A History of Hover, Washington, and its founder, Herbert A. Hover

By Tawney Carrier of the Purple Sage Riders

(published, in part, in The Northwest’s Own Railway, Spring 2022, Volume 39, No. 2).

Hover Park is located on an old town site that is like the lost city of Atlantis; much of the actual town is underwater. Hover Park lies about six miles downstream of Two Rivers Park on the Columbia River. Hover Park is an Army Corps of Engineers property operated by Benton County that is under lease. Benton County Parks has a program called “Partners in Parks” which allows “recreators” of all kinds to enjoy our parks. Partners in Parks supports a variety of recreators including Rattlesnake Mountain Shooting Facility, and Higgins Field for radio-controlled miniature aircraft. Our fellow Back Country of Washington Chapter, Rattlesnake Ridge Riders, is also a Benton County “Partner in Parks.” This program allows us to help user groups care for our local parks.

Hover Park consists of about 200 acres of undeveloped open space, and is near the site of the old town of Hover. Only a few foundations and old roads can be seen. Most of the town was flooded when Lake Wallula was formed after the McNary Dam was constructed. The town of Hover was named after Herbert A. Hover who purchased 12,000 acres of land southeast of Kennewick around the turn of the century. He then spent many years developing the land, the town and the surrounding area. Herbert Hover was an adventuresome, enterprising and pioneering man. This “tiny town” of Hover was one of the first places that transformed the Kennewick desert into one of the most attractive spots in the valley.

Herbert A. Hover had an interesting life filled with family, land development and adventures with his automobile. He had oil fields in Montana, sold insurance in Tacoma, served in the Army and created numerous companies related to Hover land investment and development – starting in Spokane. Mr. Hover founded not only the town of Hover but also signed the petition requesting the incorporation of Kennewick on December 17, 1903. He served as land broker, postmaster, hotel proprietor, advocate, community leader and even had unrealized political ambitions. There were probably only two things Herbert A. Hover may not have been good at. One was military service and the other was politics.

Herbert A. Hover was born March 9, 1868 in Madisonville, OH to Aaron Swarts Hover and Amanda Margaret Hollenbeck. Herbert was their oldest child. He had three younger brothers and a little sister. During the 1880 Census, Herbert was age 12 and living at home with his parents and siblings in Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas.

Herbert Hover moved to Los Angeles, California in 1887 and the City Directory shows Herbert A. Hover is a clerk residing at 32 York. Mr. Hover enlisted in the Army at The Presidio in San Francisco, CA on April 6, 1887. He was 21 years old at the time of his enlistment. Before his enlistment with Company I, 14th US Infantry, Herbert Hover’s military records show his occupation was a waiter. His records identify him as having Grey eyes, Chestnut hair, a dark complexion and he was 5′ 9″ in height. Herbert Hover weighed 161 pounds, according to his Enlistment Papers. His records also document had a scar as a result of a pistol shot wound above his right knee cap. Apparently Herbert Hover was also vaccinated without indicating any specific vaccinations in his Enlistment Papers. While in the service, Herbert Hover served as a Musician Trumpeter.

On April 16, 1889, Musician Trumpeter Hover was admitted to the Post Hospital in Fort Leavenworth, KS as a result of a right foot sprain by accidentally stepping on a stone. He returned to duty two days later. On August 16, 1889, Musician Trumpeter Hover was admitted to the Post Hospital in Fort Leavenworth, KS as a result of an inflammation of the upper lip from trumpet blowing. He returned to duty two days later. Then, on November 13, 1889, Musician Trumpeter Hover was admitted to the Post Hospital in Fort Leavenworth as a result of acute tonsillitis. He returned to duty the next day. Per Special Order # 63, Musician Herbert Hover, Company I, 14th US Infantry was honorably discharged March 22, 1890 at Fort Leavenworth, KS “by reason that he would never make a good soldier.” Hover’s character as a soldier was at best described as “Fair,” while his character as a Man was at best described as “Good.” Herbert Hover served three years in the Army.

Mr. Hover was married twice; first to Mae (or May) Dustin in September 1889 in Leavenworth, Kansas. May was born in December, 1870 in Leavenworth, Kansas to Dudley and Marie (Rodgers) Dustin. Herbert Hover and Mae had one son, Harry Dustin Hover, who was born June 20, 1890. Even though records show that Herbert and Mae likely divorced before Herbert moved to Spokane, Harry remained with his mother. However, Harry Hover remained connected to his father particularly while in Montana, which will be explored later.

On December 24, 1895 in Spokane, WA, Herbert A. married Miss Aimata (“Mata”) C. Purviance. Mata was born in Oswego, KS in 1877, to Nathan and Emma B. (McPherson) Purviance. Ms. Purviance’s father was a well-known attorney and judge born in Belmont County, Ohio. Her mother was born in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.

Mr. Hover next shows up in the 1901 City Directory for Tacoma, WA listing him as an agency director for New York Life Insurance Co. residing in the YMCA Building.

Herbert A. Hover had few failures in his life, but one was politics. On February 5, 1904, he lost a bid for mayor of Kennewick by 3 votes to O. L. Hanson. He also ran for state representative of the 58th district in 1906 (losing to G. W. Hamilton) after Benton County was created by the legislature carving out the eastern portion of Yakima & Klickitat Counties. An Illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas Counties provides biographical sketches of those who influenced the area. The publication references Herbert A. Hover’s history including that he considered himself a Republican and was considered by other as “a capable business man.” Herbert Hover, despite his political shortcomings, was a strong advocate for his community, including having been chosen by the Grain growers’ Association of the Inland Empire to travel to Portland to advocate for better transportation facilities for a water-route.

On January 28, 1905, Herbert Hover applied for his first ever passport, listing his home town as Kennewick, WA. That same year, the town of Hover was platted. Mr. Hover, president of his business, the Kennewick Land Company, began promoting the acres of land southeast of Kennewick in anticipation of a big boom. He had 18,000 brochures printed extolling the virtues of the area for settlement and distributed them nationwide. Hover was primarily a farming town, and it was irrigation that made extensive farming possible. Without the construction of the intensive irrigation system, began in 1888 by the Yakima Irrigation and Improvement Company, there would probably have never been any settlement in the lower Columbia Basin.

Many families moved to this new development southeast of Kennewick, including George Finley. Both men, Finley and Hover, had communities named for them, as those small towns expanded in anticipation of a big building boom. In October of 1905, the Yakima Herald sang the town of Hover’s praises calling it “one of the most promising in that section. It is ideally located on an immense alfalfa field, which has a gentle slope toward the river. Just now with its beautiful greensward, it is indeed pretty.”

Herbert’s brothers were also involved in the Hover land development business with him. In fact, one of his brothers, Aaron (or Aron) owned the ferry company that operated (for a time) the Hover ferry – the Mata C. Hover – named after Herbert’s wife. The ferry allowed passage across the river to Wallula. Aron sold the company around 1906; but the ferry continued to operate for a few more years.

By 1907, Hover had a population of 300 and had wooden sidewalks, a new school, saloon, livery stable, a 32-room hotel, blacksmith shop, railroad depot, opera house, grocery store, church, and post office.

Hover was an ideal location not just for agriculture, but due to the rail line. Back in 1893, the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) went into receivership. Jim Hill, founder of the Great Northern was in good financial shape and took advantage to buy controlling interest via NP stocks. Hill then determined to take over the NP but was stopped by Minnesota state antitrust laws. The courts determined that the Northern Pacific and Great Northern must operate independently as separate identities. So, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S) was incorporated in 1905 as a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and NP. This was in response to the anti-trust action as well as other historical issues rail elsewhere in Washington. The two railroads decided to run from Pasco to Tacoma via the river route as this would be cheaper. This meant that by 1907, Hover had a formal train station for passengers and freight.

Hover was located at Milepost 219.9 on those tracks and existed as a station from 1907 to 1951. By 1936, the Hover station included a depot, section house (used by the foreman responsible for the track maintenance crew), a bunk house (occupied by the laborers on the track maintenance crew), tool house (for storing the railway motor car used by the track maintenance crew along with tools), wind mill for providing water, and telephones located in the depot and section house. Hover was the headquarters for Section Crew 41 which was responsible for the track maintenance from Hover eastward to the connection with the Northern Pacific Railway at Pasco. The line consisted of a main track and a passing track 4,500 feet long and off the passing track was an industry track that was long enough for fifteen 40′ long freight cars. The Hover depot was sold in 1946 and the location was eliminated as a station in 1951.

The railroad on the Pasco side (across the river from Hover) originally belonged to Oregon Railway Navigation (ORN). Northern Pacific ended their line at Ainsworth (the present state park) and connected and leased the ORN line to Portland and then ran to Tacoma. This relationship did not work out well so the NP chose to cross the Columbia River at Kennewick/Pasco and then went over the Cascades via Stampede Pass. The ORN was bought out by Union Pacific who runs that line on the Pasco side of the river today.

The first school in Hover was started in 1906 in that Opera House. A separate, small sturdy brick building was built the next year. A new larger school building was built in 1923, a two-story brick construction, but it burned down during Christmas vacation in 1924. It is not known whether Herbert A. Hover ever got to see this new school prior to its burning as he no longer was in Hover by 1923, having returned to Montana. River View High School was then erected and was bigger than the former school. It was built on the site of the former school, with its foundation on the outside of the previously used foundation. The last graduating class from River View High was 1956; the building was eventually torn down for salvage. The high school’s two foundations and worn steps leading to nowhere greet you as you enter Hover Park.

In 1907, the Butte, MT City Directory shows Harry A. Hover (Herbert Hover’s son) as a carpenter residing at 1013 Oregon Avenue. Harry then shows up in the census as living in South Pasadena, CA as a boarder in a home on Mound Avenue on May 12, 1910. Harry may have attended school for a couple years in California. Interestingly, the April 27 1910 Census shows Mata Hover is living just a few miles away in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California with her mother, aunt and a cousin.

By 1908, Mata and H.A. Hover had moved to a home at 2647 Michigan Avenue, La Crescenta, near Los Angeles, California. They supposedly moved to California because Herbert’s health was suffering from overwork. The home on Michigan Ave was a large Victorian ranch house built in late 1880’s on the north side of Michigan Ave (now Foothill). It was just west of Rosemont, situated amidst a fruit orchard and was one of a string of mansions. By the time these photos of the home were taken in the late ‘20s, it had been purchased by Merritt Kimball, who converted it in Kimball’s sanitarium. It’s lasting claim to fame is as the sanitarium Bela Lugosi used to fight his morphine addiction as portrayed in the film “Ed Woods”. Kimball’s was torn down in the early ‘60s to make way for the large shopping center on the property today.

It was from this home the Hovers embarked upon an exciting automobile adventure, a long trip to tour the US and Europe. They set out March 25, 1908, in their little two- cylinder Maxwell and arrived in Tijuana, Mexico on March 28.

On April 11, 1908, after dipping their wheels in the Pacific Ocean, the Hovers continued their journey. Seven months and countless inner tubes later, they had crossed the United States, from Mexico to Canada and the Pacific to the Atlantic. The Hovers arrived in New York City on November 5th, where the Maxwell Company presented them with the first four-cylinder car off their production line.

The Automobile Club of America hailed the Hovers as the first couple to undertake the first border to border, coast to coast trans-continental automobile trip on record. The story of the Hover’s trip was told by Mata Hover’s article in the December, 1908 issue of “Motor” magazine.

With the gift of a new automobile as incentive they headed east to Europe, which included visiting the Alps. Their adventure was well publicized. On January 22, 1909 they boarded the White Star Line’s most palatial and luxurious ship the R.M.S. Republic. Unfortunately, on January 23, 1909, the Republic was rammed in the dense fog by an incoming immigrant boat the S.S. Florida and sinks off Nantucket Island. The first wireless telegram SOS distress call ever sent brought rescue ships to return the passengers to New York. Although three Republic passengers and three Florida crew members lost their lives in the collision, over 1500 people are rescued, including the Hovers. The Hover’s luggage went down with the sinking ship, but luckily their new car was on another boat. Ten days later they left for Europe and arrived without incident to enjoy several months touring the continent and Africa.

The Hovers then departed from Liverpool on September 18, 1909, aboard the SS Lusitania and arrived in New York September 24, 1909. This was the terminus of their world-wide trip.

On November 25, 1909 in Los Angeles, California Fred W. Allen went on trial for mortgage fraud. He was accused of having mortgaged property (horse, wagon and harness to G.M. Nelson) which was already mortgaged to Mr. Herbert A. Hover. The ultimate outcome of that trial is not well documented and it is unlikely Herbert Hover was involved in the trial as he was just returning from his long trip across the world.

Sadly, on the 5th of March, 1910, fire broke out in Hover, Washington so the Hovers returned briefly to Hover. The 1910 fire was particularly devastating and was described in the Twin City Reporter: “Hover was swept by flame the 5th of March, 1910. Fire destroyed the Hotel, Hover Land Company Office, Post Office and T. H. Dry’s General Merchandise store.”

As of June 1, 1912, the Hovers were living at 2009 West Pacific in Spokane, when they registered their 1913 Maxwell automobile. The building where they lived was built in 1909 by W. W. Hyslop, prominent Spokane architect. Originally the building was designed as apartments for paint store owner, Isaac Baum. The large, three-story brick building possesses Classical Revival elements. Today the property remains apartments, still called the Avenida Apartments in honor of its history as one of the first luxury apartment houses in Brown’s Addition.

It appears Mr. Hover then traveled ahead of Mrs. Hover to Montana. The 1912 City directory for Helena, MT lists Herbert A. Hover as president of Montana Ranches, Co. and residing at The Grandon Hotel. His brother Aron H. is listed as the secretary of the same company with the same residence.

The next year, in 1913, back in Hover, the Opera House was destroyed by fire. Most of the buildings that were destroyed by The 1915 Helena, MT City Directory shows Harry D. Hover (Herbert’s son) as an agent for Montana Ranches Co. living at 735 Breckenridge, the same address as his father, Herbert A. Hover. That directly lists Herbert A. Hover as president of Montana Ranches Co., Harry D. Hover (Herbert’s son) as special agent for the company and Aron H. Hover (Herbert’s brother) as Secretary-treasurer of the company. All show as residing at 735 Breckenridge.

Harry D. Hover, son of Herbert A. Hover, married Verda Campbell in Helena, Lewis & Clark County, Montana on December 17, 1916. Verda was the daughter of J.M. and Lizzie (Massey) Campbell, having been born in 1888 in Condon, Gilliam County, OR. Harry and Verda likely met in Colorado as Verda was living with her sister (a school teacher) at the time. It appears Harry’s mother had moved to Colorado with her new husband prior to 1910. The marriage was witnessed by Harry’s father Herbert and uncle (Herbert’s brother) Aron H. Hover.

The 1916 Spokane City directory lists Harry D. Hover as residing at S830 ½ Monroe, the same address for Herbert A. and Mata Hover. It is likely that Herbert went back and forth, and Mata remained in Spokane, instead of moving to Montana.

The Pages of Time: A History of Petroleum County, Montana includes a summary about Herbert A. Hover which indicates he farmed near Sydney, Montana before moving to Helena where he was engaged in real estate, was president of the Montana Ranches Company and became interested in oil development.

In 1917, Herbert Hover is listed in the Helena Montana City Directory as the Vice President of the Central Montana Ranches, Co. living in Hingham, MT. He is also listed as president of Montana Ranches Co. That same directory includes a listing for Harry D. Hover, son of Herbert Hover, as vice-president of Central Montana Ranches Co residing in Hingham, Montana. Harry Hover’s Draft registration also occurred in Hingham, MT, in June 1917. The City Directory also includes a listing for Aron H. Hover (Herbert Hover’s brother) as president of the Central Montana Ranches. Co. and residing at 710 Harrison Ave. Herbert Hover is also listed in the same year’s directory also as president of Montana Ranches Co.

Hover purchased 2,300 acres for himself, located 3 miles south of Sidney, MT which he increased to 7,000 acres. The county agent spoke of Hover’s development of his land as having “done in one summer what, under ordinary circumstances, takes ten years to accomplish.” Hover raised a bumper crop of corn under irrigation, and his corn took first prize at the State Fair in Helena in 1919 and in the Eastern Montana Corn Show at Miles City. He also won a prize at the International Live Stock Show in Chicago the same year.

During his time in Montana, Herbert Hover purchased about $7 million in land between Lewis and Clark, Broad Water, Jefferson, Powell, Granite, Hill and Chouteau counties. One purchase was about 16,000 acres which he divided into ranches of various sizes. Mr. Hover’s time in Montana involved more land development, he also was involved in the oil industry.

In October 1917, Hover purchased some land, and the mineral rights to it, near Helena, Montana. He was the first independent to sink a productive oil well and built the state’s first refinery. He then proceeded to make a fortune in oil. Oil was discovered at Cat Creek to the northwest of Mosby in 1919. Petroleum found in the Cat Creek was of high grade. Cat Creek obtained its name from an “early cowboy who reportedly roped a mountain lion along the creek that flows into the Musselshell River.” Cat Creek Oil Field reached its peak of production in 1922, with 11 wells drilling 3 million barrels of oil.

Herbert Hover promoted the financing and building of an oil pipeline to carry oil from Cat Creek to the nearby town, 20 miles to the west, called Winnett. Construction of this pipeline and its maintenance became a major source of employment in a sparsely populated county. Oil was piped to the railhead at Winnett and shipped by rail to refineries. Herbert Hover was instrumental in forming the Arro Oil and Refining Company in Lewistown and was president of Hover Consolidated Royalties Company.

As mentioned previously, Herbert Hover was around Benton County, WA when it was created, just prior to his platting of his town of Hover. A similar creation of counties happened in Montana during the oil boom era while Herbert Hover lived there. Below is a map of Montana before February 07, 1919 when Garfield County was created by taking part of Dawson County and before November 24, 1925 when the new county of Petroleum was created by carving out parts of Fergus and Garfield counties. As a result of the discovery of the Cat Creek Oil Field, the Montana state government established Petroleum County in 1925, with Winnett as its capital (circled). It was named after the emerging petroleum industry of Cat Creek.

The Helena, MT city directory in 1918 shows Harry Hover (Herbert’s son) living in the Johnson apartments and working as a field hand for the Montana Ranches, Co. Unfortunately, Harry died 7 Dec 1918, at age 23. There are two stories as to how he died. One has his death occurring between Minot, ND and Havre, MT in an accident on the Great Northern Railroad. The other has him dying from the Spanish Flu during the epidemic. Regardless, his death was tragic and likely uneasy for his father to deal with.

Herbert Hover continued investing in communities he lived in. The Pages of Time: A History of Petroleum County, Montana explains that Harry Schwartz was partners with Herbert A. Hover in the Hover-Schwartz Syndicate in Cat Creek. Hover and Schwartz built the Hover Building, a brick and tile structure along Main Street in Winnett, Petroleum County, in 1920. The building was used for their oil. That year’s papers also have advertisements for Hover Consolidated Royalties of Lewistown, MT. Herbert Hover was the president of this company. By this time, the early 1920’s, Cat Creek was the scene of Montana’s first true Oil Boom. Herbert Hover traveled to Lewistown, MT in November 1920 to sell leases and royalties, but kept the “pet” piece of land for this Hover-Schwartz Syndicate.

A 1921 an advertisement for Arro Oil and Refining Co. (in Lewistown) indicates Herbert Hover is vice-president, as well as President of Hover-Schwartz, Hover Consolidated Royalties, Montana Ranches Co., and Hover Investment Company.

On June 21, 1921, the Supreme Court of Montana ruled in a case involving Cat Creek Oil Field and James Martin/Andrew Green guardians of Joseph Miller. The guardians were suing Herbert Hover and Harry Schwartz, claiming Hover and Schwartz were “involuntary trustees” for Miller’s benefit of certain oil and gas leases in property in Fergus County. The guardians got an order to appoint a receiver, to which Hover and Schwartz objected due to lack of notice. Joseph Miller had made a homestead entry in 1916 for the land involved. The case alleges Defendants Hover and Schwartz fraudulently obtained lease for oil from the land. The Court pointed out the inconsistent position of the guardians to claim that Mr. Miller was incompetent, and “incapable of understanding ordinary legal instruments” so could not have understood the documents he signed for the Defendants’ case- and pointing out the guardians had Mr. Miller sign court documents about the case. Ultimately, the court found that no receiver was appropriate and it appears the case ended.

In 1922, Herbert Hover was elected President of Arrow (Arro?) Company; his brother Alvin (now living in California), was elected as a director. The Helena, MT City Directory for 1922 includes Herbert A. Hover, president of Montana Ranches, Co., residing at 26 W 6th Ave.

Sometime shortly after that, Herbert Hover sold his oil interests to Standard Oil and he and Mata moved to northern Illinois. Herbert A. Hover began a booming real estate business in the town of Lombard in DuPage County. The 1923 City Directory for Chicago Illinois’ Consumer’s Building Herbert A. Hover is listed as selling humidifiers in Suite 1332.

The 1925 City Directory for Oak Park, Illinois lists the Hovers as residing on S. Oak Park Ave and lists his profession as real estate. The 1930 and 1940 Censuses confirm the Hovers lived in Lombard, DuPage County, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago).

Back in Montana, by the 1930s, the Continental Oil Company (CONOCO) had assumed control of the Cat Creek oil fields, and the industry thrived – in the 1940s in particular. Hover’s former business partner, Schwartz, used his geologist-engineer training and stayed around Montana after Hover left. Schwartz was instrumental in the location and discovery of a new well that revived oil activity around Cat Creek.

Meanwhile, in 1931, Mr. Hover had offices for his business in Lombard, IL. His business, H. A. Hover & Co. real estate office is listed in the 1931-1933 City Directory for Elmhurst, Lombard and Villa Park at 6 N. Main Street (which is actually known as 2 W. St Charles Road). The building was built in 1924, and is currently on the Lombard Historical Register. The picture comes from the 2014 architectural sheet for the property.

By 1939, Mr. Hover’s office moved to 10 W. St. Charles Road. This particular building was constructed in 1900. The building is currently on the Lombard Historical Register and that registry lists Hover as having occupied the building. The picture comes from the 2014 architectural sheet for the property.

The Hover’s personal residence changed a few times when they lived in Lombard. In 1931, the Hovers were living at 116 S. Grace in Lombard, IL. This home was a Tudor Revival style, and remains standing today. The 1930 Census shows that Mata’s sister, Alice Spaul (then aged 51) was residing with them in this home. Alice Purviance Spaul continued to live in Lombard, IL after the Hover’s left, and so did several of her children.

In about 1935, the Hover’s purchased the residence located at 172 S. Stewart. They continued to live there until at least 1939. The home was built in 1897, and is currently on the Lombard Historical Register. The picture comes from the 2014 architectural sheet for the property.

During the 1940 Census, the Hovers were residing at 135 E. Ash in Lombard. Then, in 1941, Herbert Hover was given only six months to live. The Hovers moved to Florida. They lived at 2nd Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL from 1942 until at least 1945. Around 1945, Hover built and sold 26 apartment buildings in Florida. Then, in 1950 the Hovers moved into the duplex-style home they built at 2909 Sunset Ave, Pass-A-Grille Beach, Florida. The Hovers later sold this home, but retained a lease on the upper floor.

Hebert’s town of Hover seems to have been mostly abandoned when the Army Corp. of Engineers started building the McNary Dam on the Columbia River in 1947. By this time, Hover had suffered a long decline which may have been precipitated by the railroad choosing another town for their terminal as well as the new bridge between Pasco and Kennewick. The Army Corp had purchased much of the land then called Hover in preparation for building the McNary Dam, which all knew would effectively wipe Hover off the map. And it almost did. Construction of McNary began in 1947 and wasn’t completed until 1954 and included relocating the rail line. The town of Hover was effectively drowned by Lake Wallula, the reservoir created by the McNary Dam backing up the Columbia River. The community of Hover ceased to exist – except what you can see now are the remaining foundations of an abandoned ghost town, and the site of Hover Park.

Herbert Hover not only grew his community through land development, he also grew his community through volunteerism and social involvement. He was a Mason and a thirty- second degree Scottish Rite Mason belonging to State Lodge No. 68 in Tacoma, to the Chapter at Spokane, the Commandery at Walla Walla, to the Consistory at Spokane and to El Katif Shrine in Spokane. He was also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, a member of the Blue Lodge, a member of the Knights of Pythias, an Elk, a Red Man, and a member of the United Commercial Travelers’ Association. Herbert Hover also received a gold medal from an insurance company’s “$200,000-a-year” club, another medal from the “50,000-mile Maxwell Club,” and a medal he received from L’Ordre de Bon Temps in Nova Scotia (The Order of Good Cheer).

Herbert Hover’s adventures continued even into his retirement. On June 8, 1949, the Hovers began their last cross-country trip. The Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) published an article in November, 1949 about Herbert Hover and his wife’s upcoming 50,000 mile tour including Canada, Mexico, the West Indies and South America. In the piece, Herbert A. Hover discussed whether he was retired, and likened himself to “an old fire- horse – I hear a bell and off I go.”

Mr. Hover died in Florida on November 17, 1951 at the age of 83.

Dear Mr. Hover, our horses are honored to help clean up Hover Park, on the site of the town you literally built from the ground up so many years ago. Thank you for your contributions to our community and its history.

Sincerely, The Purple Sage Riders, a chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of Washington (For more information on Herbert A. Hover, Hover, Finley, Kennewick, etc. please visit the East Benton County Historical Society. The research for this article on Mr. Hover will be donated to them by Purple Sage Riders.)