Railroad 20 miles east of Pendleton just west of the junction of Umatilla River and Meacham Creek. It bears the name of John Gibbon, 1827-96, a distinguished American army officer, who gained the rank of brevet major-general. In 1885-86 he was in command of the Department of the Columbia at Vancouver, Washington, For references to General Gibbon, see Scott's History of the Oregon Country, volume II, pages 104 and 283. During the railroad construction there was a station at or near the present site of Gibbon known as Mikecha. See under KAMELA. About the turn of the century the name of Gibbon railroad station was changed to Bingham Springs, because it served Bingham Springs resort about eight miles east up Umatilla River, but the name of the post office remained Gibbon. The name of the station was later changed back to Gibbon. Bingham Springs were named for Dr. John E. Bingham of Walla Walla, Washington.
GIBSON GULCH, Polk County. Gibson Gulch is in the southeast part of the Eola Hills. Daviess Gibson was a pioneer settler in the Eola Hills, and the gulch was named for him. He was an Oregon pioneer of 1849, and after returning to Illinois by Panama, came to Oregon again in 1852. He died prior to 1900, and was buried in Spring Valley.
GILBERT RIVER, Columbia and Multnomah counties. Gilbert River pursues a meandering course on Sauvie Island, draining a number of lakes, and finally emptying into Multnomah Channel. W. H. H. Morgan, a pioneer resident on Sauvie Island, told the compiler in 1926 that the stream was named in fur trading days because a trapper, supposed to be in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, was drowned in it. He was a French-Canadian called Gilbert, and his name has been attached to the stream ever since.
GILCHRIST, Klamath County. Gilchrist is a mill town and post office on The Dalles-California Highway in the north end of the county. The community was developed in 1938 and the post office was established on November 14, 1938. The town was named for Frank W. Gilchrist, vicepresident and general manager of the Gilchrist Timber Company.
GILCHRIST VALLEY, Crook and Deschutes counties. Gilchrist Valley is drained by one of the tributaries of Crooked River, and lies east of Hampton Butte. It is about 20 miles long, north and south, and ten miles wide, and its physical characteristics are well described by Dr. I. C. Russell in USGS Bulletin 252. Dr. Russell named the valley for Charles Adams Gilchrist, its first settler, as a tribute to his enterprise and hospitality. C. A. Gilchrist was born in Indiana November 5, 1855. He lived in Missouri, California and New Mexico, and finally came to Oregon and began ranching in what is now known as Gilchrist Valley. He married Miss Mabel F. Johnstone of Indiana in 1899. He died March 3, 1926. See Portland Telegram, March 5, 1926, page 16. During the latter part of his life he lived in Portland.
GILLESPIE BUTTE, Lane County. Gillespie Butte is about a mile north of Eugene and has an elevation of 602 feet. It was named for Jacob Gillespie, who came to Oregon from Missouri in 1851, and who took up land near the butte. He was virtually founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Eugene, and held a negro slave in Oregon. His two daughters married William and Thomas Goodpasture. See under that name.
GILLIAM COUNTY. Gilliam County was created February 25, 1885,
