Pleasant Valley, Baker County, Oregon

Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Unincorporated community in Oregon, United States

44°40′28″N 117°37′50″W / 44.67444°N 117.63056°W / 44.67444; -117.63056CountryUnited StatesStateOregonCountyBakerElevation

3,757 ft (1,145 m)Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)Area code(s)458 and 541GNIS feature ID1125477^[1]

Pleasant Valley is an unincorporated community in Baker County, Oregon, United States.^[1] It is about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Baker City on U.S. Route 30, slightly bypassed by Interstate 84.^[2]^[3]

History

Pleasant Valley was a way station on the Place Toll Road in 1865, and later a freight station on the railroad in 1884.^[3]^[4] Early Oregon Trail settlers farmed in the area.^[4] Pleasant Valley post office was established in 1868 and operated for only two months.^[5] An office with the same name was established in 1890 and closed in 1962.^[5] According to the authors of Oregon Geographic Names, the community later consisted only of a motel and a Union Pacific Railroad station.^[5] By 2001, the motel had been converted into a residence.^[6]

The Pleasant Valley area is the home of several stone quarries that supplied the tuff stone commonly used for building material in Baker City.^[3]^[7] At one time Pleasant Valley was a community with enough population and settled arable land surrounding it to warrant a school district.^[3] School District #12 was organized by superintendent W. F. Payton in 1874, with a two-room school house serving grades 1 through 8.^[3] The district added classes for high-school-age students for a few years before consolidating with the Baker City school district in 1949.^[3] The third and last schoolhouse was constructed of the nearby native stone and was later converted to a residence.^[3] In 1900, the community had a Christian Church congregation.^[8] Today the community proper is considered a ghost town,^[3] however the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) lists it as a populated place.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Pleasant Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 79. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Pleasant Valley". bakercounty.net. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Historic Towns" (PDF). Baker County Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 770. ISBN 978-0875952772.
^ Collins, Chris (April 11, 2001). "Meth Lab Busted in Pleasant Valley". Baker City Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
^ "Historic Baker City, Baker County, Oregon". Oregon American History and Genealogy Project. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
^ "Baker County, Oregon". Pioneer History to About 1900, Churches of Christ & Christian Churches in the Pacific Northwest. Northwest College of the Bible. Retrieved March 13, 2011.