Historic Hood River
Wyeth School
1-31-2017
Notes
Back when children had to walk or ride a horse to school the county was dotted with one room schoolhouses. This one is identified as Wyeth school, 1901.
The image is mounted on a board onto which someone has inscribed extensive historical information about the mid-Gorge area. Unfortunately at a later date someone decided to trim down the board, perhaps to fit the image into a file cabinet, and much of the history on the reverse was list. We’re left with tantalizing snippets like:
- building was built by Two Rocks and named Mountain View
- office was in box car Chas Gray postmaster
- sawmill 1875. Also Joseph Peters James Gorton built
There is also a list of names which may refer to the teachers and students in this image. The only ones I can read are Gladys Gorton, ? & Thelma Gray, Phoebe Gorton, and Billy Pestle.
Charlott
Charles Gray was from Illinois. His name was Henry Charles, but went by Charles. Gray was not his initial last name. It was Gras and for some unknown reason he changed it.
Gorton’s were the main family there in the area of where the conciencious objector camp was. Edwin Gray was the patriarch of the family. Some of the Gorton and Gray families are buried in the little Wyeth Cemetery there. Hard to find unless you know exactly where to look. I visted it last summer in fact.
L.E.
Nice hole for the skunks to crawl under the school. It also looks like they are on a flood plain. Isn’t this where the dead forest of trees stood out in the river?
In all the years of traveling up and down the Gorge, I don’t know that I have ever visited the Wyeth Campground, which Google comments says is a nice one. I see on the map there is a Gorton Creek.
What does the Old Columbia River Highway do in this area?
L.E.
Columbia River Images has a pretty good description of the area and explains a little bit about Charlott’s comment on the Conscientious Objectors Camp.
http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/wyeth.html
Kenn
L.E. The original highway 30 still crosses Gorton Creek over the original bridge driving west from Wyeth but then angles out under I-84. The cemetery is about a mile west of there on the 1800’s military road.
j nels
Kenn, can you give a little more exact description of the cemetery’s location? I regularly take that road from I-84 east of CL just because it is so rural with the farms and the camp ground. The USFS tore down a rustic building about 8 – 10 years ago as not safe for summer programs. The camp ground leads up to the waterfalls and cliffs. And there is a book written about the Con. Objectors activities there.
L.E.
Tom Kloster features Gorton Creek in his 2017 calendar along with this link to the Wyeth Work Camp. https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/civilian_public_service_camp_21/#.WJID5RiZO3d
Kenn
j nels, The cemetery is east of and across the road from the location of the ex forest service compound you mention. It is not very evident but is just east of one of the haul roads and can be seen from the shoulder.. These haul roads were used to scalp the hill to reduce freeway heaving, and the dirt was dumped down below where it filled the east half of the chicken farm lowland.
Kenn
j nels, here is theinformation on the Gorton cemetery.
A "Wyeth cemetery" search on yahoo has the GPS and pictures. It is .7 miles west of the Gorton Cr bridge in Wyeth, on the north side, I have marked the tree at roadside at the first haul road on the NE corner. The FS house you remember is .9, the summit 1.8. The military road shows from Shell Rock to Herman Cr campground along this road.
Jeffrey Bryant
The Hood River Glacier, 1926-06-10, page 6 includes a student written article about the history of Wyeth schools.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1926-06-10/ed-1/seq-6/
Jana Cooley
I am the granddaughter of Clifford Gorton. He and my grandmother, Hada are buried at Willamette National in Portland along with their sons there and at Lincoln Memorial. My Aunt, Winifred died when she was 8 from mastoid abscess. She is buried at the Wyeth cemetery. Clifford helped build Bridge of the God’s. It is believed some workers died and were buried there as well. I think James, also buried there was Clifford’s brother. I was born on my grandfather’s birthday- Oct 21st. They built a little house at 760 Forest Lane that was later used as a burn to learn. My late sister, an artist painted a picture of ” The Locks Place”. It’s hanging in my front room. I’ve done genealogical research on the Gorton’s, Foster’s and our relatives from John HBC and Charlotte McPherson (a native woman) they married in Colville WA by Elkanah Walker at their mission in Tsimican (sp).
Kristie Miller
@Jana Cooley
I am also in the Gorton family tree.
54 y.o. from Tacoma. Wa. Would love to connect with you!
rowdiered@msn.com
Kristie Westergaard-Miller