Continue to Stand in the Gap: Union County

Grande Ronde River, Union County, OR

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of mountains and hills; Deuteronomy 8:7

Union County was originally part of Baker County, which was originally part of Wasco County, which was originally part of Clackamas County. It was formed in 1864 from part of Baker County with LaGrande as the county seat.  The northern end of the Grand Ronde Valley was the first part to be settled by white settlers. It was a peaceful place, a neutral place for the Native Americans to enjoy hunting and fishing and the hot springs and other features. The various tribes set aside differences while in the valley. Consequently, when the settlers began to arrive in the early 1860s, they did not experience much discord with the Native Americans.

Union County is represented and governed by three commissioners. The Union County Board of Commissioners is currently made up of Paul Anderes, Matt Scarfo, and Donna Beverage.

The Union County Sheriff is Cody Bowen, who oversees the over 2,000 square mile county that has a population of around 26,000.

Earlier blog posts touched on some history and events in early Union County, here, here, and here.

Union County, Oregon

Settlers were first attracted to the lush Grande Ronde Valley by the potential for agricultural products. The grass, according to early accounts, grew so tall and thick it was higher than a man’s head, and livestock got lost in it. Around 1862 a settler’s wife wrote in her journal that there were 35 white settlers in the valley. By 1864 there were around 500.

1864 was during the closing period of the Civil War and was the year Abraham Lincoln was reelected for his second term. This caused contention all over the United States. Union County was not exempt from the controversy as the settlers were from all sections of the country, some strongly for the Union and some Southern sympathizers.

This account claims the Confederate sympathizers were part of the disbanded Confederate group known as Price’s Army. This unit, under Major Sterling Price, led a final group of raids west of the Mississippi intending to gain control of Missouri. The failure of this venture strongly contributed to the reelection of Lincoln and the Union winning the war. Some former members of Price’s Army settled in the Grande Ronde Valley bringing strong feelings about the issues with them. Accounts indicate they were outspoken and not above physically attacking Unionists if given the opportunity. Men of Union County – both factions – went about their days armed and wary.  

After Lincoln’s election in 1864, the tensions grew worse ultimately reaching a pitch when the Southern sympathizers planned to burn Lincoln in effigy in LaGrande one night. The Union men organized to stop this travesty, and eventually, about 60 well-armed men on each side faced off in LaGrande. The effigy was already in place, waiting only for darkness to light it.

While the Union sympathizers determined the effigy would not be lit at all costs, cooler heads eventually proposed that they seek out the Southern leaders and attempt to dissuade them. At first, this ploy was unsuccessful, but eventually, they persuaded one southerner of the folly of burning the effigy – which would result in unnecessary deaths, have little effect on changing national events, and would increase hostility between friends and neighbors. One man, Mat Rice, was won over and stood up to his fellow Southerners. In the end, the effigy was not burned, but taken down and hauled away and LaGrande was saved from being the site of a late Civil War battle.

Even this valley of peace had its moments of hostility and strife. While it was a long time ago, pray no residual resentments remain from those early days.