Yamhill County OR Archives Biographies.....Morehead, J. A. March 31, 1859 - ************************************************ 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 February 15, 2011, 3:04 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 966 - 969 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company J. A. MOREHEAD, one of the pioneers of the Columbia River valley, has achieved success in the fields of merchandising, farming and banking and for nearly forty years has made his home in Nahcotta, Washington, which has materially benefited by his constructive labors, his generosity and public spirit, while he has also furthered the progress of other parts of Pacific county. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, March 31, 1859, a son of Jacob and Susannah (Tillet) Morehead, natives of Virginia. In early life the father went to Ohio and in 1866 went from that state to Michigan, settling in Calhoun county. He purchased a tract of wild land near Battle Creek and eventually transformed it into a productive farm, also becoming the owner of a sawmill. During the latter part of his life he resided in Athens, Michigan, and there both he and his wife passed away. Reared on his father's farm, J. A. Morehead received his early education in a rural school and also attended high school but did not complete his course. He remained at home until 1881, when he responded to the call of the west, and spent a year in Yamhill county, Oregon. During that time he worked for a few months in a sawmill owned by Captain Powell and also taught school in Hopewell for one term. In 1882 he came to Pacific county, Washington, and began working for L. A. Loomis, who was the owner of a freighting outfit and also had a stage line. The North Beach Tribune of August 26, 1927, contained an interesting article written by Mr. Morehead, who gives the following account of his experiences as a stage driver during the early days: "In the operation of the stage line between Oysterville and Ilwaco, eight horses were used daily. These were of a broncho type, tough and wiry, of about one thousand pounds weight. The stage was a primitive affair, resembling a prairie schooner with both ends closed and an entrance on either side. At the back end was a strongly built 'boot' used for the purpose of carrying freight and baggage. "There were five seats, upon which fourteen passengers could be uncomfortably carried. But as no one was ever intentionally left, there was always 'room for one more,' and sometimes more than twenty passengers were crowded on. The driver's seat was perched on the outside, where it had no protection whatever from the storms. There were no springs either under the seats or the body of the stage. "The road was confined to the hard sands of the ocean beach and made an ideal road when the tide was out but a very unsatisfactory one when the tide was high. The incoming swells would be allowed to come as high as possible around the stage before it could be swerved off the hard sand and when the swells receded a dash would be made over the firm sand until another swell approached. This would be repeated with each incoming swell until the trip was completed. Care always was needed to watch for the drift logs being carried back and forth on the swells, which would work havoc with the horses and the stage if they were struck by them. "Page after page has been written about the exploits and adventures of the old stage drivers of the mountains and plains, but one of those spectacular drivers would have had an experience that he never dreamed of had he found himself on the weather beach with a heavy load of passengers, two or three hours before daylight in the morning, with an eighty-mile gale blowing the cutting sand into his face and a ten-foot tide shooting the drift logs past his horses and the swells that only could be kept out of the stage by careful and watchful driving. Their task was easy, compared with that of the beach driver, who three times a week was obliged to get out of bed at the unholy hour of two o'clock in the morning, go to the barn and feed, groom and harness his horses, eat his breakfast, hitch up and drive around the town, and out on the oyster beds gathering up his load so as to leave the hotel door promptly at four o'clock. All this by the light of a smoky lantern and very often in a driving storm. As the steamer awaited the return of the stage to Oysterville before leaving, and another was awaiting his arrival at Ilwaco, he was hurried at every point of the trip. "However, three mornings in the week, when only local passengers and mail were to be carried, he could sleep until the late hour of four in the morning. On these days heavy loads of freight were carried. Oysters, out of Oysterville, and general freight from Ilwaco for points all over the bay, and as far as Grays Harbor. "In looking over the old stage books, which the writer still has in his possession, it was noted that this incoming freight was made up largely of beer and saloon supplies. They had the right of way over luxuries such as flour and bacon. These books show the names of the majority of you old pioneers, and the history of the county, state and nation. Many of you that are now grandfathers were then riding for half fare, or bunched in with other children at so much the bunch. "Looking back upon, at this time, the lot of the old stage driver, his was a particularly hard one. His days were long, often more than sixteen hours, and the responsibility was great. He had no assistance in loading and unloading these heavy trunks and articles of freight. He must account for every passenger, every piece of baggage and every pound of freight carried by both the stage and freight wagons, and collect all bills and be on the job seven days in the week. He had no holidays nor vacations nor anyone to make the trip for him if he felt indisposed. That mail must go, and to the credit of the drivers, it was never known to miss a trip. "There were some of the drivers who drove longer than the writer but during the four years that he was on the job he drove more than fifty thousand miles. Sitting on that seat during all kinds of weather, urging those horses to their hard tasks, a distance was driven that would circle the earth, and having completed this circle, another such trip was started at two o'clock the next morning. "While the driver may have thought his task somewhat strenuous, it was not to be compared with that of those horses that were obliged to do this work. The driver could quit his job at any time but the horses well knew that the moment they slackened up on those traces that four-horse lash would be swung across their bodies, by one whose job depended upon his ability and willingness to swing it. "There was one horse on this line that was driven continuously for more than six years. In this time she traveled more than thirty thousand miles, often dragging a load more than the weight of her own body. You old pioneers who plodded your weary way over the old emigrant trail will realize this distance of fifteen times the distance covered by you on the trip. "But those old times are gone forever. The old stage coach has been corroding on the junk heap for many a year. The stage horses made their last trip long ago. The stage barns at Oysterville and Ilwaco have long since given up their sites for other uses. The old Pacific House, in Oysterville, the center of so many activities during the stage times, has been razed to the ground. Those faithful drivers — Jack Winchell, Bill Denver, Bill Taylor, Lou Slack and Charlie Burch, have passed to their reward, leaving a record of devotion to duty seldom equaled." After resigning his position as a stage driver Mr. Morehead opened a general store in Oysterville and while conducting the business was appointed postmaster of the town, serving for four years under President Cleveland. In 1889 Mr. Morehead transferred his activities to Nahcotta and here he successfully engaged in general merchandising for twenty-six years. In 1915 he sold the business to Trondsen & Brown, who still own it, and the firm also has a store at Ocean Park, Washington. Mr. Morehead aided in organizing the Pacific State Bank at South Bend, Washington, and was one of its first directors. He is now vice president of this bank, which has steadily grown in strength and usefulness, and he is largely responsible for its success. Late in the '80s Mr. Morehead bought a tract of four hundred acres on Shoalwater bay, a heavily timbered property, and has cleared and improved much of the land, bringing it to a high state of development. He still operates the ranch, which produces fine crops of hay, grain and vegetables, and he also raises beef cattle for the market. That portion of the tract which has been set aside for the public is known as Morehead Park, which is free to automobile tourists, and a portion is reserved as a summer camp for the Boy Scouts of Pacific county. Adequate accomodations have been provided for cooking, eating and sleeping and the boys anticipate with pleasure their trip each year to this beautiful park, which is also visited each summer by the Camp Fire Girls of Pacific county. It is likewise used for church and Sunday school picnics and other county meetings. Mr. Morehead has acquired a number of pioneer relics, which he has placed in Morehead Park, and among the most interesting is the original boiler of the first steam sawmill west of the Rocky mountains. This boiler, which was one of fifty that were made in England and shipped to New York early in the '40s, was sent to California by way of Cape Horn and thence to the mouth of the Columbia river in 1850. The mill for which it was intended was erected near Ilwaco by J. D. Holman and used for several years by Holman, White & Loomis, partners in the sawmill. After the plant was dismantled the old boiler was floated down Talilt slough and obtained by Mr. Morehead, who placed it in his park during the summer of 1927. Another relic of interest to visitors to the park is a life-sized figure of the goddess Ceres, carved from a solid piece of wood. In one hand the goddess holds a sickle and on her arm there is a sheaf of wheat. This was the figurehead on the British bark Glen Morag, which was wrecked on the coast near Nahcotta in 1896, when two of the sailors lost their lives. The figurehead is the property of Mr. Begg, who was one of the shipwrecked crew and now lives near Nahcotta. Mr. Morehead is deeply interested in the early history of the state and particularly the Shoalwater bay district, being recognized as an authority on that subject. On the 8th of January, 1885, Mr. Morehead was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Brown, a native of Portland, Oregon, and of Scandinavian descent. Her father, John Brown, was a Norwegian and became a master mariner. He arrived in Vancouver, Washington, in 1861 and afterward was captain of a steamboat operating on the Columbia river. In 1871 he located in Oysterville and embarked in the oyster business, making large shipments to San Francisco. He was captain of the South Bend, the first steamboat on Shoalwater bay, and also transported mail to various points on the bay for several years. From 1878 to 1884, a period of six years, he served as sheriff and assessor of Pacific county and was urged to stand for reelection but declined. In 1884 he was appointed captain of the North Cove life-saving station, of which he had charge for twenty-five years, retiring in 1909. Captain Brown attained the age of seventy-five years and his death in 1910 was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he was a man of lovable nature and high ideals. His wife, Anna (Hendrihsen) Brown, was a native of Denmark and passed away in 1924, when eighty-eight years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Morehead have three children. Enola, the eldest, is the wife of C. J. Peterson, of Nahcotta, Washington, and has two children, Nancy and Shirley. Elizabeth was graduated from the University of Washington and taught school for six years previous to her marriage to Torvald Trondsen. They reside at Ocean Park and have two daughters, Barbara and Dorothy. John Alvin, Jr., who completes the family, is a senior in high school. Mr. Morehead is a charter member of Raymond Lodge, No. 1292, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also belongs to the Pacific County Pioneers Association, of which he was president for two years. His service on the board of commissioners of Pacific county covered fourteen years and during that period the board held its meetings in four courthouses. Early in life he realized the fact that there is no excellence without labor, and his industry, energy and ability are amply illustrated in his career, which has been rounded with success and fraught with the accomplishment of much good. Mr. Morehead has witnessed notable changes in the aspect of this district and has borne his full share of the work of development and progress. He has never shirked a responsibility nor betrayed a trust and is known and honored throughout Pacific county. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/yamhill/bios/morehead1513gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 13.7 Kb