Lebanon Becomes a Center of Commerce

By A.K. DUGAN
Lebanon Express Writer

As Lebanon moved toward and into the 20th century, it became a center of commerce for the surrounding communities and farming area.

There was a thriving downtown business area and business owners also were civic leaders.

Women began to take more of a role in public life, although, for most, their greatest influence likely was still through their husbands.

A new high school, with two floors above a daylight basement, was built on the Santiam Academy grounds. More schools were established in rural areas.

The commercial lumber industry began in the area in 1907.

Competition between three telephone exchanges ended in 1912 when the Lebanon Mutual Telephone Co. bought out the two others. In 1919, the Lebanon Light and Water Co. erected a new building.

The years 1912-14 brought a few paved streets, street lamps in the downtown area and the first sewer system (the sewage went into the river). Later, more streets were paved.

In 1923, Mountain States Power took over the electric company and made the Lebanon Canal (formerly Lebanon Ditch) and Santiam Albany Canal one system with water from a diversion dam south of town.

In 1916, a steel span bridge replaced the earlier covered bridge over the Santiam River at Grant Street.

Agriculturally, the area became more diverse. Canneries were built to process strawberries and other fruits. New warehouses held grain and potatoes. Nut processing plants were built for walnuts and filberts. A couple of decades into the century, grass seed production began on area farms.

A city building constructed in 1928 on Maple Street, east of Main, housed the fire department, jail and city recorder.

In 1913, Lebanon's first hospital was established in a house.

Gas stations and repair garages replaced livery stables and blacksmith shops. Movie theaters and department stores were established. Concrete buildings replaced wood buildings downtown.

In the residential areas, garages replaced barns.

Organizations formed for the promotion and improvement of Lebanon included the Lebanon Business Men's Club (active about 1907), Commercial Club (about 1912) and Lebanon Community Club (about 1924). The Women's Civic Improvement Club, formed as an independent organization in 1910 because the ladies did not want to be merely an auxiliary to a men's group.

The first Strawberry Festival was held in 1909 and the first Founder's Day in 1914. The event was originally a gathering of pioneers.

Following is a list of men and women who were influential in helping Lebanon become a center of commerce:

Joel Mayer:
A pioneering businessman and civic leader for 75 years, he was one of the founders of the Lebanon Electric Co., which was sold to Mountain States Power Co. (now Pacific Power). He also was one of the incorporators of the Lebanon Canning Co. and the primary originator of the Lebanon Strawberry Festival. He donated the land for Queen Anne Park School, named after his wife Anna. He was mayor of Lebanon, served on the city council and was a bank president.

Anna DuMond Mayer:
Before her marriage in 1897, she opened a millinery shop in Lebanon. She was a charter member of the Lebanon Women's Club, organized in 1900. She later became a member of the Women's Civic Club, which during its history planned and financed the first Lebanon clean-up day, opened a downtown restroom and bought playground equipment for the old high school. She helped organize the Lebanon Garden Club and was a member of several other groups. In 1914, she helped establish the Christian Science Church in Lebanon.

A. I. Crandall:
An architect whose local work had a significant impact on the architectural character of the area, he was part owner of a large planing mill that supplied much of the building material regionally in the early 20th century.

Helen V. Crawford:
Born and raised in the Tallman area, she taught English at Oregon Agricultural College/Oregon State College. She set out the first walnut orchard in this part of the valley and had a peach orchard. She was city recorder and municipal judge in 1913. She also was clerk of the city council.

Dr. Mary Canaga Rowland:
She was city health officer in 1911 and practiced medicine in Lebanon for six years, from 1910 to 1916. The first woman doctor in Lebanon, she also was one of the first woman doctors in the United States. Her autobiography, "As Long as Life," includes an interesting picture of Lebanon at that time.

Sigurd H. Landstrom:
A jeweler and watchmaker by trade, he was a civic leader in Lebanon who served on both the city council and the school board. He drew plans and helped build the Assembly of God Church in 1935.

Sol Lindley:
He was a horticulturalist who planted and operated large walnut orchards. He was the first to grow strawberries in the area on a commercial scale.

Chester Adams Lyon:
He established and ran a farm near Lebanon that was dedicated to the disadvantaged boys and girls of Oregon. It was called the "Big Brother Farm." Many Lebanon citizens helped support the farm.

Dolph Reeves:
In 1922, he purchased Bach Buhl and Co. clothing store and renamed it Reeves Clothing Co. The store remained in downtown Lebanon for 74 years. He was treasurer of the Linn County Livestock Association and once was named Livestock Man of the Year, in part for his work with 4-H and the FFA.

Bohle Brothers, William and Edwin:
They formed the Lebanon Creamery Company, later the Bohle Creamery Company and now Timber Valley Dairy. They brought several firsts to Lebanon including the first pasteurized milk, commercially-made butter and frozen food lockers. William Bohle and his sons organized the Bohle Furniture Company. He was active in the Chamber of Commerce, Lebanon Lions Club and Lebanon Elks. He helped in the development of the Lebanon Meadows racetrack. Edwin Bohle served on the school board and was a charter member of the Lions and Elks Clubs in Lebanon.

Vern Reeves:
Brother of Dolph Reeves and an active civic leader, he operated Reeves Garage and Reeves Insurance Agency for 36 years. He served 45 years as a member of the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department, eight of them as chief and assistant chief. He was a city councilor for 8 years.

Andrew. M. Reeves:
Mayor of Lebanon, and founder and general manager of the Reeves-Clark Department store, he was a member of the school board and vice president of the Lebanon National Bank. With J. C. Mayer, he took the lead in starting the Strawberry Festival. He was not related to Dolph and Vern Reeves.

Dr. Joel C. Booth:
Originally a horse and buggy doctor, he practiced medicine for 50 years in east Linn County and ushered three generations into the world. He served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. He was elected to the Oregon legislature for three terms and was mayor of Lebanon for a time. He conceived the idea of building an Armory for the Lebanon National Guard company. In 1936, he helped establish a new hospital in the building that is now the library. Booth Park, Lebanon's first playground and municipal park, is named for him.