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Arlington, Oregon

In the 1870s, settlers built cattle and sheep corrals at the mouth of Alkali Canyon. Elijah Rhea built the first home in the area in 1880, and in 1881 the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company established a station there. A town, originally called Alkali, was platted a year later, and served as the Gilliam County seat until 1890. In 1885, Alkali changed its name to Arlington, which was either in honor of a local lawyer or the city of Arlington, Virginia. In the 1960s, the US Army Corps of Engineers moved Arlington to higher ground to make way for John Day Dam. This photograph shows Arlington shortly before relocation.