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address:25720 S Beavercreek Rd historic name:Cummins, Eugene & Olive, Farm
Beavercreek, Clackamas County (97004) current/other names:
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:N/A / N/A / 00900
location descr:Beavercreek, Clarkes, Highland, Colton twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:4S 3E 8
resource type:Building height (stories):1.5 total elig resources:2 total inelig resources:1
elig evaluation: eligible/contributing NR Status:
prim constr date:1908 second date: date indiv listed:
primary orig use: Farmstead orig use comments:
second orig use: Single Dwelling
primary style: Vernacular prim style comments:
secondary style: Neo-Classical sec style comments:
primary siding: Vinyl Siding siding comments:Vinyl siding; bevel w/rake boards, narrow corner pilasters
secondary siding: Horizontal Board
plan type: Crosswing - Center architect:
builder:
comments/notes:
2007: House, barn and garage extant; all other buildings gone.
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   Clackamas County Historic Landmarks Survey & Inventory Project 2008
NR date listed: N/A
ILS survey date: 09/30/2007
RLS survey date: 06/30/1984
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
ROOF FORM AND MATERIALS: Steeply-pitched intersecting gables; boxed eaves PRIMARY WINDOW TYPE: Narrow one-over-one double-hung sash w/ architrave molding DECORATIVE FEATURES: Rounded porch roof OTHER: Enclosed wraparound porch wrought iron posts; paneled and glazed door ALTERATIONS: 2007: House, barn and garage extant; all other buildings gone. Since the historic period the house has had some alterations. These changes include the replacement of the porch posts with wrought iron and the re-siding of the building with vinyl. Re-sided (n.d.); porch partially enclosed and posts replaced (n.d.); chimney added (n.d.); deck added, s. elev. (n.d.); porch deck under reconstruction (1991); Barn: DATE BUILT: c. 1900 STYLE: Western PLAN/TYPE/SHAPE: Asymmetrical NO. OF STORIES: 2 FOUNDATION MATERIAL: Concrete BASEMENT: Yes, daylight ROOF FORM AND MATERIALS: Gable w/ sheet metal WALL CONSTRUCTION/STRUCTURAL FRAME: Wood/unknown PRIMARY WINDOW TYPE: Multi-light fixed EXTERIOR SURFACING MATERIALS: Board-and-batten OTHER: Hay hood; sheet metal clad shed roof lean-to, side elev. EXTERIOR ALTERATIONS (DATE): Sheds added (n.d.) Garage: DATE BUILT: c. 1920 STYLE: Vernacular PLAN/TYPE/SHAPE: Rectangular NO. OF STORIES: 1 FOUNDATION MATERIAL: Post-and-beam ROOF FORM AND MATERIALS: Gable w/ sheet metal WALL CONSTRUCTION/STRUCTURAL FRAME: Wood/stud EXTERIOR SURFACING MATERIALS: Narrow dropped siding w/ corner and rake boards OTHER: End-wall overhead sliding doors Chicken Coop - (Demolished pre-2007) Granary - (Demolished pre-2007) The barn is an very good example of the Western barn type. Characteristic features include the tall profile, gable roof and board-and-batten siding. The barn has had wings added to either side, however, the original portion of the barn is clearly evident. Non-historic machine shed; non-historic mobile home; non-historic green metal building; non-historic red agriculture building in field; deteriorated watertower and chicken coop. LANDSCAPE: Ornamental plantings; gasoline pump, north of house. The Cumins Farm is located on the east side of Beavercreek Road, a busy two-lane thoroughfare. The site is generally level, sloping gently upward towards the east. Ornamental plantings are dusted around the house. Across the road to the west is the Clarkes Fire Hall. The complex is surrounded by pastures. This area is a mixture of agricultural and rural residential uses, with the exception of the fire hall across the street. The Cumins Farm is located approximately three and a half miles southwest of Highland and is situated on the north side of Beavercreek Road.
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
SUBJECT PROPERTY The subject house was probably originally owned by Eugene and Olive Cumins, who purchased the property in 1902 from Jennie E. and F.F. White. The Cumins sold the property in 1913 to J.A. Coulter, who retained the property until 1931, when he sold it to his wife, Florence E. Coulter. They sold the property in 1943 to J.W. and Celia Thomas, who retained ownership until 1977. Eugene Cumins (1861-1936) was born in McGregor, Iowa and came to Oregon when he was 12 years old. Eugene married Olive White, who is believed to have been related to Jennie E. and Frederick Francis White. According to Eugene Cumins' obituary, he was survived by Olive; three daughters Mrs. Ethel Van Donde of Walla Walla, Washington, Mrs. Tressie Larkins of Beavercreek and Mrs. Selma Jones of Yamhill; two sons Archie Cumins of Fresno, California and Lauren Cumins of Beavercreek; a niece, Mrs. Norma Fischer Wallowa, whom the Cumins' had raised from an infant; a brother, Bert Cumins of Portland; two sisters, Mrs. Carrie Ringo and Mrs. Elethe Lewis, both of Salem; 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. According to Business Gazetteers, a company named Cumins and Jones ran a saw mill at Clarkes from 1907-1910 and a Eugene Cummings ran a saw mill from 1911-1914. Florence Coulter (1883-1965), wife of John A. Coulter, was born in Des Moines, Iowa. According to her obituary she came to Oregon circa 1888, lived in The Dalles for a period and later pioneered with her husband in the Madras area before moving to Oregon City, where she spent the last 22 years of her life. It is believed she resided at the subject property between 1913 and 1943. She married John A. Coulter in 1903, before which she had lived in Dufur. At the time of her death she was survived by five daughters, Vera Coulter of Oregon City, Elsie Tounton of Hillsboro, Hazel Nelson of Portland, Edna Hill (Mrs. Henry) of Seaside and Alice Rovlland of Pullman, Washington; five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. The Cumins House is a very good example of the Vernacular style. It displays an influence of the Classical Revival style and other elements, which are relatively uncommon in rural architecture. The Cumins House is composed of two intersecting rectangular volumes. The house is clad with lap siding and finished with corner and rake boards. The classically inspired features include the partial roof returns. The rounded corners of the front porch are quite distinctive and indicate a certain architectural finesse. Only one other house, also in the Colton-Highland-Estacada study area is known to possess this same feature. The house was constructed in 1908, according to county records, six years after Cumins purchased the property. The choice of building materials and design support the date of construction. Since the historic period the house has had some alterations. These changes include the replacement of the porch posts with wrought iron and the re-siding of the building with vinyl. In addition to the house there are several outbuildings, including a barn, chicken coop, garage and granary. The barn is an very good example of the Western barn type. Characteristic features include the tall profile, gable roof and board-and-batten siding. The barn has had wings added to either side, however, the original portion of the barn is clearly evident. The chicken coop is not in good condition. It is identified by its distinctive shape. Clerestory windows were often used for poultry buildings in western Oregon. It is not known of this design feature promoted egg laying. The granary is also not in good condition. Characteristic features include the raised floor, designed to keep the grain dry. The garage is believed to have been constructed later than the house. Garages became a common element in the farm ensemble after the 1920s, when automobiles began to replace the wagon as the form of personal transportation. In the Colton-Highland-Estacada study area, approximately 46% of the residences and 47% of the farm complexes on the inventory are designed in the Vernacular style. The Eugene and Olive Cumins Farm is one of 20 Vernacular residences and one of seven Vernacular farm complexes built during the Progressive Era (1884-1913) in the study area. The property also contains one of two Vernacular granaries on the inventory in the study area. The Cumins Farm is significant as a very good example of a multi-unit farm complex. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Colton-Highland-Estacada study area covers approximately 170 square miles, much of which is sparsely inhabited. The study area is bounded on the east by Mount Hood National Forest. Earliest settlement occurred primarily along the Clackamas River, which bisects the study area. The city of Estacada, on the north bank of the Clackamas River, is the dominant community. Many of the small towns in the most southern reaches of the study area are, and have been historically, linked to Molalla, which is southwest of Colton on Highway 211 but outside of the study area. For the purposes of clarity this discussion is organized geographically. The area northwest of Estacada is the most level and it is the closest to Eagle Creek and the Barlow Road; consequently, the earliest settlement activity occurred here. The eastern portion of the study area is rugged, discouraging settlement and only subject to logging since the turn of the century. The southern portion of the study area is composed of a series of small towns on Highway 211, which generally follows the route of the Kickapoo Trail--a trail from Eagle Creek to the Willamette Valley--which was used by Native Americans and by pioneers as well. To the south and east of Highway 211 is rugged, cut by creeks and streams. North of the highway, the landscape is marked by rolling hills, creeks and highlands, making it more suitable for farming. Beginning in the 1850s many donation land claims were taken up on the more level terrain, and as noted above, the majority of which were located along the Clackamas River. Claimants include E. Ollcott, George W. Weston, J. Young, R.P. Young, George Currin, Hugh Currin, William M. Wade, Fredrick Helms, H. Rowles, P. Warnock, Fredrick Wallenstein, M. Folscom, H. Brown, J. Stephenson, Franklin, Pierce, J.H. Miller, Henry Wehrheim, S. Torrence, Thomas Lee, G.W. Palmateer, J. Palmateer, S. Palmateer, Garrett Palmateer, I.W. Lacey, J.W. Garlets, William Tucker, William Stricklin, E. Wallenstein, Folsom, Sisson Chase, D.W. Tucker, Jacob Kandle, B. Tucker, Lewis A. Lacey, E.B. Llewellen, C.K. Callahan, N.W. Randall and James Stewart. The population of the county at this time was primarily composed of English, Irish and German emigrants, many of whom had lived in the Missouri, Mississippi or Ohio River valleys prior to moving westward to Oregon. Mid-19th century dwellings were often of log or simple wood-frame construction. Most houses were simply provided shelter and were without any ornament or architectural detail. A few buildings exhibited an influence of the Classical Revival style of architecture, although generally this influence was limited to symmetrical facade arrangements, corner boards and suggestions of a cornice at the eave lines. There are no known examples of buildings from this period in the study area. Like their residential counterparts, agricultural buildings front the period were generally simple buildings. Due to the nature of farming practices, barns and sheds were low-profile, broad buildings. The first community in the study area was Zion. Located north of present-day Estacada, Zion was established in 1845. In 1874 a post office at the site was established. In 1884 the name was changed to Currinsville, named after local donation land claimants George and Hugh Currin. During the period after the Civil War (1865-1883), the area experienced slow growth. The terrain continued to constrain development, however, land claimed under the Donation Land Claim Act was divided and additional land was settled--some property was acquired under the provisions of various Homestead laws. During this period subsistence farming was the norm throughout the county, as well as in more level portions of the Colton-Highland-Estacada vicinity. Livestock and cereal grains were raised. Lumber complemented the rural economy and would later become the primary industry. Kitchen gardens were essential. Towards the end of the period oats began to surpass wheat as the number one crop and potatoes attained the rank of number three crop. Increasing numbers of livestock corresponded with an increase in hay production. The total number of acres in cultivation tripled during the period. Further, improvements in farm practices and building technology caused changes to agricultural buildings. South of present-day Estacada are the communities of Springwater and Highland. Served by the primitive road along the ridge above the Clackamas River, the community of Springwater experienced extensive growth and by 1874 it had its own post office, one of the first on the upper Clackamas River. The Springwater post office continued service until 1914. Census records from 1860 indicate there were 101 white males, 91 white females in the Springwater district. Ten years later there were 239 residents of Springwater, 236 native, 3 foreigners, 239 white. Settled extended to the highland area south of Springwater and north of the old trail. In 1870 a post office was established at Highland, continuing service into the 20th century. The name is attributed to Godfried Wallace, the first postmaster, but whether it was first used to describe the area or the Highland Butte, elevation 1728 feet, is unclear. The first community in the foothills of the Cascades would become known as George. Settled in 1871 by descendants of German emigrants, a Presbyterian church was established in 1874 with Reverend Henry Gaus as the minister. The congregation met in homes or schools until the church known as the Eagle Rock Church. Originally services were said in German. Hezekiah Carr, who arrived to the Colton area in around 1885, began a milling business; his logs were floated down Milk Creek and loaded on trains. A business directory, published in 1913, records Colton as first settled in 1892. During the Progressive Era (1884 1913) the population of Clackamas County tripled from 9,260 to almost 30,000, pushing the new comers to develop the hilly land well away from the river and the Barlow Road. By the turn of the century wagon roads or "market roads" crossed the county, facilitating the transference of farm products to loading points along the railroad or to urban markets. For the most part the southeastern portion of the Colton-Highland-Estacada study area were still beyond the influence of the road improvements. During the late 19th century dwellings were constructed without much attention to stylistic influence. Most were examples of the Vernacular type, which is loosely based on the Gothic Revival style. A few builders did apply a modicum of ornament, such as patterned shingles, turned or jigsawn porch posts or balustrades, or bay windows. These machine-made architectural details are commonly associated with the Queen Anne style, which was popular in the urban communities of Oregon City or Portland. After the turn of the century innovative American styles, such as the Craftsman-Bungalow style of architecture, came into being. The designers of this type rejected the machine-made ornament of the late Victorian period and instead, embraced a hand-crafted appearance and use of more natural materials. This building type became popular through the early decades of the 20th century. Agricultural buildings changed dramatically during the Progressive Era. By the turn of the century barns had become quite tall. Most barns were equipped with devices to raise hay to a second or third floor or loft. Barns were designed in a variety of shapes, including Gambrel and Gothic Gambrel. This change in agricultural building form coincided with a change in farming practices. For example, construction of buildings for drying fruit followed the cultivation of fruit trees. Primary documents give an indication of growth in the study area during the Progressive Era. According the local business directory Springwater's population in 1889 was 280; Federal census data lists its population as 291 in 1890 and 243 in 1900. The business directory lists the population in 1903 as 250, and in 1913 at 300. The 1889 directory also lists 95 school children in this farming community's school district. At that time Springwater had its own post office with thrice-weekly mail delivery, which continued until 1916, when the post office closed. A general store and Pacific Fire Insurance Company agent were also part of the business community in 1889. In that same year the Springwater Presbyterian Church was organized; the original congregation, numbering 23, met in the schoolhouse until a church building was built. In 1891 local products included wheat, oats and other agricultural produce. In 1893 local farmers organized the Springwater Grange, but the first grange hall was not built until 1900. Although the building was not destroyed in the 1902 fire, it was disassembled; the timber used to construct the new grange hall in 1950. By 1908 Springwater had 12 telephones, whose lines came from the neighboring community of Redland. A major forest fire, known as the "Hillock Burn" nearly decimated the town in 1902, leaving only two buildings untouched. The source of the fire was some careless campers in Dodge or Garfield. There were no deaths in the fire, mainly due the fact that the majority of the women and children in the area were in the fields of the Willamette Valley picking hops. Although many farmers lost their grain crops in their barns, most livestock was saved, because they were driven into canyons with springs or creeks. Reconstruction began almost immediately and in 1903 a saw mill, general store, feed mill, blacksmith and dentist were in operation in Springwater. By 1913 the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph company and a spool mill were functioning in Springwater, mail came twice a day and by 1904 the Presbyterian Church had erected a new building across the road from its original site. Development continued apace in the southern reaches of the study area. A number of communities sprang up along the Kickapoo Trail where it followed Milk Creek. Starting in the later years of the 19th century, a cedar sawmill operated on Milk Creek, near what would become Colton. Like others in northwest Oregon, Jay Dix witnessed the "Big Blow of the 1880s" when huge stands of virgin timber came crashing down. Colton, elevation 706, was named in about 1892. Joshua Gorbett and a resident named Cole wanted to name it after the other, but due to possible postal confusion with Corbett, Colton was chosen. Although a sufficient number of settlers had located in Colton area thus warranting mail service in 1893, it was not until the turn of the century that a large Swedish migration to the Colton area occurred, lead by Pastor C.J. Renhard. Renhard was one of the primary organizers of the Colonization Company, which bought hundreds of acres of land and sold it primarily to Swedish Lutherans. The Swedes adjusted to the new land quickly, due to its similarity to Sweden. In 1903, before the mass migration began, a sawmill, a post office and a general store were listed in the local business directory. Among the first of these immigrants were two brothers, Oscar and Julius Hult, who arrived in the Colton area in 1906 or 1907. The Hults bought a sawmill on Milk Creek, where it intersects Hult Road. During this same period a village store was established. The Lutheran Church, constructed during 1907-1908, initially conducted all of its services in Swedish, accommodating the new immigrants, but effectively limiting the congregation's growth. As a result two groups split off from this original church to form the Advent Christian Church and the Colton Community Church. The language problem also arose in the Colton school, which prior to the Swedish immigration accommodated 45 students in its one room schoolhouse. Unlike the situation in the church, here the Swedish students were required to learn English, with the aid of a bilingual teacher. Shortly after this population explosion, three new teachers were added to the staff, although they had no principal for some time. By 1913 there were schools established in Bee Hill, Upper Colton and Cedardale. The first high school in Colton accommodated 25 to 30 students. High school classes were conducted in a lean-to attached to a sports hall, but in 1914 a four-room, two-story school house was built. Between the beginning of the massive population increase, beginning in 1906, and the close of the Progressive Era (1883 1913), Colton inhabitants witnessed many technological advances. A unique irrigation system was designed which use pumps rather than gravity to bring water to hundreds of acres of land, a system which was still in use in 1969. Water-generated electricity was available to the inhabitants, when not needed by the Hult brothers' sawmill. In 1906 a single telephone line at the "mill house" connected Colton to Mulino. A descendant of Hezekiah and Alice Carr claims that it was their phone. During this period, a transition was made from a bucket-brigade to a volunteer fire department. At the center of the study are is the city of Estacada. Although people began settling in the Estacada area as early as the 1850s, mainly of English, German and Italian descent, Estacada was not heavily populated until after the turn of the century, when the electric railroad line was completed. The town of Estacada, incorporated in 1905, located at the elevation of 465 feet, has a name whose origin is disputed. According to local legend the town was named after a girl, Esther Keady or Cady, while local records report that the name was chosen by George Kelley, who supposedly got it from a map of Llano Estacado, Texas. It was his suggestion that was chosen out of a hat by the Oregon Water Power Townsite Company officials in 1903, but they misspelled it Estacada. Some authorities believe it comes from the Spanish word meaning "staked plain." Earliest business in Estacada included a grocery and dry goods store. The first Estacada school was built in 1903, the second in 1906, the latter added on to in 1910. In 1913 the population of Estacada was recorded at 400. The Portland Railway, Light and Power electric railroad line had a station in the town, a hotel, bank, saw mill, weekly paper (The Estacada Progress), the Estacada Telephone and Telegraph Company, a public school, the Estacada Furniture Company, the Estacada Mercantile Company, a real estate company, a bank, a shingle mill, a liver, meat company, a jeweler, a flour and feed store, a hardware store, The Estacada H.H., the Estacada Commercial Club, the Estacada fruit Growers Association, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Free Methodist Church, and the Christian Church all operated there by 1913. In that same year six miles of streets, a city gravity water system, daily mail delivery and $1,000 in city government expenses were recorded. Working in Estacada in that year were an osteopath, two lawyers, a grocer, and a plumber and druggist. In 1917 the first high school, of brick construction was built. In the eastern portion of the study area, the Three Lynx community, located 24 miles upriver from Estacada and surrounded by Mount Hood National Forest, was first developed in the 1900s by the Southern Pacific Railroad in conjunction with its hydroelectric power station. The power station was called "Three Links," which many residents consider to be incorrect. A story circulated that a surveyor lost three links out of his chain at this point. Another explanation indicates the name "Three Lynx" was given to the area after the Austins, early settlers of the area, saw three bobcats near a local stream. In 1911 the Southern Pacific Railroad sold its project to the Portland General Electric Company. Other communities in the foothills of the Cascades are George, Ellwood, Dodge, Bissell, and Garfield. In 1886 George, also known as Eagle Park, population of 75, possessed two church societies, a wagon maker, three blacksmiths and a post office, which delivered mail weekly. At this time it shipped honey, live stock and farm produce. In 1889 the community of George is recorded to have a population of 110, 38 school children. It is recorded as shipping livestock, honey and produce and its primary crops were winter wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, flax and honey. They received mail weekly from Eagle Creek. Two blacksmiths, a carpenter, the postmaster/apiarist/justice of the peace are listed in the business gazetteer. According to Federal census data in 1890 George had a population of 143 and in 1900 it had 141 residents. According to local business directories the population of George in 1891 was 110, but this discrepancy is undoubtedly due to differing boundaries. A one-room school house was constructed before 1907, accommodating as few as three students and as many as 30 at one time. It was later used as the community church Ellwood, originally known as Kickapoo and later as Mountain Home, lost its early school house in a fire, but it was quickly rebuilt. The name Ellwood probably came from Elwood Sylvanus, son of an area Presbyterian minister, who agitated for a post office in the area. One was established in 1892 and named Ellwood, but the name was changed to Elwood during that same year, possibly due to some error. The office discontinued service in 1914. Dodge, first settled in 1852 and named after a local family, established its post office in 1896. Built around the turn of the century as a one room schoolhouse, the Dodge School was later expanded to two rooms, when populations in the area increased. In 1913 the population was recorded at 75, mail arrived triweekly and a saw mill and general store were in operation. In 1903 Dodge received triweekly mail service, its mail service discontinued in 1914. Also by 1903 a saw mill was located in this area. Mail service was discontinued in 1914. The Bissell post office, located at the east end of the George Loop originally delivered mail weekly. In 1893 a post office was established named Leon, but the name was changed in 1897 to Garfield, after President Jesse A. Garfield; the post office was closed in 1906. In 1890 the population of this area was 245 and in 1900 it was 247. In 1903 a blacksmith, two sawmills and two carpenters were listed in residence in Garfield. At that time mail came to the post office tri-weekly. The Church of the Nazarene, located in the Garfield area, approximately four miles east of Estacada was constructed in 1907. By the 1900s Garfield had its own general store. By 1913 a telephone company was also located there. Once there were many prune processing sites in the Garfield area, including nine prune driers, by 1979 only one, constructed in 1917, remained standing. Garfield formerly hosted a historic grange hall, but it burned down prior to the construction of the new grange in 1963. Railroad development in this area began in the early 1900s. The Oregon Water Power and Railway Company, incorporated in 1902 and conducted railroad service from Portland, through Estacada and probably Currinsville, to Cazadero. The railway was constructed in order to service the Cazadero Hydroelectric Dam. The dam was originally made of timber and stone; it was the first dam erected on the upper Clackamas River. In 1903 over 900 visitors attended the first excursion to the dam site. The railway originally used steam power, but it was slowly converted to electric power and by 1904 the line was completely electrified. The dam diverted water into Faraday Lake, at which a hydroelectric plant began producing electricity in 1907, which the railway used to power its engines. The Oregon Water Power and Railway Company sold their interest in the line in 1906. Ownership passed several times until 1908 when the Portland Railway Light and Power Company assumed ownership. In that same year a generator explosion caused damage such that the service was not resumed for several months. The Portland Southern Railroad Company considered running a line connecting the Southern Pacific at Clackamas, via Viola, to Colton, with another branch to Oregon City. These lines were to be used to transport lumber and logs. Unfortunately, monetary problems caused construction of this line, known as the Clackamas Eastern Railroad, to cease at Viola. In 1911, a few miles below the Cazadero Dam, the River Mill Dam was erected, the first hollow rib dam on the Clackamas River. Greek and Italian construction workers planted oregano along the dam, which was in evidence through the historic period. According the local business directories Highland's population in 1886 was 160 and increased by 1889 to 200, a population which it maintained through 1891; Federal census data lists Highland's population at 402 and 437 in 1900. The dramatic increase in population can probably be accounted for by a difference in the boundaries of the area surveyed. In 1886 and in 1889 business directories list a Baptist church, district schools, a general store and two water powered saw mills extant in Highland. Mail arrived triweekly. A shoemaker, constable, two wagon makers, two carpenters, two blacksmiths, a justice of the peace, a Pacific Fire Insurance agent, two weavers and a post master who also served as a boot and shoe maker and seed dealer. By 1889 Highland had added a United Brethren church and daily mail stages left form Portland, and they added a constable and a barber. The community was served by the one-room school house through the 1930s. The crossroad community of Clark, in the Highland district was originally known as the Ringo settlement. Irving L. Clarke bought property in this area from an earlier settler and established a store. In 1889, he established a post office named Clarkes, which closed in 1904. In 1886 the local business directory listed a Methodist church, two water powered saw mills, a general store, a blacksmith and a population of 100 at Currinsville. Farm products are recorded as shipped from this point and mail arrived semiweekly. The post office, which originally opened in 1874, closed in 1906. By 1891 the population had increased to 200, the school children numbered 38 and in that year products of the area included grain, fruit, hay and produce. Daily mail stages left from Currinsville by that time and an insurance agent resided there. By 1903 a blacksmith, a flour mill and general store were established at this location. In 1913 the population of had reportedly shrunk to 25, but a flour mill, a creamery, a soda bottling works and a general store still remained. During the Motor Age (1914 1940) transportation improvements and growth in population continued to fuel agricultural activity. By the 1920s specialized crops, such as fruit and nut cultivation, and dairying began to supplant general farming in the Colton-Highland-Estacada vicinity. The replacement of horse-drawn farm implements with gasoline-powered machinery also meant that less farm land must be devoted to the production of hay and grain for horses, but instead could be cultivated for income-producing crops. Throughout the county the Craftsman-Bungalow style of architecture continued to be the most popular style, although some period revival styles buildings were constructed. After World War I, it was the influence of European architecture that inspired architects to construct in the English Cottage and Tudor Revival styles. Concurrently, the Colonial Revival gained popularity. This style, as the name suggests, illustrated a strong sense of national pride. Changes in agricultural buildings continued. Large barns were still constructed, but most notable change was the introduction of buildings for large-scale specialized farming, such as dairying, another important component of the Colton-Highland-Estacada economy. At the same time, the reduction in the number of horses involved in farming required fewer acres in the cultivation of hay and grains, thus allowing farmers to devote land previously cultivated to another product or use. Concurrently the need for implement buildings increased. Commercial buildings also changed during the Motor Age. While wood-frame buildings were still constructed in small towns and at crossroads, masonry buildings were becoming more commonplace, especially following a major fire or where a more permanent or substantial visage was desirable. During the Depression the population remained relatively constant and the towns remained as agricultural centers, but little construction occurred. By 1916 Colton had a post office, Lutheran Church, public school, general store, blacksmith, physician, shoemaker, carpenter and lumber company. By 1923 the population was listed at 170. The Colton Telephone Co. was in operation. A stage ran daily to Mulino, except on Sunday. In 1927 the Portland District Annual Convention was to be hosted by the Colton Luther League and Dr. Kullberg, pastor of the Lutheran Church; this five day event gave birth to Camp Colton. The group selected a sight across the road from the Canyon Creek Garage, the oldest public service establishment in Colton. Originally they called this site the "Forest Chapel," worshipers sitting on bare logs at this first meeting. Later, in 1929-30 Miss Hilma Olson gave the group nine acres, which later grew to approximately 200 acres, buildings added later as money was raised. This site, situated between the Lutheran and the advent Christian church hosts events from local church and non-church organizations. The Three Lynx area went under another major growth period the when the Portland General Electric Company began building the Oak Grove hydroelectric plan in 1923. By 1924 it was completed, along with many homes for its employees. By 1926 the Three Lynx Grade School and community hall were erected. The Portland General Electric line, extending from Portland to Estacada, was the only means to get to Three Lynx, until 1937, when a road was constructed and the railroad service terminated. The communities settled during the previous period experienced further growth and development. The first Springwater Fair was sponsored by the grange in 1923. The fair featured stock animals, as well as produce and local crafts displays. By 1916 George had its own social and commercial club, a Presbyterian Church, a public school, store, telephone communication and triweekly mail service. In that same year the area's agricultural pursuits included general farming, dairying, and the raising of hops, hogs and poultry. In 1929 the original one-room Garfield School was a casualty of a fire that began in Ledea Flats, after which time schoolchildren from that area attended the Estacada school. In the 1940s the Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church at George joined the Estacada church and discontinued the use of German, becoming the St. John's Presbyterian Church. After the completion of the Cazadero and River Mill dams, the Portland Electric Power Company began construction on another dam at the Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River. The Portland Railway Light and Power Company purchased land between Three Lynx and the Austin Host Springs in 1921, on which they established a labor camp and sawmill, where t
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Bibliography:
Clackamas County Cultural Resource Inventory, 1984. TICOR Title Company records, Oregon City, OR.