Columbia County OR Archives Biographies.....West, Harry August 3, 1857 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com June 18, 2009, 12:55 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company HARRY WEST, of Scappoose, who is one of the successful and well known farmers of Columbia county, Oregon, is entitled to specific mention in this work not only for his general ability as a farmer, but also for the distinctive service which he rendered to the entire state through his initiative and persistent efforts in raising the standard of dairy cattle, he being the first in Columbia county and one of the first in the state to breed and raise pure bred Jerseys, an example which stimulated many others to give more attention to the grade of their dairy cattle. Mr. West was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on the 3d of August, 1857, and is a son of William Warren and Maria (Bailey) West, the former born in New York state and the latter in Vermont. His father went to Wisconsin in 1850 and took up a homestead of timber land, on which he built a log house, and then proceeded to clear the land. He developed a good farm, on which he lived until 1860, when he sold out and went to Omaha, Nebraska. In the spring of 1861 he started across the plains for Oregon, traveling with the typical outfit of that period, — ox teams and covered wagons, —- and came in over the Applegate trail through southern Oregon. In 1862 he bought three hundred acres of state school land near Scappoose, on which he raised hay and cattle, and utilized much of the land for pasture. In 1868 he sold that place and, going to Scappoose plains, bought eight hundred acres of land, on which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1895. His wife died in 1898. They were the parents of five children, of whom three are living: Harry; Mrs. May Wann, of Berkeley, California; and Burt, who lives on the old home place at Scappoose. In 1883 William W. West established the first store in Scappoose, erected a building for the purpose and conducted the business several years, eventually selling to Watts & Price, who have operated it continuously since. Mr. West platted the townsite of Scappoose, which was on his land, and donated four acres as a site for the Northern Pacific Railroad station. All of the townsite west of the railroad was on his land, while that east of the railroad was on the Watts donation claim. Harry West received his educational training in the public schools of Scappoose and remained at home until after his marriage, in 1884, when he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, one mile northwest of Scappoose. It was heavily covered with timber and, after building a good frame house, he logged the land off in sawlogs, also cutting a vast amount of cordwood, which he shipped to Portland. He developed a good farm and in 1890 engaged in raising pure bred Jersey cattle, with such success that in a few years he owned the finest herd of Jersey cattle in Oregon, and, in fact, in the entire northwest. So determined was he that his herd should be of the best blood, that he made five trips to the Jersey islands, where he bought the best stock that could be obtained, and shipped them to his farm. His enterprising spirit bore abundant fruits, for his cattle were conceded to be perfection in their line. He exhibited them at all the leading fairs in the west and at three world's fairs, and took thousands of blue and purple ribbons, as well as fourteen silver cups. He has a beautiful silk quilt, seven feet square, made entirely from blue, purple and red ribbons won by his cattle. The product of his herd was for many years in great demand and he shipped pure bred stock to all parts of the country and to Japan. In 1907 Mr. West built a fine dairy and hay barn, fifty-six by eighty-four feet, with a forty-foot L, which holds eighty head of cattle and two hundred tons of hay. In 1925 Mr. West closed out his herd and now farms his land to hay and grain. He farms with tractors and horses and has one of the best improved and most productive ranches in this section of the state. In 1884, Mr. West was united in marriage to Miss Eva Price, a native of Indiana, who died in 1899, leaving three children, namely: Mrs. Myrtle (Whitton) Eakin, who lives in Portland, and who by her first husband had three children, Harry and Velma and Thelma, twins; Mrs. Lelia Bushman, of Oregon City, Oregon, who has two children, Viola and Desmond; and Eva M., who received a good education and is now employed in an insurance office in Berkeley, California. Mr. West is a member of St. Helens Lodge, No 117, I. O. O. F.; was one of the organizers and the first president of the Oregon Jersey Cattle Club and is a member of the American Jersey Cattle Club. He has been actively interested in local public affairs, having served four and a half years as a member of the board of county commissioners of Columbia county, sixteen years as a member of the school board and is the president of the state livestock sanitary board. He is recognized throughout his community as a splendid citizen, of unquestioned character, sturdy integrity and sincere purpose. A progressive man in the broadest sense of the term, he has accomplished much and is regarded as one of the representative men of his section of the valley. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 894-895 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/columbia/bios/west796gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb