From Pionneer Trails, published by the Umatilla County Historical Society
Family Homesteads: Gerkings Settle Flat
by Nelma Saylor of Hermiston and
Ralph Saylor of Echo
West from Athena a paved market road runs straight up a slight hill and
continues on some two miles from town. There, it curves gently across a
shallow flat where it crosses another county road running from the north
toward Adams. At that intersection a sign post pointing north bears the
inscription, "Gerking Flat". Like many other local names, Gerking Flat had its origins with a pioneer family who took up homesteads there in the 1870's.
The year was 1872 when Jonathon N.B. Gerking and his wife, Lucy
Pottorff Gerking, arrived in Gerking Flat with their three small children,
the second of whom was our mother, Minna Gerking Saylor, from the Silverton area of Western Oregon. The Gerkings had crossed the plains from Missouri in separate wagon trains arriving in the Willamette Valley in 1863. After their marriage in 1866, Grandfather had farmed on a small acreage that he had cleared of brush and timber near Silverton.
The Homestead Act of 1862 had begun to create interest among the
settlers in the Willamette Valley, and some had decided to try their fortunes in the sod-covered rolling hills that were to become northern Umatilla County. Two of Grandfather's brothers-in-law had already made
the move to the area west of Centerville (later Athena). David and Anna
Gerking Taylor were the first to take up a homestead in Gerking Flat, and they were followed in a short time by William and Mary Gerking Scott.
On their journey from the Willamette Valley in their covered wagon, Grandfather and Grandmother Gerking brought some personal belongings and bedding but no furniture. They did drive a flock of two hundred sheep that had been shipped by boat to The Dalles. The sheep were to provide both meat and wool for clothing in their new home.
For his homestead, Grandfather selected three hundred and twenty
acres just across the road and west of the Will Scotts and northwest of the David Taylor homestead and cabin. The log cabin that he built for his family was located near the foot of low hills that provided some weather
protection. Along with the other new-comers, Grandfather gradually
succeeded in plowing up the heavy sod and in getting a crop of wheat
planted. In later years. Grandmother recalled that the squirrels took most
of the first crops, but they were finally controlled by poisoning.
By 1888, Grandfather's family consisted of six living children although two had died in infancy during a diphtheria epidemic. The homestead was developed to the point where he felt able to build a more adequate home for the family, so he selected a site on a knoll about a quarter of a mile south of the log cabin and nearer the road.
The house was generous in size with porches running along the entire
front. A balcony with ornamental railings and supported by decorative
pillars was built above the porches. There were six bedrooms, a parlor, a sitting room, dining room, and kitchen with a screened porch on the
north side. Connected to the porch on the west was a board walk leading to the wash room beneath the enclosed platform for a water tank. A wooden wind mill on top of the tower pumped water for household use. Numerous shade trees were set out bordering the lawn that sloped toward the road, and an orchard with various kinds of fruit trees surrounded by a wind break of evergreen trees was planted behind the house. A barn, chicken house, and other utility buildings were located at a slightly lower elevation just north of the house. Painted a gleaming white with dark red chimneys, the house was comfortably furnished and soon became a frequent gathering place for numerous relatives and neighbors. Grandfather and Grandmother Gerking were active in the affairs of the little community including the school that had been built a half mile south of Grandfather's homestead. They were also charter members of the First Christian Church that had been organized in Athena after early meetings in the Gerking Flat area.
Soon after the turn of the century, Grandfather's pioneering spirit began
to make him restless. In 1906, he left the Gerking Flat homestead in
charge of his son, George Rice, who had married Effa Bostwick. At the
age of 61, he and Grandmother and their three younger children moved
to the new area of Laidlaw (now Tumalo) about ten miles north of Bend. There he began to convert three hundred and twenty acres of raw land peppered with juniper trees into a productive farm and to build a new home for his family. He also became influential in the formation of the Tumalo Irrigation Project that brought water to the area for farm irrigation.
Soon after that time, Charles Gerking, who had married Velma Backus, bought the Reeder place on Greasewood Flat a few miles west of Gerking Flat. Their family consisted of two children — Janis and Harold.George and Effa and their daughters, Lillian and Blanche, continued to farm the Gerking Flat homestead and some additional land.
After the death of George and Effa, the land was sold and the aged
buildings were removed. An abundant wheat crop covers the entire area
of the homestead now, and only a slender pine tree near the road
remains as a remnant of the activities of a pioneer family who made their contribution to the development of that portion of Umatilla County.
From the National Register of Historic Places Website:
Gerking, Jonathan N.B., Homestead (added 1999 - Building - #99000644)
65725 Gerking Market Rd., Bend
Historic Significance: Event, Person
Historic Person: Gerking, Jonathan N.B.
Significant Year: 1906, 1928
Area of Significance: Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Social History
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic
Historic Sub-function: Agricultural Fields, Agricultural Outbuildings, Animal Facility, Single Dwelling
Current Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic
Current Sub-function: Agricultural Fields, Agricultural Outbuildings, Animal Facility, Single Dwelling