| Enoch R. Bowlby Building
Enoch Bowlby constructed the Bowlby Building in 1899 from rock excavated from a quarry located on his land east of town. The"Bowlby stone" building was the first of its kind in the city. The “fireproof” stone became the signature building material in Enterprise; many of the downtown buildings were erected of the locally quarried stone. Entrepreneurs wanted the town to be known as the “Stone City.”
Bowlby purchased the Main Street lot from the Island City Milling and Mercantile Company in October 1898 for $150 (Wallow County Deed Book G, page 476). He immediately hired a crew to quarry the stone so construction could start in spring 1899. Bowlby advertised in the October 21, 1898 Chieftain for men to help bring the rock out of the quarry. The article states, “Men who desire employment can get a job hauling stone by the perch, from the stone quarry to town. The building [Bowlby Building] will be 28 feet wide by 66 feet long, and two stories high.”
La Grande contractor/stone mason, Samuel Haworth was hired to erect the building. The construction of the new commercial building started in May 1899. Robert Irwin from La Grande with a Mr. Smith started preparing the site for construction. Local masons, Frank Melotte and Mr. Mavor were hired to shape the building blocks for the construction. By the end of May, the foundation was complete and by June, Haworth had to hire additional laborers (DeVore E. Avery and George Ratcliff) to help with the stonework. The July 21, 1899 edition of the Chieftain stated, “The galvanized cornice was put on the Bowlby Building last Tuesday, which lends to the beauty of the structure. The stone work on the Bowlby Building is completed, and the structure is in the hands of the carpenters.” The cornice proudly displayed the 1899 building date, the name of the financier, E.R. Bowlby, and the Masonic symbol with their signature “G.”
Carpenters A. J. Carpenter and A. M. Wagner started working on the interior and by September the upper floor was completed and the Knights of the Maccabees (a fraternal organization founded in 1878 and associated with the Masons) held their first meeting in the second story lodge hall in late September. In the fall of 1899, Bowlby rented the first floor to druggist Elmer J. Forsythe, a native of Ohio. A year later, Forsythe added a soda fountain to the drugstore that became a favorite gathering place for young and old. It was the first of its kind in town.
In April 1903, William J. Funk purchased the building from Bowlby for $3,700 (Wallowa County Deed Book J, p. 281). At that same time, Forsythe sold his drugstore business to S. L. Burnaugh and Byram Mayfield. The store supplied medicines to patrons but also had toiletries, perfumes, stationery and sundries. “Their business is conducted in strict accordance with the most highly approved methods of modern commercial practice, and as both proprietors are accommodating in the treatment of their patrons, they are succeeding in building up an excellent trade” (Joseph Gaston, Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912, Volume 3).
In February 1909, Burnaugh and Mayfield purchased the building from William Funk for $6,500. Funk was a resident of California at the time of the sale. The Masons and Eastern Star continued to the lease the upper floor for their lodge meetings. The lodge decorated the walls with a series of paintings representing the teaching of the Masonic Order.
The new owners built a stone storeroom on the back of the building by June 1909. They hired contractors Marks, Walls, & Stewart to construct the addition. The interior was also remodeled, which “deserves to be styled the White Palace.” Partitions were removed to enlarge the showrooms and the rooms were painted white with glass showcases. The new stone addition was used to store bulk stock, paints, oils, and more (Chieftain, September 30, 2003). The drug store was one of the mainstays of downtown Enterprise. Burnaugh and Mayfield continued to upgrade the store and helped finance and build the adjacent building to the west, later known as the Enterprise Barber Shop. In 1917, the firm announced that they were installing a new soda fountain. A jeweler was also in the building at that time.
Burnaugh and Mayfield dissolved partnership in July 1919. Burnaugh sold his interest in the drugstore to Charles Yandell (Chieftain, December 11, 1919). In 1921, Burnaugh sold his interest in the Bowlby building to Byram Mayfield. A short time after that, Mayfield partnered with J.F. Farrell in the drugstore business. Mayfield bought out his partnership in May 1927, and the name of the business changed to the Mayfield Drug Company. Bryam died in 1946, and Hazel maintained ownership until March 1947 when the business sold to C.E. Bingham, the owner of the Economy Drug Store (Chieftain, March 6, 1947). Hazel Mayfield lived in the apartment above the barbershop to the west for many years.
The drugstore stayed in operation in that location until 1961, when it traded locations with Harmon Hardware, which eventually went into bankruptcy. Other commercial businesses moved into the building: Western Auto followed by D&D Sports, which was in the building until the early 1980s. Around 1986, the building was restored as part of the Main Street program. Today, the lower floor is a restaurant and the upstairs used for storage.
Enoch Ross Bowlby
Born on June 9, 1861 in Greene County, Pennsylvania to Samuel C. and Sarah H. Ross Bowlby, Enoch R. traveled to Colorado as a young man and then to Natoma, Kansas, where he worked with his brother, and met and married Lulu M. Quinn on May 23, 1884. Enoch and Lulu moved to Oregon in 1888, first living in Multnomah County and then Umatilla and Union counties before settling in Wallowa County in 1893. Enoch homesteaded one and a half miles south of Enterprise, establishing a large sheep ranch (over 2,000-acres). He later raised cattle, and bought a ranch on Swamp Creek where he also established a rock quarry that supplied the stone for many of the masonry building in Enterprise. The stone became known as Bowlby stone.
Enoch Bowlby died in the Enterprise hospital on September 24, 1938. His obituary in the September 29, 1938 Chieftain states, “He was very well-to-do in early days and built the Main street building now owned and occupied by Byram Mayfield. In later years, he suffered reverses from which he was not able to recover. He was a true gentleman and always held the friendship of his old companions and associates. Surviving are the wife, Mrs. Lulu M. Bowlby; one daughter, Mrs. Mae C. Hansen; two sisters, Mrs. Belle Hall of West Virginia and Mrs. Elizabeth Worley of Paradise, Kansas; one brother R.M. Bowlby of Kellerton, Iowa; a grandson, R.J. Hansen and two great granddaughters, Belva and Nancy Lee Hansen.” Bowlby was a member of the Masons, Lodge No. 82, the IOOF, No. 53, and the Eastern Star.
The Funk Family
William J. Funk, one of eleven children, was born in Marietta, Ohio, November 13, 1839. After receiving his early education in Ohio, he married and began a family. While visiting his parents, who had moved west, his wife and children died of an illness; William never went back. He settled in Portland, Oregon, where he married Zelphia Jane McCubbins in October 1867. Zelphia, born in Missouri on July 26, 1851, came to Oregon on the Oregon trail with her parents at the age of one.
The Funk’s first child, Charles E., was born on April 11, 1869. A year later, the couple moved to a homestead in Kansas, where four more children were born: Anna, James, Etta, and Ida. In 1880, the family moved back to Oregon, where another three children were born: Margaret, George, and Warner. William started ranching with his sons, who helped tend the sheep. By 1890, the family had moved to Enterprise, but Funk continued to operate his sheep and cattle business.
William, along with his sons, Charles and James, decided to create a business partnership buying and selling herd stock. A few years later, they once again joined into a partnership after Charles began working in Enterprise at the general merchandising store of A. Levi. In 1898, the father and sons partnership purchased the mercantile of Levy and continued to operate the general store. By 1900, the Funk family moved to Portland except Charles and James who remained in Enterprise (Zelphia died June 23, 1923 and William died October 21, 1923). The brothers were active in the store affairs for many years; Charles managed the mercantile and James, eventually operated the grocery store.
Samuel L. Burnaugh
Samuel L. Burnaugh was born in Clermont County, Ohio in 1844, to Joseph and Lydia Black who moved to Illinois a year after their son was born. After farming in Knox County, the family moved to Iowa. In 1864, Samuel traveled by ox team to Union County, making his living in the mines before securing work in a Walla Walla, Washington sawmill. After a trip back to Iowa, he returned to Oregon and bought a half-section southeast of Elgin. On October 6, 1875, Samuel married Savannah Jasper, the daughter of Merrill Jasper of Cove. The couple had five children by the time Susan died at the age of 27. She was buried at Summerville Cemetery. Burnaugh then married Mary S. Patten, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Young) Patten, who came to Oregon in 1863. The couple had one daughter, Nellie who was born circa 1896. Samuel was an active citizen, a member of Elgin Lodge No. 142; IOOF; and Orion Lodge, No. 73, Knights of Pythias. Burnaugh died in 1923 (History of Union and Wallowa Counties, pp. 372-373).
Byram Mayfield
Byram Mayfield was born in Umatilla County, Oregon on March 31, 1877, to George E. and Amanda (Westerfield) Mayfield. Byram attended the public schools, and then received a degree from the Department of Pharmacy at the Oregon State Agricultural College in 1903. He first worked at a pharmacy at Ontario, Oregon, and circa 1904, he came to Wallowa County, where he and Samuel Burnaugh purchased the pharmacy of E. J. Forsythe, forming the Burnaugh and Mayfield company. The partnership was recognized as one of the strongest in Enterprise for many years. Mayfield was a member of the Enterprise Lodge No. 94, Knight of Pythias, and the Enterprise I.O.O.F. Lodge No. 158. He was a democrat and was active in the community, serving on the City Council. Byram died on May 29, 1946 and Hazel died in July 1982 (born December 31, 1888).
Bowlby Stone
Locally quarried on the land once owned by Enoch and Lulu Bowlby, the stone is classified as a consolidated volcanic ash found in Northeastern Oregon. The lightweight gray stone is almost the weight of wood, and when wet, can be easily cut with a saw. The stone was taken from the quarry, cut by local stone masons, and left to dry and harden. When dry, the stone was a hard, suitable building material used for the construction of houses, commercial buildings, and foundations. The stone was hauled from the Bowlby property for a cost of $1 for a 4x4x8 cord. Many of the early buildings in the commercial district of Enterprise were constructed of Bowlby stone including the Bowlby Building, Wallowa County Courthouse (1909-10), the Enterprise Hotel (1903), the Fraternal Hall (1908), the Litch Building (1909), the Enterprise Mercantile and Milling Company Building (1916), and the Chieftain Building (not an inclusive list).
Chain of Title
1898 Island City Milling & Mercantile Co. to Enoch R. Bowlby
1903 Enoch R. Bowlby to William J. Funk
1909 William J. Funk to Byram Mayfield and Samuel L. Burnaugh
1921 Samuel L. Burnaugh to Byram Mayfield
1940 Byram Mayfield to Hazel G. Mayfield (1/2 interest)
Enoch Bowlby purchased this lot and hired La Grande Contractor/Stone Mason S.R. Haworth to construct this two story structure. Originally a drug story and a meeting hall for the Maccabees. |
