Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/328

This page needs to be proofread.

on that account. Many years ago the remains of the wagon were found near the bank of the stream which tends to substantiate the story.

HORSE CREEK, Wallowa County. Horse Creek is an important tributary to Imnaha River from the east. It was so named because Jack Johnson wintered his horses there in 1878-79.

HORSE HEAVEN; Jefferson County. In August, 1946, Frank E. Lewis, postmaster at Horse Heaven, wrote an interesting letter about the place, from which the following information has been condensed: "The name Horse Heaven for this area was given perhaps sixty odd years ago. At that time the springs were accessible to wandering herds and the grass was better. Then followed a period of overgrazing, fencing off the better springs and more line fences. The climate became drier. There is some open country in the area and at times one sees small bands of range horses. The grass seems to have come back. Here at Horse Heaven cinnabar was discovered about 1933. Active production of mercury began in 1934 and the Horse Heaven Mines, Inc., assumed control in 1936. The mine is now closed down after about ten years operation. The entire area was homesteaded in the '20s I believe, but practically all the homesteaders have left. Horse Heaven is forty-six miles eastward of Madras and about eighteen miles east of Ashwood. The country is on the John Day side of the divide." Horse Heaven post office was established April 23, 1938, with Mrs. Mary E. Finnell first postmaster. Mail went in twice a week from Ashwood. The office was closed in the summer of 1946. Horse HEAVEN CREEK, Lane County. This stream rises in the Calapooya Mountains and flows southward into Steamboat Creek. Near the head of the creek, which is close to the Bohemia mining district, there was a natural pasture, where miners and prospectors fed their stock. The name Horse Heaven is used in a great many places in the West, indicating natural pastures along streams, where horses could be turned loose without fear that they would stray away, or good forage on ranges where large numbers of wild horses congregated.

HORSESHOE LAKE, Jefferson County. This lake is near the summit of the Cascade Range south of Olallie Butte. It drains to the north into Monon Lake. It was not named because of its shape, but because a horseshoe was found near its shore.

HORSETAIL Falls. Multnomah County. This name is supposed to be descriptive of the falls. It has been in use since pioneer days. In 1916 the USGS determined the height of these falls to be 221 feet.

HORTON, Lane County. Three brothers by the name of Horton settled near the present Horton post office in 1903. They were E. T. Horton, Sam M. Horton and J. C. Horton. They established a sawmill called Horton Mill. The post office was established the latter part of 1913 with the name of Horton. Sam M. Horton was the first postmaster and was still in office in January, 1926. Horton is the center of the dairying and lumbering community.

HOSKINS, Benton County. in 1856 the federal government established a fort in Benton County known as Fort Hoskins. It was named for Lieutenant Charles Hoskins, who was killed in the battle of Monterrey, Mexico, September 21, 1846. He was appointed to the army from North Carolina. Fort Hoskins in Benton County was not a large military establishment. The post office of Hoskins was named in memory of the fort. Although Fort Hoskins is now nothing more than a mem