Helen Horton
“Boston Mills” was a familiar name to early Oregon pioneers. It was one of the early gristmills. Men would take their wheat by horseback or in wagons from miles around to this mill and take home the flour for their families. Boston, like many other settlements, hoped to be a city and perhaps the county seat.
Eliza Finley Brandon (Mrs. Thomas Brandon), 1850-1948, says: “My father, Richard Chism Finley, built the original mill at the old town of Boston in 1856-1858. He owned a half interest. Alexander Brandon and P. V. Crawford each owned one-fourth interest. It was destroyed by fire. With the flour-mill there was a carding factory. There a fire was kept burning all the time to warm the wool as it was worked. The fire probably started from this. Soon after the fire, the mill was rebuilt. All the massive timbers for both mills were cut out and hewed by hand in the woods near Crawfordsville, and hauled to Boston—an immense task.”
There used to be fairs at Boston in the early days—not really in Boston but in the country to the east across the Calapooya, at the foot of a small hill between Saddle Butte and the Calapooya River. This hill was called Bunker Hill because it was near Boston, and one time two settlers had a fight there over a land claim, “The Battle of Bunker Hill.”
Pioneers relate that Boston once had a post office, established September 22, 1868, two stores, and a blacksmith shop, in addition to the mills. When the railroad passed one and a half miles to the west, Boston failed to develop as a town, and Shedd became the railroad station.
Mr. E. D. Farwell, pioneer, says the ownership of the mill ran like this: Finley, Crawford and Brandon; Finley & William (Billy) Simmons; Simmons Brothers; Simmons and Knoll; Simmons & Thompson, then Thompson, the present owner.
We are told that the old timbers, mentioned earlier, remain in the present reconstructed structure, and that the old millstones lie under the water of the millrace. The white walls of the present mill are reflected in the clear waters of the millrace, the busy wheels continue to hum, and flour is ground for descendants of the pioneers of early days. The well-kept home of Mr. Otto Thompson, the present owner, stands nearby, only a short distance from the home of “Billy” Simmons, the miller of earlier days.
The Chase Orchard
Fannie Chase
Oregon pioneers must have had a diverting time clearing the land, planting orchards, tilling fields, and erecting homes. Doing all the planning called for constructive creation and real achievement. However, I wonder whether the one who moves into a ready-made house doesn’t have even more thrills and flights of imagination. I consider myself a fortunate mortal to dwell in a place with an interesting historical background. I was fascinated by the Oregon farm that my father and mother bought, near Albany.