unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Umatilla County, Oregon
Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,075. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remains the county seat. Umatilla County is part of ...
, United States. It is about east of Pendleton on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It was created by The Treaty of June 9, 1855 between the United States and members of the Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. It lies in nor ...
, near the
Umatilla River
The Umatilla River is an tributary of the Columbia River in northern Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Draining a basin of , it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla in the northeastern part of the state. In downstream order, beg ...
.
Gibbon is a station on the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
railroad that was named for Major General
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...
, who was in command of the
Department of the Columbia
The Department of the Columbia was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army during the 19th century.
Formation
On July 27, 1865 the Military Division of the Pacific was created under Major General Henry W. Halleck, replacing the Dep ...
based in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, in 1885–86. At the time the railroad was being constructed, a station at or near Gibbon was named Mikecha, made up from the names of three civil engineers named Mink, Kennedy, and Chalk. At the beginning of the 20th century, the name of the station was changed to Bingham Springs, because it served the Bingham Springs resort, which is east up the Umatilla River. The name of the post office, however, remained Gibbon. Gibbon post office ran from 1892 through 1966. At some point, the name of the railroad station was changed back to Gibbon. Today, Gibbon has an Adams mailing address.
As of 1940, Gibbon had a school that served both Native American and other children.
Climate
This region experiences warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Gibbon has a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...