Church of Christ (Pleasant Hill)

From Lane Co Oregon

The church was organized August 4, 1850 some 12 miles southeast of Eugene in Lane County on Highway 58. There were 19 original members according to church records. They met in the one-room school house as sketched in this drawing. This appeared on the cover of the church's Centennial Celebration folder in 1950. The building was located in the corner of what became the cemetery.

Elijah Bristow (1788-1872) from Virginia; Kentucky; and Macomb, Illinois is credited with founding the congregation. Bristow was the first non-Indian settler in Lane County. He acquired three trades - that of hatter, blacksmith and gunsmith.

When he arrived in the area in 1846, he is quoted as saying, "There I will take my claim; and I am going to name it Pleasant Hill. That ridge with the mountains in the background reminds me of my boyhood home in old Virginia."

While Elijah had arrived earlier, his family came overland in 1848. He and Susanna had 15 children. He was affectionally called "Uncle Bristow." This was common among pioneer church leaders.