Cove, Union County, Oregon
Coincidentally with the development of the city
of Union another
settlement was growing
up at the
foot
of Mount Fannie
on the eastern side of
the valley. The name
"Cove" was
so appropriate to this
sheltered mountain recess that probably no
better name could have been
chosen. As previously mentioned, the area was first known as
"Forest Cove" which was changed because of the similarity to the
name of Forest Grove in the Willamette Valley.
The first settlers on the present site of Cove were Samuel
Cowles his niece Fannie Cowles,
and a nephew. They came
from the mining town of Auburn in Baker County in December 1862 and
set up their camp in a grove of fir trees which later became the
site of Cove. During that first winter the bed of the wagon which
they had used to come to the valley made a living room in the tent
for Miss Cowles. Not long after her arrival, Miss Cowles was married
to E. P. McDaniel. Mr. McDaniel and her uncle formed a partnership
which continued for many years, and the two men engaged in stock
raising, operating a flour mill and a general merchandise store, the
second such enterprise in the
community. It was in
honor of Mrs. McDaniel that Mount
Fannie, the mountain back of
Cove was named she being
the first woman to
have climbed it. The ascent was made in June of 1863.
Other early settlers in Cove were A. C. Smith
with John Wagner and
Cyrus Barnes located the warm
mineral spring which now furnishes water for the Cove
swimming pool. Dunham
Wright, who later served in the state legislature and made his home
at Medical Springs: and J. W. Hendershott, likewise an, early
legislator. Mr. Hendershott built his home at the top of the
circular arm called Hendershott's Point or Phy's
Point which is the southern
boundary of the Cove
area. For a number of years this was a favorite stopping place for
travelers in the valley. Mr.
Hendershott operating his home as an inn. Later this was the
home of John M. Phy, who conducted a store nearby. Mr. Phy was the
father of Frank Phy, one-time
sheriff and later county judge, and of Dr. William T.
Phy, one
of the
nation's best
known surgeons, who
operated Hot Lake Sanitarium for many years.
Within the town of Cove proper the first store was established
by James Crawford in 1866 and in that same
year a grist mill was set up by
Samuel G. French The first sawmill was established by James
M. DeMoss. A church was built
about 1869 or 1870 under the leadership of Reverend A
Morrison a Universalist, this being the first religious
establishment in Cove. Better known have been the activities of the
Episcopalians, who built the first church of that denomination in
1876 under the pastorate of
Reverend George Kaye.
Their activities were
expanded in 1884
by the establishment of the
Ascension School for Girls by the Reverend B. W. Morris.
Cove expanded and grew,
reaching its greatest size near the turn of the
century but the advent of
improved roads and the automobile prevented its further
growth. Cove at one time had a
newspaper known first as the
Ledger,
published by
J. Natt
Hudson, and later at the
Courier under the editorship of
Willard B. Nelson. The press from this paper was moved in
1905 to Haines.
-
Additional Resources
Contributed by: Jim Reavis
Home Page of Cove, Oregon
