[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12324]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WHEELER COUNTY, OREGON

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                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 9, 1999

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the one-hundredth 
anniversary of Wheeler County, Oregon. Wheeler County was formed by the 
Oregon Legislature in 1899 from parts of Grant, Gilliam, and Wasco 
Counties. Grant and Gilliam Counties had been carved earlier from the 
great Wasco County, which had a vast geographic range extending from 
the Cascades to the Rocky Mountains.
  The Centennial Celebration, taking place over three weekends this 
year, honors the people and places of this very special county, one of 
the smallest in Oregon. Wheeler County was named for Henry H. Wheeler, 
who operated the first mail stage line from what is now The Dalles to 
the gold fields of Canyon City, Oregon. Wheeler survived gunshot by 
outlaws and his racing stagecoach endured experiences straight out of 
the Wild West. The new county consisted of 1,656 square miles and it is 
as uneven and rugged as any Oregon county.
  Located 60 miles from the Columbia River, Wheeler County's land 
varies from high timbered mountains to deep river canyons. The county 
is sparsely populated with less than one person per square mile. 
Official state and federal designations by some agencies still list the 
county to this day as ``frontier.''
  The John Day River winds through the entire county, taking in 
stretches of up to 70 miles between public roads. The John Day is the 
longest free-flowing river in the continental United States, and the 
only Pacific Northwest river to continue to have only indigenous 
salmon. The river winds past spectacular rock palisades, miles-long 
cattle ranches and a remote countryside largely untouched by time.
  Mr. Speaker, over the past 100 years, Wheeler County's economic base 
has been and continues to be agriculture. At the turn of this century, 
great herds of sheep covered the hillsides. Their wool was shipped 
worldwide from Shaniko, a bustling railway shipping port earlier this 
century, located just 40 miles away. Over this century, sheep 
eventually gave way to cattle, and some of the West's most prestigious 
cattle ranches exist here, most notably those from secluded Twickenham 
Valley in the heart of the county.
  Timber has also been a mainstay of the county over the past century. 
Towering ponderosa pines have provided livelihoods for all aspects of 
the timber industry, especially from the 1920s to the 1970s. The 
pungent scents of pine, spruce and juniper are the very essence of the 
county, bringing memories of home to those who are away.
  Portions of the Umatilla and Ochoco National Forests lie within 
Wheeler County, and they along with Bureau of Land Management lands, 
encompass nearly one third of the county. Wheeler County, however, is 
best known for its remarkable depositories of prehistoric rock 
fossils--the largest such deposits on the North American continent and 
the only place on this planet where 53 million years of fossilized 
history is visible to the eye in layer upon layer of rock strata. 
Scientists come from all over the world to study these fossils, which 
include prehistoric creatures such as miniature horses, saber-toothed 
tigers and long extinct bear-dogs.
  The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument has three units located in 
Wheeler County. The Clarno unit features rock palisades and hiking 
trails among its petrified mudslides. The main unit at Sheep Rock 
Mountain features a visitors center showing the many fossilized 
creatures and plants found in the region. The Painted Hills are a 
colorful badlands of softly sculpted mountains ringed in gold, red, 
pink, green and blue.
  The picturesque town of Fossil is the county seat. Its courthouse is 
one of only two original courthouses in Oregon that is still operating. 
Its artifacts are intact and the juryroom is still home to a pot-
bellied iron stove. Fossil has the only free fossil-digging beds in 
North America, and delicate ferns, leaves and seeds embedded in rock 
literally lay on the ground for picking up.
  Mr. Speaker, no description of Wheeler County is complete without 
mention of the people. Crime is nearly non-existent in Wheeler County's 
small communities. Children walk to school safely and learn in 
classrooms where less than a dozen students work one-on-one with 
teachers. This is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, 
newcomers are made welcome, and the news of what you did on any day 
gets home before you do.
  Many of the county's residents are direct descendants of homesteading 
families here and some of the original ranches are now operated by 
fourth generations. Some recall grandparents who came across the Oregon 
Trail. Hardworking ranchers, loggers, timber truck drivers and 
businesspersons, the people of Wheeler County attest to a century of 
steadfast determination and self-reliance in a rugged part of Oregon.
  Today's local leaders look to tourism, light industry and 
telecommunications as the keys to a bright economic future. The people 
of Wheeler County have a past to be proud of, and a future that 
continues to unfold opportunities. The pull of the future is only as 
good as the past that empowers it, and in Wheeler County a fine and 
solid history lays a well-lit path for the future.
  In closing Mr. Speaker, Wheeler County embodies the traditions and 
the character of the west as much as any county I represent and I am 
proud to be able to serve all the citizens of Wheeler County and the 
entire Second Congressional District in the House of Representatives. 
Happy 100th birthday Wheeler County.

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