809 Washington Street
Oregon City
Judge Harvey Edwin Cross
The Judge Cross House was built ca. 1885-1890 in the Italianate style. While originally located near 12th and John Q. Adams streets, it was later moved to its present location on Washington Street about half a mile away in 1915.
Photo of the Judge Cross house ca. 1889 showing the house at its original location. Seen in the photo are Harvey and Orpha Cross and their children.
The Judge Cross House on Washington Street. Photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022.
Harvey Edwin Cross was born June 6, 1856 in Clackamas County, Oregon. His father, Lorenzo Dow Cross, and mother Dorcas Fairmon Cross (later Bolds) emigrated to Oregon in 1852 and by 1862 had moved the family to Oregon City. Harvey was one of 9 sons.
On June 10, 1879, Harvey married Orpha Francis Tingle who he met while she was attending the Oregon City Seminary. The Oregon City Seminary later became Oregon City University in 1856, and was later relocated to McMinnville in 1859 where it became Linfield College. Orpha was born July 18, 1860 in Michigan and had come to Oregon with her parents who had originally settled in Columbia County. Together, they had 8 children. Two sons: Percy and Orton, and six daughters: Dorothy, Carceline, Juliet, Georgia, Stella Marie, and Frances.
Harvey Cross had established himself as a successful Oregon City lawyer, as well as a Clackamas County Judge. He was also an active and involved community member and business man. In 1882 he began to purchase land in the area that is now the city of Gladstone, with plans to establish a town. This land had been an early donation land claim which was purchased by the Fendel Cason family of Virginia about a year after they had arrived in Oregon in 1843. They homesteaded the land until 1882 when Cross began to purchase portions of the original 640 acre property. By 1889 he had formed the Gladstone Real Estate Corporation with some partners, and they began to plat the town in 1893. The namesake of the town was statesman William Gladstone, who had served as the British Prime Minister four times. Cross named the East-West streets for American colleges and universities, and the North-South streets for English dukes and earls. The town was formally incorporated on January 10, 1911.
Meanwhile, Cross had also co-formed the Mount Hood and Barlow Road Company. In 1882 this company was deeded the Barlow Toll Road, which had been a major part of the Oregon Trail since its development in the 1840s. The Barlow road had served as an important transportation route through the Cascade Range between the mid-Columbia Plateau and the Willamette Valley. The following is a description of this time period in the Barlow Road history, from “The Barlow Road” written by Walter Bailey in 1912:
In 1882 the road was deeded to the Mount Hood and Barlow Road Company…these men shortened and improved the route and constructed an important branch road. The Mount Hood and Barlow Road Company, now under different management, still operates the road.
One of the developments made to the Barlow Road during this time was the fifth (and last) tollgate, which was established in 1883. This tollgate remained in operation until 1918. A replica of the tollgates is still located at the site, which was marked by maple trees planted by the toll gate operator. These trees can still be seen today just past the Tollgate Campground near the town of Rhododendron, Oregon. A contemporary advertisement for the Road from 1883 reads as follows:
In 1912, the rights to the Barlow Road were sold to E. Henry Wemme, who was the last private owner of the route.
By 1890 the Judge had been elected to state office. He served as an Oregon State Senator representing both Clackamas and Marion Counties. Not surprisingly, he pursued improvements to state transportation, advocating for road improvements and sponsoring road building projects.
Eva Emery Dye. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Later, in 1894, Cross was approached by Eva Emery Dye and her husband Charles Henry Dye. Eva was an Oregon City author, historian, and suffragette and was an ardent supporter of the Chautauqua movement. She was looking for a location for Chautauqua events to be held in the local area, and believed Gladstone would be a good setting due to its location and access to rail and good roads. The Chautauqua movement was an educational and social movement that was sweeping the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The purpose of the Chautauqua was to bring entertainment and culture to communities across the country. President Theodore Roosevelt is known to have called it “the most American thing in America.” Independent Chautauquas operated at permanent facilities that were usually built in a pleasant, semi-rural location that was accessible to established towns. While not a specifically religious movement, it did often include Christian instruction, preaching, and worship. There were also speakers, teachers, musicians, performers, and the various experts of the day.
Together with Dye and others, Cross helped to form the Willamette Valley Chautauqua Association to whom he leased 75 acres of park land in Gladstone. It was a 50 year lease for $1 per year (about $32.67 in 2022 dollars). Cross assisted in making the Gladstone Chautauqua into the 3rd largest permanent Chautauqua camp in the country, and the largest west of the Rockies. Local businesses, primarily from Oregon City, helped to fund the project with $5 purchases of stock in the non-profit organization.
The first assembly was from July 24-26, 1894. Unfortunately for the outdoor event, it was a rainy July. So by 1895 a covered auditorium seating 3,000 people was constructed. Like many Chautauqua facilities, it was known as a “beehive” due to its distinctive shape. Season tickets for 10 all-day sessions were sold for $2.00, and during its run in Gladstone the Chautauqua hosted such notables as the evangelist Billy Sunday, the band-master John Phillip Sousa, famous politician William Jennings Bryan, and even presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt.
The “Beehive” Auditorium in 1895
Harvey Cross lived until August 3, 1929. He was survived by his wife Orpha, but sadly she had become bedridden shortly before his death due to some sort of paralysis. She passed away less than a year after him on December 21, 1929. They are buried together at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City.
The resting place of Harvey and Orpha Cross, located at Mountain View Cemetery. Photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022
Sources:
National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, William MacRostie, September 1, 1978
Wikipedia - Chautauqua
Gladstone Historical Society - www.gladstonehistoricalsociety.org
Orpha’s obituary: Banner Courier, Monday, December 23, 1929, via www.findagrave.com
Walter Bailey, 1912 “The Barlow Road”, in “The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society” vol. XIII, September 1912, p. 287-296
Columbiariverimages.com/barlowroad/barlow_road.html
Clackamas County Historical Society
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