Hood River-Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....L'Angille, William A. August 18, 1868 - ************************************************ 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 Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 24, 2010, 12:30 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 591 - 592 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company WILLIAM A. L'ANGILLE. Few men are more intimately acquainted with or better informed on the timber resources of the United States and Alaska than William A. Langille, who spent many years in the federal forestry service, during which time he surveyed many hitherto unestimated forest districts and supplied valuable information to the government. He is now successfully engaged in farming in the upper Hood River valley and is one of the most highly esteemed residents of that locality. Mr. Langille was born in Tusket, Yarmouth county, Nova Scotia, Canada, August 18, 1868, a son of James L. and Sarah (Harding) Langille, the former born at River John, Pictou county, Nova Scotia, and the latter at Pubnico, in that province. James L. Langille was a millwright and ship joiner which lines of work he followed until 1880, when he went to Chicago, Illinois, where for two and a half years he worked for the Pullman Car Comany, on the construction of the town of Pullman. In 1883 he came to Hood River, Oregon, and soon afterward took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in that part of Wasco county which has since been set off into Hood River county, his ranch being located in the upper part of the valley. He built a log house and started to clear the land, establishing the first sawmill in that part of the valley and operating it for several years. In 1889 he was in charge of the construction of Cloud Cap inn, on Mount Hood. He cleared off and about thirty-five acres of his land, planting twenty acres to apples, and there he lived until his death, which occurred in 1911. He took an active interest in the development of that section of the county, serving on the school board and as road supervisor for several years. He was a member of the Masonic order. His wife passed away in 1924. To them were born three children: William A.; Herbert B., who graduated from Leland Stanford University and is now an instructor in the mechanical and electrical engineering department of the University of California; and Harold Douglas, who is engaged in the timber business in Portland, Oregon. William A. Langille received his educational training in the public schools of Nova Scotia and Chicago, Illinois. Coming to Oregon with his parents, he assisted in clearing the land which his father had secured in the Hood River valley, remaining at home until 1897, when he joined the gold rush to Alaska. He went into that territory over the White pass, and engaged in mining at Dawson until January, 1900, when he went to Nome, where he continued his mining operations until 1902, when, having been fairly successful, he returned to Hood River. In the spring of 1903 Mr. Langille went to Washington, D. C., and took a position in the bureau of forestry. In the fall of that year the bureau sent him to Alaska for the purpose of making a survey of the forestry resources of that territory. Subsequently he was sent to California to inspect the Mount Whitney forest reservation, and in the fall of that year returned to Washington, where he was employed at government forestry work until the following spring. He then went back to Alaska, where he spent the spring in surveying the Prince William region, and in the fall went to the Kenia peninsula. During the ensuing winter, in company with James Watson, he made a trip with dog sleds one thousand miles up to the base of Mt. McKinley, surveying the timber resources of the country over which they traveled. In the spring of 1905, when the present forest service was organized by the government, Mr. Langille took over the administration of the Alaska forests, supervising all of the national forest reserves in that territory until 1911, when he resigned, and returned to Oregon. He then went to South America to look over the timber resources in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, this being somewhat of a honeymoon trip, as he took his newly wedded wife with him. He remained in that country fourteen months, returning to Hood River in 1914, at which time he moved onto the old homestead, where he has since lived. In 1911, in Portland, Oregon, Mr. Langille was united in marriage to Miss Marie Slate, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of Oliver W. Slate. Her father is deceased, and her mother now resides at Sag Harbor, Long Island. Mrs. Langille is a trained nurse, having graduated from the Brooklyn Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Langille have three children, namely: Elizabeth, who was born in Sao Paula, Brazil, February 3, 1912, and is a senior in the high school at Parkdale, Oregon; Jean, born at Portland, Oregon, December 24, 1916, and Helen, born in Hood River valley, November 14, 1919. Mr. Langille is a man of rugged physique, six feet tall, without a surplus ounce of flesh, and possesses almost an endless power of endurance. He and his brother Douglas were the first men to climb to the top of Mt. Hood from the east side, making the ascension in July, 1893. In young manhood he had acted as guide to the top of the mountain and, altogether, has climbed to the summit fifty-one times, making the ascent by five different routes, being the first person to climb to the top over three of these routes. Mr. Langille's mother acted as hostess at Cloud Cap inn for many years after it was opened to the public in the late '80s. Mr. Langille is a man of fearless courage, carries through successfully everything which he undertakes, and is regarded as one of the community's substantial citizens. During his official connection with the government service he met many celebrities, among whom he was held in high esteem, because of his wide and accurate knowledge of the subject which at that time was engaging his attention. He is now very comfortably situated and is able to enjoy life much as he pleases. He has proven a good citizen, giving his support to all measures for the public welfare, and wherever known commands the highest respect and good will. 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