Mr. Newton

Austin Junction is an unincorporated locale in Grant County, Oregon, United States. It is at the intersection of U.S. Route 26 and Oregon Route 7, about 2.5 miles south of Austin in the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. The Austin House, a combination café, grocery store, gas station and tavern at this location is named after an early business in nearby Austin. The business is located on Forest Service land and operates with a special-use permit. Austin Junction has a Bates, Oregon mailing address. The elevation is 4,236 feet (1291 m).

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https://www.austinhousecafecountrystore.com/ordereze/default.aspx

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Oregon

Austin was named for Minot and Linda Austin, early settlers of the area.[3][4] The Austins operated a small store and hotel, Austin House. Austin House was started as a hotel and stagecoach station by a Mr. Newton.[2] Austin post office was established in 1888 and closed in 1950.[3]

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http://www.precious-testimonies.com/bates/docs/batesaustinhomepage.htm

The town of Austin was started by a man named Newton. In the late 1800’s Minot and Linda Austin arrived and purchased the town site, and renamed it Austin. Minot ran a stage line between Sumpter and Canyon City. Linda ran the general store, hotel and boarding house. At one time Austin boasted a population of approximately 500 people. * (NOTE: See footnote below; this paragraph may not be entirely accurate).

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* Norm Note: Gregg Smith is a historian, and he emailed me the following information on 11-30-2008. Much appreciated:

Some time ago I read and "filed" some old Grant County deeds and property records. If I can find my copies I will send them to you to post. Or, if someone else is interested, they can find them at the Grant County Courthouse.

What I remember was that Minot Austin was Mrs. Newton's son. Mr. Newton must have been her second husband, having been previously married to a man named Austin. The old maps of the area show the site of Austin as "Newton's."

It appears that Mr. Newton died and the property passed to Mrs. Newton. She then willed the property to Minot. If I recall, she had other children, whom she each willed $1.00. So - there must have been some hard feelings. When Mrs. Newton died, Minot inherited the Newton property. He was married to Linda and they then renamed the site "Austin."

At some point Minot joined with some other investors to pursue a business venture. Gold mining perhaps? Minot secured a loan from a Baker bank and mortgaged the Austin property as security for the loan. The investment went sour and the bank foreclosed on the mortgage. Then it appears that Minot left and Linda stayed behind. She had a viable stage stop business and made a deal with the bank. Over time she paid off the bank loan and took full possession of the Austin property.

Now ... when I was a kid working for Henry Ricco in the mid-1950s, Henry told me a story told to him by 'Doc' Edwards -- Linda Austin's brother. Doc had moved in with Linda to help her, but it was probably the other way around. Doc was a terrible alcoholic. He 'borrowed' things from Linda to buy his booze. Henry Ricco, who bought the Austin place from 'Doc' Edwards after Linda died, found her wedding ring rolled up in a sock inside a shoe in her bedroom. It was one thing Doc was unable to "borrow."

In any case, Minot apparently wrote Linda that he wanted to come back and would be on a particular stage. Doc met Minot at the stage and pointed a pistol at him. Doc said to Minot, paraphrasing, "If you step down from the stage I'll shoot you dead." Minot wisely stayed on the stage and moved off into history. Both Linda Austin and Doc Edwards are buried at the Canyon City cemetery.

I spent a lot of time trying to find and get copies of old maps of our country. Two maps in particular: In 1890, one map reads that what is now Austin was then "Newton's." Two years later, in 1892, the map reads "Newton's or Austin's."

So Mrs. Newton must have willed the Newton property to Minot Austin around 1891 - plus or minus. There would probably be records of the probate of Mrs. Newton's will in the Grant County Courthouse. In fact, I'm sure of it. Some time ago I read her will.

As a side point, the 1890 map shows the stage lines in Baker and Grant County. The stage trip from Baker to Canyon City covered 85 miles and cost $10.00. The stage ran Monday through Saturday and left Baker at 1:30 p.m. I don't know how fast it moved, and whether one team of horses could cover the entire trip. Since the road was pretty steep out of the Whitney valley and over Dixie Butte, I can't believe they made more than 10 miles per hour average. That would have put them in Canyon City at 9:30 p.m., I'm estimating? That seems pretty late. I wonder whether they stopped overnight at Newton's or Austin's and changed horses? Anyone know? -- Gregg Smith