Nibley is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

historic community in Union County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, about 11 miles east of La Grande on

Oregon Route 237 Oregon Route 237 is an Oregon state highway running from OR 82 in Island City to Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30 in North Powder. OR 237 is composed of the Cove Highway No. 342 (see Oregon highways and routes) and part of the La Grande-Bake ...

in the

Grande Ronde Valley The Grande Ronde Valley is a valley in Union County in northeastern Oregon, United States. It is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, and is drained by the Grande Ronde River. La Grande is its largest community. The valley is long, north to south ...

. Nibley was founded by

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

businessmen

Charles W. Nibley Charles Wilson Nibley (February 5, 1849 – December 11, 1931) was the fifth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1907 and 1925 and a member of the church's First Presidency from 1925 until his ...

and George E. Stoddard. The two men purchased from A. B. Conley, and the town was named after Charles Nibley. Charles Nibley, David Eccles, and George Stoddard organized the

Oregon Sugar Company The Oregon Sugar Company was a sugar beet growing and processing operation created by the founders of the Amalgamated Sugar Company of Utah. The company was incorporated February 12, 1898, by David Eccles, Charles W. Nibley, and George Stoddard. ...

in 1898 and soon opened the first

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

processing plant in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

in La Grande, which was eventually owned by the

Amalgamated Sugar Company The Amalgamated Sugar Company is an American sugar beet-refining company run on a cooperative basis. It was founded in 1897 in Ogden, Utah, and is now located in Boise, Idaho. The company markets its sugar under the White Satin brand. Founding ...

. Beet production was less than expected, so the men organized the Oregon Land Company and purchased the Nibley property in 1900 to attract experienced beet farmers from their home state of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. By 1902 Nibley was a flourishing village with 20 families and a post office, but beet production continued to be low because of lack of water (as Nibley anticipated irrigation becoming available) and unfavorable weather. In 1905 there was a

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

epidemic and more bad weather. The Oregon Sugar Company factory in La Grande was closed in 1906, the town ceased to exist on December 29, 1906, and the post office shut down. As a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

, Nibley was not considered a proper town by some historians.

Nibley, Utah Nibley is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. Incorporated in 1935, it was named after Charles W. Nibley, a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The population was 5,438 at the 2010 census. It is included in the ...

was also named for Charles W. Nibley.

References

Populated places established in 1900 Former populated places in Oregon Company towns in Oregon Former populated places in Union County, Oregon 1900 establishments in Oregon {{UnionCountyOR-geo-stub