named for a well-known family of the vicinity. It did not have a post office however until December 31, 1914, when Nichols post office was established with Viola B. Nichols first and only postmaster. This office operated until December 31, 1929. The railroad company had difficulty with the station named Nichols due to the fact that there were other places on the line with the same name. Shipments went astray. As a result, the company changed the name of Nichols station to Peck. The origin of the name Peck is a mystery to the compiler and it is not certain just when the railroad made the change. In any event, a post office was named Peck and established December 29, 1931, with Homer V. Cook postmaster. This was just two years after the Nichols office had been closed. For some reason Mr. Cook never got the Peck office into operation and his appointment was rescinded June 2, 1932. As far as the compiler knows there has been no post office at this point since that date but the railroad station Peck continues to supply the needs of travelers and shippers.
PEDEE, Polk County, Pedee owes its name to Colonel Cornelius Gilliam who was born in North Carolina in 1798 and came to Oregon in 1844. See under GILLIAM COUNTY. He was killed in 1848. Either he, or members of his family, named Pedee Creek, a tributary to Luckiamute River. Pedee community is near the mouth of this creek. The name is, of course, from the famous river of North and South Carolina which was doubtless frequently in the minds of the Gilliams. The stream in the South is officially Deedee, but the place in Oregon is spelled Pedee.
PEDRO MOUNTAIN, Baker County. Pedro Mountain is west of Rye Valley in the southeast part of the county. In December, 1945, LeRoy Grettum of Baker wrote the compiler that old mining men of that area reported that the mountain was named by a group of Portuguese miners who operated there during the eastern Oregon gold rush of the '60s. There was a Pedro Mine on the mountain, and it seems probable that the mountain took its name from the mine. Pedro post office was in operation for a few months in the early summer of 1879 with Lyman S. Brown postmaster. Doubtless it was connected with some work at the mining claim.
PEEL, Douglas County. Peel post office was on Little River, a branch of North Umpqua River, about twenty-five miles east of Roseburg, and a few miles up Little River from Glide. The office was established January 18, 1888, with Robert McKure first postmaster. According to a story in the Roseburg News-Review, February 21, 1947, the office was named for Samuel West Peel, of Bentonville, Arkansas, by Hiram S. Engels, who became second postmaster at Peel on February 15, 1888. Peel and A. A. Engels, father of H. S. Engels, had been schoolmates many years before. Peel post office was closed December 15, 1921. S. W. Peel, 1831-1924, was a well-known citizen of Arkansas, of which state he was a native. He served in the Confederate army in the Civil War and reached the rank of colonel. He studied law, and held several political offices, including that of prosecuting attorney on one of the circuits. He was elected representative in Congress and served from 1883 to 1893.
PEEPOVER SADDLE, Wallowa County. This saddle, in the southeast part of the county, is very narrow, and its summit is sharp. It is called Peepover on that account, and the name is usually written P. O. Saddle. The initials conveniently suggest other forms of the name.
