The Thomas and Ruckle Road, also known as Ruckles Road or Ruckels Road, was a

wagon road ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

over the Blue Mountains. George Thomas was a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

driver who came west to

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 1849, before moving to

Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...

. Colonel J. S. Ruckle arrived in Oregon in 1855 as a

steam boat A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S (for 'Screw Steamer') or PS (for 'Paddle Steamer'); however, thes ...

pilot for the

Oregon Steam Navigation Company The Oregon Steam Navigation Company (O.S.N.) was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen. It was incorporated in Washington because of a lack of corporate laws in ...

(OSN) along the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. Eventually Ruckle left the OSN and ran his own boat along the river. The two men planned and built the road in 1864 and 1865, as well as a

stage line A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

from Walla Walla to the Idaho Mines. The road ran from the northwest to the southeast, offering a more direct connection to Walla Walla, despite being longer than the

Meacham Road Meacham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bob Meacham, former Major League Baseball player *Doug Meacham, American football coach *Ellis K. Meacham (1913–1998), author and jurist * F. W. Meacham (1856–1909), American comp ...

. The Ruckle Road, as well as others over the Blues, charged $3 to $5 per wagon. Several towns were

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted along the road: Summerville in 1873, and

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

sometime in the 1870s. Mail was delivered over the road, causing it to bypass La Grande in favor of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and Summerville, helping Union become elected as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

in 1872. The road washed out in 1886 and was never rebuilt.

References

{{Oregon Pioneer History Roads in Oregon Historic trails and roads in Oregon 1865 establishments in Oregon