Homestead is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Baker County, in the U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
.
Homestead lies on the
Snake River south of
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and about north of
Copperfield and
Oxbow.
The community was named for the homestead claim of Frank E. Pearce, who conducted operations at the nearby Iron Dyke Mine around 1900. J. H. Pearson was the first postmaster of the Homestead post office, which operated until May 1, 1965. The post office at Oxbow then replaced the office at Homestead.
Homestead was platted around 1898 along a
Northwest Railway Company line that never developed.
It thrived because of the patronage of the miners from the Iron Dyke Mine and because it was the
railhead for local orchards.
From 1953 to 1960, Homestead was the starting point for passenger boat trips down the Snake River to
Lewiston, Idaho operated by
Blaine Stubblefield.
References
External links
Hells Canyon -- Man, Land, and History in the Deepest Gorge on Earth
Unincorporated communities in Baker County, Oregon
Populated places established in 1898
1898 establishments in Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon
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