Sherman County Milestones – Sherman County, Oregon History

The word Milestone has several different meanings, but all relate to where one is at a particular time or place. Sherman County’s milestones are events that occurred along the timeline of Sherman County’s existence. The first milestones were set before the county’s history began being recorded, so our timeline begins with the Native American Tribes of the Tenino and Wasco. They were Sahaptin-speaking people who called Sherman County home long before the Lewis & Clark Expedition crossed these lands in 1805. The story of Sherman County, Oregon continues to evolve and new milestones are forever being set. From Lewis & Clark, the Oregon Trail, and the first white settlers to newspapers, schools, and bridges, these are the Milestones of Sherman County, Oregon.

References: History of Oregon, Vol. 1, Bancroft They Paved the Way by Belshe Reminiscences by Robert Graham, manuscript 1939 Early Klickitat Valley Days by Ballou 1938 Sherman County Marriages; The Golden Land by French Yesterday’s Roll Call – Sherman County Cemetery Records by S. Kaseberg Memoirs of Jay Price, Sherman County Journal Carson C. Masiker in The Dalles Optimist The Illustrated History of Central Oregon, 1905 Sherman County newspaper obituaries transcribed by Chris Sanders, 2000.

Date	Events – Locations – Descriptions	Who
	Pre-1850
	Home to Sahaptin-speaking native peoples.	Native American Tribes: Tenino & Wasco.
1805	Lewis & Clark Expedition between John Day (LePage’s) River and Deschutes River.	Lewis & Clark Expeditionary Forces.
1811-1812	Wilson Price Hunt Expedition. Ramsey Crooks and John Day reached the mouth of the river, which subsequently bore John Day’s name. Near this stream, the men were robbed by Indians and stripped of their clothing. Day and Crooks were soon rescued by the Robert Stuart party of Astorians, and taken on to the newly established post at Astoria, arriving in May of 1812.	Ramsey Crooks/Robert Stuart, John Day
1812	Overland Astorians discover South Pass in Wyoming, later the route of the Oregon Trail.
1832	Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville arrives overland to trap and trade for furs on Columbia Plateau.
1842	Oregon Trail emigrants began to pass through present-day Sherman County on the way to the Willamette Valley.
1843	In the first large migration over 900 emigrants arrived via the Oregon Trail. Lt. John C. Fremont mounted a reconnaissance of the Oregon Trail.
	1850-1859
1852-1853	Ferry services at the mouth of the Deschutes River.	Nathan Olney.
1853	1^st mail service by packhorse, The Dalles to Salt Lake City.
1854	Mouth of the Deschutes River.	William Nix/Nixon.
1850s	Oregon-to-Utah stage route crossed the John Day River at the Oregon Trail Crossing (McDonald)
1857	Emigrants arrived in long trains to settle in the valleys east of The Dalles. Mt. St. Helens erupted.
1858	1^st bridge built across the John Day River at the Oregon Trail Crossing	Tom Scott.
1858-1859	1^st white settler and 1^st innkeeper, east bank of Deschutes River at the mouth.	William Graham and family.
1859	1^st bridge built across mouth of Deschutes River.	William Nix/Nixon.
	1860-1869
ca. 1860	1^st ferry across John Day River at the Oregon Trail Crossing (McDonald).	Tom Scott.
ca. 1860	Settler at mouth of Deschutes River, kept a bridge, sold produce.	Thomas Jefferson Miller for whom Miller RR siding, Miller School, Miller Bridge and Miller Island are named.
Early 1860s	Stage line operated across present-day Sherman County, The Dalles to Canyon City.
1860s	Mail from The Dalles to Canyon City by packhorse.	Cayuse George.
1861	1^st surveying between the Deschutes and John Day Rivers.	Patterson and Cartee.
1861-1862	Terrible winter, worst on record.	Several men died between the John Day and Deschutes Rivers.
1861	1^st bridge built by non-Native Americans across the Deschutes, upper site, later Sherar’s.	John Y. Todd.——– Jackson.
1861	Bridge at the mouth of the Deschutes River washed out.	William Nix/Nixon.
1862	License to build a bridge and operate as Deschutes Bridge Co.	William Nix/Nixon, Sims and Meyers.
1862	Sail ferry between Columbus (Maryhill), WA and the Oregon shore, not first ferry.	Tom Jenkins.
1862	Masiker family settled at Sand Spring, 1^stwhite family to live on the plateau between the rivers.	George Masiker and family.
1862	Homestead Law.
1862	Military mail carrier, Fort Dalles to Fort Walla Walla.
1863	The Dalles-Boise Road Company incorporated.
1863	First white boy born to settlers in present-day Sherman County.	Martyn Masiker.
1863	1^st white settler at Haystacks (Finnegan Ranch, later Sherar’s)	James Biffle.
1860s	Cut-off to the Barlow Road from Tygh Valley around Mt. Hood to the Willamette Valley – beginning from John Day River Oregon Trail Crossing and passing diagonally SW through the County to Hollenbeck Point, Buck Hollow and Deschutes River.	Oregon Trail emigrants.
1864	Stage road built, The Dalles to Walla Walla.
1864	Road built up Price’s Canyon (Charles Fulton Canyon) and east to John Day River bridge.
1862-1864	Bridge ownership of bridge at John Day River Crossing changed.	Dan Leonard bought out Tom Scott there and built a bridge in partnership with Amos Underwood.
1864	?2^nd bridge near the mouth of Deschutes River.	Smith/Fulton/Graham.
1864	First settlers at the head of Spanish Hollow.	Jesse and Mary Eaton and family.
?	1^st to thresh grain (rye), tramped out with horses.	Jesse Eaton.
1864-1865	Bridge built about five miles from mouth of Deschutes River.	William Nix/Nixon. Later sold to Tom Gordon.
ca. 1865	1^st telegraph line built following the stage road, The Dalles to Walla Walla.
1867	Congressional Act granting lands to Oregon for military roads.
1867	Scott Post Office established on west bank of John Day River.	Leonard’s Inn, Dan Leonard.
1867-1868	1^st settler in Seedum Valley (now Moro).	Henry Barnum.
	1^st barbed wire fence was constructed between Barnum’s barn in Moro to Gordon Butte.
1868	The Dalles Military Road Company incorporated at The Dalles.
1868	1^st school was taught at the Eaton home and 2^nd school taught at the Price home.	Jesse Eaton. Samuel Price.
	1870-1879
1870	1^st post office on the plateau, named Spanish Hollow.	Jesse Eaton’s home.
1870s	1^st stockmen arrived with herds of horses and cattle, later flocks of sheep, to graze on rolling hills of abundant grass.
1870s	A stockman settled in the canyon that bears his name.	Charles Helm.
1870	Col. James Fulton represented Wasco County, including present-day Sherman County, in the Oregon legislature.	James Fulton.
1872	1^st identified burial at Wasco Methodist Cemetery.	—– Eaton.
1872	Deschutes Bridge sold (present Sherar’s bridge site).	Hemingway and Mays sold their bridge to Joseph Sherar.
1872-1873	Teacher hired for Price & Masiker children at Sand Spring.	Samuel Price.
	1^st ditch fence was around 20 acres built by Sam Price, followed by ditch fences at Eaton’s, Barnum’s and Fulton’s.	Sam Price, Jesse Eaton, James Fulton & Sons, Henry Barnum
1873-1878	Acts of Congress provided opportunities for timber culture land claims.
1874	1^st schoolhouse built, located in Mud Hollow near the Emigrant Road.	Price, Masiker and Eaton children.
1878	Last of the Indian War occurred between Deschutes & John Day Rivers as the Natives were returning to the Warm Springs Reservation.
	1^st grain drill was a Hoosier shoe press.
1878	? 1^st one-horse-power threshing machine.	James Fulton.
	1^st stationary thresher brought to Sherman County, ordered from Portland.	James Fulton
	1^st threshing machine brought east of the Deschutes River.	Dave and John Fulton.
	1^st grain threshed at John Fulton’s, then at Price’s.	Fulton and Price families.
	1^st header brought to Sherman County.	Bruno Medler.
1878	When Dr. Rollins settled in what is now Sherman County there were 42 white people, and he was the only physician between the Columbia River and Antelope.	Dr. C.R. Rollins
1878–	1^st settler in Grass Valley operated a hotel, general store and drugstore.	Dr. C.R. Rollins.
1878	Murder at Oregon Trail Crossing of John Day River.	Dan Leonard murdered.
1878	Early white settler at Murray Springs.	William Murray moved to Thomas Jenkins’ place between Grant and Rufus.
1878	Scott Post Office was moved up the John Day River into Gilliam County, later called Rockville.
1879	O.R.& N. Co. started building a railroad through the Gorge.
1879	Early pioneer north of Wasco.	Wilson M. Barnett.
1879	1^st store in Moro.
1879	Settler on site of Wasco.	Clark Dunlap.
	1880-1889
1880	US Census, East of Deschutes River	212 residents.
ca. 1880	Town started on Columbia River and called Grant or Grant’s.	William Grant.
	1^st store at Grant.	Fox, Scott & McCoy.
ca. 1880	One-room school built at Grant, abandoned ca. 1897.
1880	Settler in the Eaton Precinct, Wasco County, OR canyon that bears his name.	William R. & Samantha Gerking family.
1881	1^st recorded burial at Grass Valley Cemetery.	Kansas King Roop.
?1881	Rail line built along Columbia River, Celilo to Wallula.	Henry Villard.
?1880-1882	Terrible winter.
1880-1886	Wasco County Surveyor.	John Fulton.
1881	1^st public school district organized and school built in China Hollow.
1881	1^st 4^th of July celebration at Poplar Grove (Sand Spring west of Wasco) drew most residents in the region.
1881	Abel Erskine plowed with an eight-horse gang plow he brought from California in 1880 when he settled at Erskineville.	Abel Erskine
1881	1^st mail carrier Wasco to Erskineville was paid by 25 cent per month contributions by folks in the Grass Valley and Erskine country.	George Larison, Jr.
1882	Abel Erskine appointed postmaster and mail was delivered to Erskine on a regular mail route from Wasco.	Abel Erskine.
1882	1^st school Christmas program – China Hollow School.
?	1^st hotel in Moro	Mrs. Dora Williams.
1882	Fultonville was laid out near the mouth of Deschutes River. Post office established and postmaster named.	James Fulton.
1882	Hotel built at Biggs.	Henry Helm(s).
	1^st store at Biggs.	Fowler & Gage who sold to Ginn & McDonald.
1882	Badger Post Office established, later renamed DeMoss Springs in 1887.	Thomas Badger, postmaster.
1883	Blacksmith shops in Wasco.	Jimmie Summers; Tozier & Holland.
1883	1^st business house in Wasco.	Wilson M. Barnett.
	1^st dwelling in Wasco.	W.H. Biggs.
	1^st flourmill in Wasco.	H.P. Isaacs.
	1^st religious service conducted in vicinity was at the old China Hollow schoolhouse.	Rev. Mr. Skipworth of Goldendale, WA.
1883	1^st steam tug, the Nellie, was built for Columbia River service.	Nate Morris, builder.
1883	Wasco Methodist Church was built.	Under the charge of Rev. Frank Spalding.
1883	Townsite of Grant platted by Murray and Hill.	Named for brothers Robert and William “Bill” Grant.
1883	Villard Post Office established at Grant.	Named for Henry Villard.
1883	Fire almost totally destroyed Grant.
1883	Wasco was surveyed.
1883	Stage line operated Grant to Grass Valley, carrying mail, freight and passengers.
1884	Through rail traffic along the Columbia River.
1884	Columbia River Conference sent the first pastor to Wasco Methodist Church.	Rev. Mr. Barrett who was charged with construction of the 1^st Methodist church in Wasco in 1885, later moved across the street South from the present site.
	1^st doctor in Wasco.	Dr. Savage, followed by Drs. Koontz and Edgington.
	Edgington’s weeder.	Edgington.
	Tomlin’s weeder.	Tomlin.
	1^st missionary sent to Africa from Sherman County.	Miss Lizzie McNiel (sic).
1884	1^st post office and postmaster in Moro.	John Scott.
	1^st store in Moro	Fox & Scott.
	1^st church in Moro.	Friendship Baptist Church.
	1^st druggist in Moro.	George N. Bolton.
1885	1^st post office in Grass Valley, located north of town on the Taylor (now Kock) farm.	Charles Taylor.
1885	Representative elected to Oregon legislature from Wasco County.	Elihu Owen McCoy.
1886	Elected to the Oregon State Legislature House of Representatives. Author of successful bill compelling railroads to build sidings where needed… soon after at Biggs, named for W.H. Biggs, and one at Rufus.	W.H. Biggs.
1886-1887	Longest winter with deepest snow on record.
1886-1899	Long-time Presbyterian minister for Moro, Grass Valley and Monkland.	James McCalmont Morrison (1832-1923)
1887	1^st hotel in Wasco.	Levi Armsworthy.
	1^st mail carrier after the Wasco Post Office was established.	Charley Barzee carried mail on horseback between Grant and Wasco.
1887	Free Bridge built for $10,650 across Deschutes River to allow toll-free traffic to the Wasco County seat in The Dalles.
1887	Moore Bros. bought out Scott & McCoy in Moro and with it the town site of Moro.	Moore Bros.: Walter H. Moore & Henry A. Moore.
1887	1^st known burial at Michigan Cemetery.	Lydia Gilbert French.
1887-1889	1^st buildings built at Early on the John Day River, including mill and schoolhouse.	Cooper’s Mill.
1888	1^st school built in Wasco.
1888	1^st known burial at the Daugherty family graveyard near Kent.	Andrew Daugherty.
1888	Spalding Chapel was dedicated, Upper Hay Canyon.	Rev. Frank R. Spalding.
1888	1^st known burial at Wasco Sun Rise Cemetery.
1888	1^st known burial at Emigrant Cemetery east of Wasco.	Elizabeth Rayburn.
1889	Sherman County formed from Wasco County by an act of the Legislature.	Elihu Owen McCoy.
1889	1^st Sherman County officials sworn in at Wasco.	James Fulton VC Brock, Clerk E.M Leslie, Sheriff C.J. Bright, School Superintendent John A. Smith, Surveyor C.C. Myers, Assessor J.B. Hoss, Coroner Levi Armsworthy, Treasurer Dayton Elliott, Commissioner ——-Medler Commissioner
1889	1^st marriage in the new county.	S.B. Walter & Emily Larison.
1889	Wasco chosen to be temporary county seat.
1889	The Observer was moved from Wasco where it was established to Moro.	C.J. Bright and A.B. McMillin established The Observer in Wasco. J.B. Hosford acquired it and moved it to Moro.
1889	1^st steam engine used to thresh a wheat crop.	Fired up by Frank Morrow.
	1890-1899
1890	U.S. Census of Sherman County.	1,792 residents.
1890	County seat election: choices were Kenneth, Moro or Wasco with no clear majority.
1890	1^st hotel built in Rufus.	Rufus Wallis.
1890	Bank organized at Wasco.	Wilson M. Barnett.
1890	Post office established on west bank of John Day River at Leonard’s Inn until 1898.
1890	Wasco physician.	Dr. Harland Edgar Beers (1864-1911)
1890s	The Moro Leader.
1891	Grass Valley was platted.
1891	Fairview School District #21 formed and the Willerton Grove schoolhouse was moved to the present Fairview site.
1891	Sherman County’s south boundary was stretched 18 miles south.	Oregon State Legislature.
1892	Four-room school built in Moro.
1892-1904	Sherman County Judge.	John Fulton.
1892	1^st known burial at Kent Cemetery.	Mary Edd Wilson.
1892	Second county seat election. Wasco 301 – Moro 404.
1892	1^st 4^th of July celebration at Moro.
1893	1^st murder trial.	Al Hembree acquitted for murder of John Kennefick.
1893	1^st known burial at DeMoss Springs Cemetery.	Elizabeth DeMoss.
1893	Appointed receiver of The Dalles Land Office by President Cleveland & served 4 years.	W.H. Biggs.
1894	Baptist Church organized in Grass Valley.
ca. 1894	Distillery and flour mill built at Grant on the Columbia River.
1894	Columbia River flood washed Grant away in June.
1894	Columbia Southern Railway was incorporated; surveying and construction started.
1894	The Observer sold.	J.B. Hosford sold The Observer to D.C. Ireland.
1895	Middle Oregon Baptist Academy was built in Grass Valley; closed in 1904.	Middle Oregon Baptist Association.
1895	Oregon State Census.	2,490 residents.
1895	Coal found on farm land.	Perrault farm near Grass Valley.
1895	DeMoss Family Lyric Bards began two-year tour of Britain and Europe.	DeMoss family.
1895	OSU football team, captain, all-coast halfback two years.	George Herbert Root of Wasco District.
1896	1^st petition for coyote bounty.
1896	Toll bridge at the Oregon Trail Crossing of the John Day River collapsed.
1897	1^st newspaper in Grass Valley.	Grass Valley Journal.
1897	1^st incorporated town held elections.	Wasco.
1897	2^nd China Hollow school was built.
1897	Store built at Klondike, east of Wasco, later sold.	Moore Bros., who sold it to A.B. Potter in 1899.
	1^st barbed wire telephone system constructed by:	Antone B. Potter of Klondike.
1897	Early School District #44 formed.
1897	Columbia Southern Railway construction reached Wasco.
1898	1^st Wasco mayor.	George Crosfield.
1898	Columbia Southern Railway construction reached Moro.
1898	The Observer Farm Cemetery on Ireland’s farm near Wilcox – one of the first burials.	Maggie Craig.
1897	Grass Valley Journal editor for 26 years died in 1924.	William I. Westerfield
?1898	Post office and postmaster at Early.	Herbert K. Porter.
1899	Columbia Southern Railway track reached Grass Valley.
1899	Sherman County Courthouse built for $6,665.
1899	Moro was incorporated.
1899	Moro elected first mayor.	W.H. Moore.
?	1^st bank established south of Wasco, at Moro.	Moore Bros., W.H. & H.A.
1899	Methodist Episcopal Church was built by Will Raymond in Moro for $2,700.	Will Raymond.
1899-1900	Sawmill operated on the Deschutes River at the Harris Place west of Moro using logs floated down from upriver.	A.E. Lake.
?	Operated the only post office between Grass Valley and Antelope from his farm home near Kent.	Henry Schadewitz (1857-1929).
	1900-1909
1900	US Census of Sherman County.	3,479 residents.
ca. 1900	Roller mill at Early was operated by water power from the John Day River for more than 20 years.	George Wall.
1900	Grass Valley Journal sold.	W.I. Westerfield bought the Grass Valley Journal.
1900	Town of Kent was relocated to beside Columbia Southern Railway tracks.
1901	Columbia Southern Railway track reached Shaniko. Columbia Southern Hotel was built to meet the traffic.
1902	Columbia Southern Railway was sold to:	E.H. Harriman, owner of Oregon Railway & Navigation Company.
1902	1^st county-wide celebration with displays and prizes.
1902	German Settlement (later named Liberty) School was built.
1902	2^nd Wasco Methodist Church was built.
1902	The steamer Columbia went aground in the Columbia River with a big loss to:	The Amos Brothers.
1903	A church was built at Kent.
1904	Law practice & Circuit Court Judge for Wheeler, Gilliam & Sherman Counties.	Edwin V. Littlefield (1873-1029).
1905	The Illustrated History of Central Oregon, including Sherman County, was published.
1905	Population of Kent.	250.
1904-1905	Catholic Church built in Wasco costing $3,000.
1904-1905	The Kent Recorder published news.
1905	A bridge was built across the Deschutes west of Moro and called Free Bridge.
1906	1^st county-wide field meet.
1906	Election. No liquor to be sold in Sherman County.
1906	Sherman County Fair board was organized and a fair held.
1906	Deschutes Railroad incorporated.
1906	Rail surveys were made on the east bank of Deschutes River.	Deschutes Railroad Company.
1907	Farmers contracted with a rainmaker who set up on Gordon Ridge.	Hatfield, the Rainmaker.
ca. 1907	2^nd school built at Rufus, two rooms; later used by the Grange.
1907	Murder at McDonald on the John Day River. Burial at Emigrant Springs Cemetery.	Jack Freeman.
?1907	County fair board incorporated.
1908	Sherman Experiment Station established with 1^st superintendent.	H.J.C. Umbarger.
1908	1^st known burial at the Blackburne family graveyard west of Rufus. Graves were relocated during construction of The Dalles Dam.	Joseph W. Blackburne.
1909	October: 1^st real county fair with exhibits of livestock, vegetables and fancy work.
1909	Contractors plan to build a Deschutes River east bank railroad.	Contractors: Twohy Bros. of Spokane.
	1^st rye cutter was made by:	Charles Kuypers.
	Patented springtooth and plow.	Charles Kuypers.
	1^st threshing with a combined harvester:	James W. Engberg.
	Invented implement hitch.	Len Eakin.
1909-1910	Deaths of Deschutes River railroad construction workers noted in the Grass Valley Journal.	A. Rowson, Tom Ryan, Oselame Umberto, Durkin, George Vukonic, four men working in a tunnel, Andrew Krupo, John Berg, Joe Roosi, Nels Nelson, W.H. Halladay, Andrew Melrich, S.W. Odell.
	1910-1919
1910	US Census. Largest population ever in Sherman County.	4,242 residents.
1910	Permanent fair grounds site purchased from:	Eastern Oregon Land Company. The City of Moro gave their grandstand, bleachers and baseball fence.
1910	Stock Fair Association of Sherman County had an October fair.
1911	1^st person to make concrete bricks in Sherman County:	Will Raymond.
1912-1914	Free Bridge was destroyed under questionable circumstances.
1912	2^nd superintendent of Sherman Experiment Station:	David E. Stephens.
1913	1^st women’s vote.
1913	Standard Atlas of Sherman County
1914	1^st four-year high school graduations:	Wasco and Moro.
1914	Grass Valley brick school burned and was replaced.
1914	A state contract was awarded for construction of a highway from Wasco to the Columbia River.
1914	1^st farmer to harvest with a Holt Caterpillar tractor and a Holt harvester: 38 days, 2,100 acres, 21,000 sacks.	H. Howell.
1915	1^st Sherman County people to drive home over the Columbia River Highway – 8 hours driving, 4 hours auto trouble.	Mr. & Mrs. Harry A. Moore, Gladra Watkins.
1916	New Kent School built.
1916	1^st cabins built at Camp Sherman on the Metolius River.	Sherman County farmers.
1916	1^st young men went off to Camp Lewis for WWI military training.
1916	Grass Valley bandstand and pavilion built.
1916	1^st recorded fatal cloudburst, June 30, Hay Canyon.	Fatalities: John W. Kunsman and O.T. Burnett who were working on the road; Mrs. Elizabeth Fortner and her daughter Mrs. L.H. Lawrence who were visiting their son and brother just below the four-way bridge.
1918	By November 1918 at the end of WW I, 331 men and two nurses from Sherman County served.
1918	1^st World War I death:	Frank E. Brown of Rufus July 22, 1918.
1918	WWI deaths.	Chris Schultz, cousin of Chris Anderson; Henry S. Baker in France.
1918	Spanish flu epidemic in Sherman County took many lives.
1919	State approval for highway through the County.
1919	1^st woman school superintendent in the County.	Miss Grace May.
	1920-1929
1920	US Census.
1920	Electricity in some parts.
1922	State of Oregon built a concrete non-toll bridge across the mouth of Deschutes River.
1922	County started highway construction through the County.
1923	1^st County fair held in September.
1924	Black bear, 112#, killed east of Kent – followed by a community feast.	Billy Nelson.
1924	Electric lights were installed in the Kent Hotel.	Max Pluemke.
1924	Highway through Sherman County was completed.
1925	1^st chemicals available for weed control in gardens and lawns, and a few years later for field crops.
	Shaniko named the Wool Shipping Capitol of the World.
1926	Eastern Oregon Wheat League, forerunner of Oregon Wheat League, a grower organization, was formed in Moro.
1926	Day was a rail station on the OR&N Railway near the John Day River county line.
1926-1932	The State oiled the new highway through the County.
1929	The Grass Valley Journal was sold to:	Giles L. French.
1929	Rufus School was constructed.
	Kent had more aircraft per capita than anywhere in the U.S.
	1930-1939
1930	US Census.	2,978 residents.
Early 1930s	The Great Depression.
1931	Newspaper merger.	The Grass Valley Journal and The Observer merged to become The Sherman County Journal, Giles French, editor, publisher.
1931	The Wasco News-Enterprise merged with the Sherman County Journal.
1935	Giles French was appointed to the State Legislature and served 26 years.
1935	Civilian Conservation Corps camp was constructed at Moro and put into operation.	190 young men arrived to work in the CCC, and a few married Sherman County women: Tex Irzyk, Charles Francis, Karl Peterson, Harlow Parkins, Stan Coelsch.
ca. 1939	The Appaloosa Horse Club was started:	Claude Thompson.
	1940-1949
1940	US Census
1940	1^st County Fair Queen	June Wilde who married Bill Rolfe.
ca. 1940	The Trail of the Plow was written:	Marie Goffin, M.D.
	World War II
1942	1^st in per capita in E. bond purchases of all U.S. counties; never beaten on sales per person.
1942	County war bond drive earned the right to sponsor and christen a Liberty ship, The William T. Sherman.	Mrs. Patrick J. O’Meara and Mrs. Alex Macnab, each with four sons in service.
1943	Rail line was abandoned between Kent and Shaniko.
1944	US Army Corps of Engineers encamped along the Columbia River at Rufus to conduct pontoon-bridging operations in preparation for the crossing of the Rhine River.
1944	Co-Matrons christened the Fon du Lac:	Mrs. B.C. Pinckney & Mrs. Bertha Dixon. The sponsor was Mrs. Giles French.
1945	The Sherman County Historical Society incorporated, organized with 114 present.
1946	Rural Electrification Act.
1947	Oregon Wheat Growers League sponsored formation of the Oregon Wheat Commission, empowering collection of ½ cent per bushel from wheat sold to be used in wheat research and marketing.
1948	REA completed electrification of most county farms.
1948	Sherman Experiment Station Superintendent:	George A. Mitchell
	1950-1959
1951	Sherman County Historical Society placed an Oregon Trail monument at the John Day Crossing.
1955	Union High School District was formed.
1956	Union High School was built near Moro.
1956	Oregon’s representative to the Republican National Committee:	Dorotha Huntley Moore.
1957	1^st Class to graduate from Sherman Union High School.
1958	North Sherman TV Cooperative formed.
1958	1^st County history published by Oregon Historical Society, 1,000 copies of The Golden Land.	Giles L. French.
1959	Construction of the John Day Dam began.
1959	Oregon’s centennial.
1959	Sherman County Historical Society erected 12 signs marking the 1869 The Dalles Military Road through the County.
? 1950s	State winner in Vogue’s sewing competition.	Beth Reid.
	1960-1969
1960	1^st concrete poured for the John Day Dam
1962	Sam Hill Memorial Bridge was dedicated.
1964	The Great Flood. The new I-84 bridge across the John Day River mouth collapsed; wide-spread damage to roads, railroad tracks, buildings and watersheds.
1966	New grain storage facility constructed on the Columbia River at Biggs to facilitate barge shipping.
1968	John Day Dam dedicated before a crowd of 6,000. Waters impounded behind the dam covered the town site of Early on the John Day River.
1969	Member of Oregon State Board of Agriculture appointed:	Paulen W. Kaseberg.
	1970-1979
1972	1^st Future Farmers of America state president from Sherman County.	Michael S. Macnab.
1974	State Conservation Award.	Tex Irzyk.
1974	FFA American Farmer Award.	Michael S. Macnab.
1975	Oregon Trail Bicentennial activities.
———	Deschutes State Park established.
1975	Sam Hill Memorial Bridge became toll free.
1976	2^nd County history published, They Paved the Way.	Bertha Helyer Belshe.
	1980-1989
1981	Largest wheat crop recorded to date.
1982	1^st Oregon Farm Family of the Year.	The Larry Kaseberg Family.
1982	1^st Oregon Century Farm designated in Sherman County.	Kaseberg Homestead, Paulen W. Kaseberg.
1982	American Legion Post #71 gave their community building to the Sherman County Historical Society for use as a museum.
1983	Sherman County Historical Museum opened in July.
1988	1^st woman president of Wasco Electric Cooperative.	Jean A. McKinney.
1989	Sherman County Centennial.
	1990-1999
1991	Homestead, non-fiction, published by:	Jane Kirkpatrick of Sherman County.
1991	Department of Defense Certificate of Appreciation, National Guard:	Neil Pattee.
1991	2^nd place in national competition of National Association of County Agricultural Agents:	Alexander “Sandy” Macnab.
1993	Tied for 2^nd in national writing competition:	Jane Kirkpatrick.
1993	Sherman County Historical Museum publication, Oregon Trails, Rails and Roads in Sherman County, won honorable mention in design competition sponsored by American Association of Museums. Designed by:	Jeanney McArthur.
1993	Sherman County Historical Museum opened a new wing.
1994	Sherman County Historical Museum awarded prestigious Albert B.Corey Award for scholarship, vigor and imagination shown in the work of an all-volunteer museum.
1994	Posthumous induction into Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame:	Giles L. French.
1994	Named western regional vice chair of National Association of County Agents:	Sandy Macnab.
1995	Plush Cookin’ published:	Marie von Borstel Hattrup.
1995	US Postal Service Award, The Benjamin, for public outreach to the Grass Valley postmaster:	Mary Ann Justesen.
1995	A Sweetness to the Soul published based on the life and times of Jane Sherar:	Jane Kirkpatrick.
1995	Governor’s Good Processing Council appointment, 1^st woman to serve:	Karla von Borstel Chambers of Corvallis.
1996	National award for A Sweetness to the Soul:	Jane Kirkpatrick.
1996	Oregon State Board of Agriculture appointed by the governor and 1^st woman board chair:	Karla von Borstel Chambers.
1997	San Francisco Federal Reserve Board	Karla von Borstel Chambers.
1990s	President, Association of Oregon Counties	Mike McArthur, Sherman County Judge.