Union County courthouse in La Grande, Oregon, 1963
COLLECTION
Ben Maxwell
DESCRIPTION
This is the Union County courthouse in La Grande Oregon, as seen in May 1963. Union County was created October 14, 1864. Its name was taken from the town of Union, which had been established about two years. Union County has an area of 2053 square miles. The town of Union was founded in 1862 by E.H. Lewis, Fred Nodine and Samuel Hannah, and was named for patriotic reasons during the Civil War. It is said that at one time an effort was made to call this place Brownsville for Ben Brown, who settled there in 1861. Instead the name La Grande was adopted, doubtless suggested by the name of Grande Ronde Valley and its impressvive scenery. La Grande post office was established May 28, 1863, with Benjamin P. Patterson first postmaster.
DATE
1963, May
SUBJECTS
La Grande, Oregon; Union County; courthouse; Brown, Ben; Nodine, Fred; Lewis, E.H.; Hannah, Samuel; pioneer; Patterson, Benjamin P.
