Corvallis, which was then known as Marysville, and he sold the first town lots in 1849. Avery was a prominent and progressive citizen engaged in farming and mercantile business and was appointed postal agent for Oregon and Washington in 1853. He was several times a member of the Oregon legislature. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1817 and died at Corvallis June 16, 1876. See under Corvallis.
Awbrey Mountain, Jefferson County. This butte, at one time known as Sheep Rock, is in the extreme southeast part of the county, northeast of Grizzly. It bears the name of a pioneer stockman, Marshall Clay Awbrey, who was born at Camden, Ray County, Missouri, on January 16, 1829, and died at Soldiers' Home, Roseburg, on January 16, 1921. He served in the Mexican War, came to Oregon in 1850 and also served in the Rogue River Indian War. He began operations in central Oregon in the late '60s. Awbrey Heights are just west of Bend and form a butte with an elevation of 4234 feet, covered with scattered timber. These heights together with Awbrey Falls on the Deschutes River several miles north of Tumalo were also named for Marshall C. Awbrey.
Axhandle Spring, Jefferson County. Axhandle Spring and Axhandle Ridge are eastward of Ashwood, and the general locality was once known as Axhandle. Later on the name Donnybrook was used as the result of a little social affair in Calf Gulch, but the post office is called Kilts. The reader will find entertaining information under those headings. The following quotation from an editorial by Phil Brogan in the Bend Bulletin, April 20, 1943, tells of the origin of the name Axhandle: "Shortly before the turn of the century, the community, then in Crook County, was known as Axhandle, named by wood haulers from Antelope community who secured fuel in the western spur of the Blue Mountains. One of their stopping places was a big spring. Old timers say some of the first wood haulers past the place found a broken axe handle and named the water hole Axhandle spring. The name gradually extended to the entire community, to take in the Bannon, Morgan, McLennan, Brogan, Eades, Crowley and Creegan ranches."
Axtell, Lincoln County. Axtell was the name of a post office on Yachats River in the extreme south part of the county, about six or seven miles east of Yachats, applied in compliment to a local family. The office was established in May, 1891, with John D. Axtell first postmaster. The office was closed in August, 1903, with papers to Waldport. The compiler has been told that there is not much left to mark the locality.
Azalea, Douglas County. Douglas County is noted for its azaleas and this post office was named on account of their abundance in that locality. There are two well-known members of the Ericaceae of this type in Oregon, the Azalea occidentalis or western azalea, and Azaleastrum albiflorum, or small white. The name Azalea has been used for post offices in Douglas County at two separate times and places, and the post offices Starvout, Booth and Azalea have at different times all served more or less the same territory in upper Cow Creek Valley. Starvout post office was established February 18, 1888, with H. L. Miser postmaster. The name of the place was changed to Booth on August 24, 1907, probably because the name Starvout was suggestive of an unsatisfactory locality. The name of Booth post office was changed to Azalea on May 6, 1914. In the meantime there had been another Azalea post office which
