, edited by Orvil Dodge. Mt. Emily in the southwest part of Curry County is sometimes known as Chetco Peak, but the real Chetco Peak is in the east part of the county and has an elevation of 4648 feet. See USGS topographic map of the Kerby quadrangle. The spelling Chetco has been adopted by the USBGN. For editorial about an Indian woman, Lucky Dick, the last of the Chetcos, see the Oregonian, January 23, 1940. A post office named Chetco was among the earliest in southwest Oregon. This office was established March 3, 1863, with Augustus Miller first postmaster. It was discontinued November 15, 1910. Old maps show this office at various places on the coast between the mouth of Chetco River and the Oregon-California state line. It was probably moved according to the availability of a postmaster.
CHEWAUCAN Marsh, Lake County. This is a large marsh, fed principally by Chewaucan River and draining into Lake Abert. The elevation of the upper end of the marsh is 4311 feet and that of the lower end
