Springfield

From Lane Co Oregon

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Most of the original land claims in Springfield were filed between 1851 and 1853. The average size of a claim was 320 acres. Building sites were located on the high ground because of frequent flooding. Elias Briggs began building a town. In 1852, using shovel and plow, he built the Millrace.

After the Millrace was completed, he and Mr. Driggs of Linn County formed the Briggs and Driggs Company to build the flour and sawmills in 1853 and 1854. They were not the usual slap-dash mills built in pioneer communities for temporary and local consumption only, but instead, were constructed under the supervision of an experienced millwright hired from the east. They used the latest and best machinery and spending $10,000 on the two mills.

In the early 1850s, the settlement of Springfield consisted only of a ferry service across the Willamette, the Briggs' house, two mills, a trading post and a school. In 1852, James Huddleston started the trading post, near Mill and Main Street.

The first schoolhouse was probably located in a crude little building near 7th Street and South B Streets. Two other schools also served the residents of the Thurston area. This area was named after George H Thurston, a pioneer settler of the region. The Davis School was a one-room of schoolhouse built in the 1850's at the east end of Thurston. Thurston Elementary was located on the northeast corner of 66th Street and Thurston Road and it operated until the 1930's.

The town was platted in 1856, two blocks between South A and Main and Mill and 3rd Streets. The lots measured 66 x 120 feet, with streets 66 feet in width. The original town was designed in a grid system that aligned to the four cardinal directions.