Category: Germaine History

Historical Events

A Wilbur County Timeline

1845 – After little Germaine Van Bibber becomes ill, the pioneer families leave the Meek wagon train, and settle in the Tamarack Valley near current day Germaine. 1846 – Young Henry Applegate begins construction of the first log cabin to house his printing press, near the current site of The Germaine Truth. 1848 – The Germaine Truth is founded. 1859 – Town charter is drafted and Thomas Bradford is elected the first Mayor of Germaine. 1861 – Luke Charlebois discovers an artesian spring near Charlebois Corners, and begins farming the adjacent area. 1864 – Claiming he wants to help farmers and their emerging farms in Wilbur County, Thomas Bradford turns the position of Mayor over to Peter Hedrick. He goes on to found the Bank of Germaine, the towns first bank. 1866 – Three strangers, said to be veterans of the Confederate army, rob the Bank of Germaine and terrorize the town…

Ansel Johanssen Murder

In February, 1913, Wobbly labor organizer Ansel Johanssen was shot and hung from a juniper tree. Johanssen had settled in Germaine a few years earlier with his wife and two children. He went to work at the Van Bibber Mill and soon became fed up with inequities he saw around him. When a Wobbly organizer passed through town in the summer of 1912, Ansel signed up, and immediately began organizing the other men at the mill. After a one-day strike in February of 1913, Isaac Vernon Van Bibber, owner of the mill, fired several men, including Johanssen. But Johanssen returned the next day and began agitating the remaining workers. He was driven off by armed security guards, but vowed to organize a protest the following week, backed up by an IWW group in Portland. Alarmed that the town was about to be overrun by “Anarchists” and “Criminals,” a group of…

Mountain Bogies

Of course you know about Big Foot. Well, there are more that are specific to the lore of Wilbur County. The term for these elusive, mostly mythical sightings is “Mountain Bogey.” The ghost of The Old Paiute One of the regular bogies reported has been the ghostly figure of an old Indian, usually in the vacinity of Old Paiute Ridge. Many tourists go up to the hiking trails along nine-mile-creek for the specific purpose of seeing the ghost.

The Blue Bucket Mine

Did the wagon train of the founders stumble upon the legendary Blue Bucket Mine in what is now Harney County? Type: Principle: Where: Description:

The DOG Conspiracy

Are the Daughters of Germaine an innocent women’s club, or is it a Satanic Cult?

The Legend of Little Germaine

Germaine Van Bibber was nine years old in 1845 when her family joined the wagon train bound for Oregon at Independence, Missouri. Her father, Isaac, was from a venerable Virginia family of Dutch descent. The family of her mother, Anais Josephe Charlebois, was from French Canada by way of Vermont. The Van Bibbers, who had become disillusioned of life in the east, simply packed up their three children one day, and joined Josephe’s brother and new wife who were bound for the Oregon Territory. By the time they reached Southern Idaho, Stephen Meek, an adventurer, mountain man, and experienced guide, convinced a few hundred families, including the Van Bibbers, to leave the main wagon train, which was taking the Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley, and travel an alternate route through the Cascades, a route he claimed he knew well. Leaving the main wagon train near what is now Vale,…

The Murder of Charlie

The murder of Charles LaFontaine. The Role of the KKK Tony Sweet, Bradford, Arlington, Drewsey chapter of the KKK.

The Old Paiute

According to legend, when the wagon train was lost in desert, an old Paiute indian led them to safety in the Tamarack Valley, near the site of the future Germaine, Oregon. Was the Old Paiute murdered?

The Steal of 2006

Did supporters of Willie Walkingstick steal the Mayoral election in 2006? Some Germainers think so.

The Unfortunate Incident

The Unfortunate Incident, a phrase used by Howard Applegate in The Germaine Truth, refers to the sudden disappearance of the Arlingtons, owners of the Restin’ Easy motel in the fall of 2004.

The Wagon Train West

There are many stories in Germaine about the wagon train that left Saint Louis for Oregon.

Wild Man of the Ochocos

Is the Wild Man of the Ochocos real? Or is he a mythical bogie indigenous to Wilbur County. There is evidence both ways