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Echo
Oregon
PO
Box 9
20
S. Bonanza
Echo,
OR 97826
Email Us
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History
of Echo
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"..saw
at the
river a house. The Indian Agency. The first building that
looked
civilized since Laramie."
AE
Hines, Sept. 12 1853
Oregon
Trail diary
on Utilla Indian Agency.
Echo is known for its
rich history
and many historic sites. The Oregon Trail passes through Echo.
Emigrants
crossed the Umatilla River and camped at a site known as the Lower
Crossing.
Sometimes the emigrants would camp here for a few days to refresh their
animals, do laundry or trade before starting across the dry, dusty
desert
to the west. This campsite is now the site of the Fort Henrietta
Park, a National Historic Oregon Trail site.
Exhibits
at the park include a covered wagon display, interpretive panels with
historic
information on the trail and town history, Oregon Trails signs, antique
fire equipment and RV Park and campground.
The Utilla
Indian Agency was built near the crossing in 1851. It was the first
agency
for the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla tribes. Many emigrant
diaries
mention this first building, as it was the first frame building they
had
seen since leaving Fort Laramie. A post office was operated from
the agency in 1852 and the agency also served as a trading post.
It was destroyed during the Yakima Indian Wars and Fort Henrietta, a
militia
stockade, was built on the site of the "still smoldering agency" in
1855.
The agency/fort site is now an archaeological site excavated from 1985
until 1990.
Emigrants
began leaving the trail and settling the Echo area c. 1860, making the
Echo Meadows one of the first agricultural sites in Umatilla
County.
Hand dug irrigation ditches insured water to grow alfalfa, corn and
other crops
during
these early years. Later, the Echo area became the center of a
huge
sheep ranching area. While settlement began in the 1860's, a town
was not platted until 1880.
JH Koontz and W Brassfield platted the town in 1880 and named it
for Koontz' 3-year old daughter, Echo. The railroad which was built
through Echo in 1883 brought
prosperity.
By 1907 the town was a major shipping point for wool, cattle and sheep
with a thriving business district. The town was incorporated in
1904.
The
Echo Story, Volume I :From
Early Days to Arrival of the Railroad
and The
Echo Story Volume II: The New Town Flourishes can
be purchased from the Fort Henrietta Foundation. Contact them at
PO Box 426, Echo OR 97826 (541)376-8411. The cost
of each book is $15.00 plus
postage/shipping. Click
here for excerpts from the book.
Further
information on Echo’s history can be found on the following link:
Click
here for a Cultural Inventory of Echo
1986 Fort Henrietta/Utill Indian Agency Excavation,
Echo.
Artifacts are on display at Echo City Hall.
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