PLSO The Oregon Surveyor Sept/Oct 2019

The Oregon Surveyor | 16 Vol. 42, No. 5 T he East Base Line of the Willa- mette Meridian passes through Wallowa County, Oregon. It is one of the four primary Survey Lines (north, south, east, west) which under lie Ore- gon’s Public Land Survey System. The original surveys were administered and undertaken by the General Land Office of the United States, which later be- came the Bureau of Land Management. The purpose of the P.L.S.S. was to es- tablish a statewide network of recorded monuments on a grid of one-mile spac- ing. From there, all land in the state could be measured to, and could be described from, a common Point of Beginning. The Willamette Stone is Oregon’s P.O.B. It sets in the West Hills of Portland in the park bearing its name. The Government Sur- veyors commenced their East Baseline Survey in 1851. There is a deep canyon about 20.00 chs. to the South Course N.E. The Base Line will cross two steep canyons within the next two miles but not impassable. I found it necessary to stop here for the reason that our provision has given out. From all appearances there will be some 10 or 12 miles yet to run before reaching Snake River. This “^” line passes through the beautiful Wallowa Valley beginning at the East side of Range 42. The valley is about 6 miles wide and 40 long its course N.W. & S.E. Numerous streams of clear cold water put down from the high snow mountains just to the South. Timber is abundant on the mountain sides to the south and west and along the banks of the streams. A large part of the Valley is well adapted to Agriculture, while the low grassy hills to the North and East furnish extensive range for stock. The finest of Trout and Salmon abound in the streams, and the surrounding mountains give evidence of plenty of game. Here, I found many Indians camped upon the banks of the streams, taking great quantities of fish, while their large herds of horses quietly graze upon luxuriant grass. ...The valley will team with a thriving and busy population. William Odell, September 16th, 1866 In 1866, Deputy Surveyor William Odell, entered the Wallowa Valley. His survey notes were recovered during research for a pending survey and may be the earliest written description of the Wal- lowa Valley. The present-day survey involves land that would have been very remote at the time the notes were writ- ten. Surveyor Odell left an unexpected narrative as a part of his final report. The words and language of the man, 150 years past and of another age, are striking. These narratives typically eval- uated the land’s resources by noting possible future agriculture ground or timber. All the same, the land inspired him to put pen to paper with some add- ed eloquence. (see transcription which follows. It is presumed he put down his notes from an ink well, by candlelight, in a tent). Oregon is big. The government Survey- ors had already marked 282 miles of Eastward-running latitude and Baseline since the Willamette Stone. Then, they came to the canyons. The Snake River is the deepest canyon in North America. Its tributaries are the next deepest can- yons in a region known for big canyons. His notes infer Odell was scrutinizing the last miles,“... but not impassable,” he wrote as he was packing up camp. The remaining work was finished by others. It would be sixteen years and sixteen more difficult miles before the East Baseline reached the Snake River in 1882, three hundred miles from where it had started from a Stone. Transcribed below: Featured Article Continues T