Meacham, Oregon

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Meacham is an unincorporated community in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the old alignment of U.S. Route 30 off Interstate 84, in the Umatilla National Forest, near Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area and the route of the Oregon Trail.

Meacham was a station on the Union Pacific Railroad, near the summit of the Blue Mountains. Major H.A.G. Lee established a troop encampment, called Lee's Encampment, there in 1844. Meacham was named for Harvey J. and Alfred B. Meacham, who operated Meacham Station, a stage station, in the 1860s and '70s. The first post office in the locality, established in 1862, was named "Encampment". The name was changed to "Meacham" in 1890.^[1] ^[2]

President Warren G. Harding gave a speech in Meacham on July 4, 1923 commemorating the Oregon Trail. At the time his wife was was presented with a Pendleton blanket shawl in a design that became popular as the "Harding design". [1] ^[3]

It was widely reported Meacham set the state record for lowest recorded temperature in February 1933—52 degrees below zero. Seneca, in Grant County, however, was colder at 54 degrees below zero.^[2]

[edit] References

^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur [1928] (2003). Oregon Geographic Names, Seventh Edition, Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
^ ^a ^b Meacham and Ukiah, Arctic Kings. www.oregonphotos.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
^ Pendleton Blankets, Robes & Shawls. Historical Gazette, Volume Three Number One. Historical Gazette. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.

[edit] Further reading

Stewart, Betty Booth (1996). Meacham: A Wide Spot on the Oregon Trail Where the Meadowlark Still Sings. Tigard, Oregon: Crossroad. ISBN 0-9653021-0-5.