Suver 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
Polk County,
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 ...
, United States.
It is located about 10 miles north of
Corvallis and about 8 miles south of
Monmouth
Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
, 1 mile east of
Oregon Route 99W
Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees wi ...
.
History
Joseph Wellington Suver settled on a
donation land claim
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Pree ...
near Suver in 1845.
Suver, the son of John Suver and Catherine (Hanes) Suver, was born in 1814 in Berkeley County,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. When the
Oregon & California Railroad
The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad ...
was being built through the area in 1880, Joseph Suver bought the present-day site of Suver from his brother-in-law, George W. Pyburn.
The town of Suver was
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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1881.
[ The railroad station on what became the ]Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
line through the community was named Suvers.[ Another name for the railroad station was Soap Creek.][ Suver post office was established in 1881 with Sam Cohen as the first postmaster; it ran until 1935.][ Suver grew to include a store, a ]sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
, two warehouses, a grain elevator, a dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...
, a train depot, a blacksmith shop
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, a shoe repair shop, and several residences by the mid-1890s.[ Suver school was built in 1895.][ As of 1915, Suver had a church and its population was 25.][ The warehouses, school, and several homes remained for years after the town's heyday.][ Suver became known as "Old Suver", which may be confused with "New Suver" or Suver Junction, a locale where Suver Road forms a crossroads with Oregon Route 99W a mile west of Suver.][ As of 1990, Suver was the site of a ]grain elevator
A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...
and a rural volunteer fire station;[ the grain elevator remains today, and the fire station has closed.
]
References
Further reading
*
External links
Historic images of Suver
from Salem Public Library
Historic image of Suver
from University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
digital archive
Images of Suver
from Flickr
*
*
1881 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1881
Unincorporated communities in Polk County, Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon
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