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The
City of Vale
pg..2
Vale was incorporated as a city in 1889. Wm. S. Glen was the first mayor
with G. C. Murray, L. H. Sevey, H.P. Napton and Frank Vine as councilmen
with Frank Glenn as city recorder.
After the Oregon Short Line (OSL), later known as the Union Pacific,
arrived in Oregon in 1883, near Nyssa, a group of promoters led by Stephen
Carver Began construction on the Malheur valley Railway (MVR) in 1907.
A small depot was constructed at the north end of Vale’s Main Street
. The “Vale Cannonball” or later “Sagebrush Annie” provided 90 minute
service to and from Ontario with once a day stops at Malheur Junction
and Malletts (White Settlement). After the railroad reached Vale, the
streets were oriented east and west. With the coming of the Malheur
Valley Railroad “big business’ was shipping to and from the interior
by freight wagons and stock drives.
After a fire burned down some of the early buildings, the City Council
passed an ordinance providing that all new buildings should be built
of stone or brick. There is a stone quarry south of town and later two
brick yards were operation. With the coming of the railroad there was
a building boom in Vale. The Vale Hotel, the First Bank of Vale, Malheur
Forwarding Co., Goodrich Hotel, and the I.O.O.F. buildings were constructed
about this time.
Vale had early on been plagued by spring-time floods. A dam on Bully
Creek proved faulty and caused a major flood in 1925. A flood in Feb.
1957 brought about the building of another dam on Bully Creek and a
dike system around town.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has an office and warehouse in vale.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the BLM undertook the Vale Project to rehabilitate
the range land under its control. The project rehabilitated thousands
of acres of range land, which allowed the cattlemen to continue grazing
the land while preserving it for future use.
The Vale Livestock Salesyard, despite two fires over the years and changing
ownership several times, remains one of the largest in Oregon .
Vale hot water was first used in a Natatorium built on the east side
of the Malheur River . The water is used to heat several homes as well
as the mushroom plant on the east side of town. The hot water after
being used by this plant heats the Vale Municipal swimming pool.
The Vale Mural Society has paid to have over 30 murals, painted around
town on buildings, depicting the early Vale history. They include scenes
from along the trail, crossing the Snake River , the Indians who first
lived here and the other cultures who have arrived over the years, early
buildings in town and other historic events.
History
provided by Tom Gray
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