Cecil, Oregon

Cecil is an unincorporated community in Morrow County, Oregon, United States.^[1] It is located about 14 miles northwest of Ione, on Oregon Route 74.^[2] The Oregon Trail crossed Willow Creek here, and it was once an important stagecoach stop.^[3][4]

Cecil was the name of a railroad station on the Heppner Branch of the Union Pacific railroad.^[5] In 1867, a post office named "Cecils" was established a mile south of the station; it ran until 1870.^[5] Cecil post office was established in 1902 and closed in 1974.^[5] The Cecil family, including William Cecil, a pioneer of 1862, owned large amounts of land in the area and donated the site for the post office.^[5]

In 1940, Cecil had a population of 15.^[4] As of 1993, Cecil had a store and gas station.^[3] The store is no longer operating. In 1993, the Union Pacific Railroad filed for abandonment of the Heppner Branch. The last train ran on the line on June 30, 1994 and all traces of the line including bridges, tracks, and depots were gone by August 1994.

References

1. "Cecil". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
2. Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 73. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
3. Friedman, Ralph (1993) [1972]. Oregon for the Curious (3rd ed.). Portland, Oregon: Pars Publishing Company. p. 190. ISBN 0-87004-222-X.
4. Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Oregon (1940). Oregon: End of the Trail. American Guide Series. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort. p. 265. OCLC 4874569.
5. McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [First published 1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 182. ISBN 9780875952772. OCLC 53075956.

External links

• Historic image of the Cecil store from Salem Public Library
• Historic image of voting day in Cecil circa 1910
• Images of Cecil from Flickr

Coordinates: 45°37′04″N 119°57′32″W / 45.617909°N 119.958923°W