John Gurley Flook (1839–1926) was an American farmer, politician, and businessman. Flook is best remembered as a member of the

Oregon State Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

who sponsored the bill establishing Oregon Agricultural College in Corvallis,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

— today's

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Biography

Early years

John Gurley Flook was born August 12, 1839, in

Clermont County Clermont County, popularly called Clermont ( ), is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,601. Ordinanced in 1800 as part of the Virginia Military District, Clermont is Ohio's eighth oldest county, the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Flook's father, John Flook, Sr., was an immigrant born in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

, then a sovereign country which joined the

German empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

only in 1871.''Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon: Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.''
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1904; pp. 491–493. His mother, the former Sarah Durough, was the daughter of an Ohio pioneer with family lineage dating back to the

Virginia colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

. Flook's parents moved to the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in 1842, where they established themselves as farmers near the town of

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

. The family moved west to

Chico Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city *Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community *Chic ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in 1857, coming west in three covered wagons, one of which was driven by the second-eldest son, John. The family moved north to

Douglas County, Oregon Douglas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 111,201. The county seat is Roseburg. The county is named after Stephen A. Douglas, an American politician who supported Orego ...

, in 1860 to take up farming and the raising of livestock there. John, Jr. finally left home in 1864, enlisting in Company A of the

1st Oregon Cavalry The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry was a volunteer regiment in United States service Union army that was formed in response to the American Civil War. With men recruited in Oregon and some recruited in surrounding states, the regiment p ...

, mustered in Roseburg. He served time at various bases in the region, mustering out of the service in July 1866 as a first corporal.

Political career

In 1868, while still a resident of Douglas County, Flook was elected to the

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He would only serve for a single two-year term in that office, but during that time he managed to make his mark as the author of the so-called "Flook bill,"Margaret LaPlante
"Welcome to As It Was: Tales from the State of Jefferson: Oregon State University,"
Jefferson Public Radio, July 20, 2007. which established a state-owned land-grant agricultural college at Corvallis, now known as

. Flook's legislation did not create a university in Corvallis from thin air. As early as 1851 the legislature of the Oregon Territory passed a bill establishing a territorial university in the town of Marysville, a small enclave in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

renamed Corvallis in December 1853."Chronological History: 1850–1859,"
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. It was not until 1856 that the Corvallis Academy — the first post-secondary school in the area — was established, however. This school was incorporated and rechristened as Corvallis College in 1858. The school went bankrupt and was purchased by representatives of the

Southern Methodist Church The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The church was formed in 1940 by ...

, which relaunched Corvallis College under church auspices in 1860.

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

legislation was signed into law in 1862 providing for the granting of 90,000 acres of federal land to the state of Oregon for the establishment of a state agricultural college. Flook learned that the time to take advantage of this land grant was soon to expire and introduced legislation providing for the establishment of such a school in Corvallis. In August 1868, aided by the effort of W. W. Moreland of the Corvallis College faculty, new articles of incorporation were filed and Corvallis College was formally "designated and adopted" as the recipient of the federal land grant."Chronological History: 1860–1869,"
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. The Agricultural College of Oregon became known as Oregon State College in 1937,
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. and subsequently Oregon State University in 1961.
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/.

Later years

After his stint in the military, Flook returned home to the family farm in Douglas County. He left farming in 1873 to establish a

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

in Roseburg as J.G. Flook Company, gradually modernizing his facility and expanding capacity to 75 barrels per day. About 15 people were employed in his milling operation. Flook then sold his flour mill and used the funds to launch a

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws. In the planing mil ...

in Roseburg, also known as the J.G. Flook Company. During his life Flook married twice, siring two daughters prior to his first wife's death. Flook's second marriage took place in April 1893.Mark Phinney
"WPA Historical Records, Benton Co., Oregon: Interviews – R,"
June 5, 1939, RootsWeb, www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/. The couple had no children. Flook was a member of the First Christian Church of Roseburg, serving on that institution's board of trustees and as superintendent of its

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

. Flook was also instrumental in the construction of a new high school for Roseburg, serving as head of a committee which obtained a building site and plans and which solicited bids for construction.

Death and legacy

John G. Flook died January 24, 1926, at his home in Corvallis. He was buried in a cemetery located in his former home town of Roseburg."John G. Flook,"
Oregon Pioneer Biographies, citing ''The Oregonian,'' January 31, 1926, pg. 28. He was 86 years old at the time of his death.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flook, John Gurley 1839 births 1926 deaths Oregon pioneers People from Clermont County, Ohio Politicians from Roseburg, Oregon Politicians from Corvallis, Oregon People of Oregon in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Education in Benton County, Oregon Oregon State University people