From Lane Co Oregon

History

Jasper is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon. It is located southeast of Springfield on Oregon Route 222, at the confluence of Hills Creek and the Middle Fork Willamette River.

Jasper is the site of a siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascade Line, which was named for local resident Jasper B. Hills, the son of Cornelius Joel Hills, who settled at the locale in 1847. Jasper post office was established in 1884.

South of Jasper is Jasper State Recreation Site.

Jasper is served by Pleasant Hill School District.

It was Rufus G. Callison, son of Gilmore Callison, who organized the Jasper Church with about 82 members. At first they met in the school house, and later built a building. The first services were held in 1889 or before and the first building was constructed in 1907 at a cost of $1,348.45.

Callison was a circuit-riding preacher in Lane County for many years. He is pictured with the Fall Creek entry above.

Other preachers of early times were D. W. Handsaker and D. C. Kellums.

Mr. Callison while addressing the Oregon Christian Convention at Turner in 1915. His theme had been that a good, devoted, useful Christian life is necessary as a preparation for the future life. His final words as he died were, "Prepare to live and you will be prepared to die." He died in his 74th year. At that time, his home had been in Vancouver, Washington.

Another early pioneer in the area was James Wallace who homesteaded on Wallace Creek.

B.J. (Bynon) Pengra obtained a Donation Land Claim just north of Jasper near a place named Natron. Pengra was a local publisher and active Republican helping to elect President Lincoln. Pengra was appointed United States Surveyor-General for Oregon by President Lincoln in 1861. A few years later Pengra formed the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road Company and won approval from the State of Oregon to build the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road from Eugene to Idaho. This company obtained hundreds of thousands of acres of Federal land in return for building the road. Pengra later unsuccessfully fought for the construction of a railroad over much of the same route including Willamette Pass. Pengra was also one of the owners of the Sprinfield Manufacturing Company which purchased an early sawmill and flour mill from Springfield pioneer Elias Briggs.