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John Day: Losing Half a Town

Once the lower half of the town was transferred to the Corps of Engineers, this bell from the old Umatilla school house became federal property. When the Corps denied community members the bell's retrieval four or five men snuck into the schoolbuilding one night and took it. It now sits in the Umatilla Museum and Historical Foundation as a reminder of lost historic buildings. Photo by Donna Sinclair

Although John Day was over 75 miles from Umatilla, the dam's effects reached deep into the community. Lake Umatilla would flood the lower half of the town. In 1958, the Umatilla city council negotiated with the Corps of Engineers over the removal of buildings, public and private. "Sometimes things got pretty warm at the council meetings because people were being dislocated and the Corps wasn't paying what they thought their houses were worth," recalled former city councilman and volunteer fireman, Roy Gunsolley, in 1999. After the Corps bought the property, they relocated some homes, and destroyed others by partnering with the volunteer fire department. Fire fighting practice in Umatilla included burning Harry's Tavern and the Pendleton Grain Grower's Elevator, reminding Roy Gunsolley of "the flame of a blowtorch."

Roy Gunsolley discusses land negotiations in Umatilla

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