City of Boyd

By Nancy Zopf

What remains of the town of Boyd can be seen by driving south from The Dalles nine-and-a-half miles on U.S. 197. The few homes, some outbuildings, and an abandoned grain elevator are reminders of the once-vital community of 150 to 200 people.

By 1854, Daniel Bolton had settled in the area of Fifteenmile Creek and was raising wheat on the creek bottomland. Other settlers soon arrived and planted wheat in the uplands.

During the 1863 gold rush in eastern Oregon, miners and freight wagons left The Dalles every day, bringing supplies south across Fivemile and Eightmile creeks, climbing Ward Hill, and dropping down to Eleven Mile House, an inn providing accommodations and services to travelers.

In the 1880s, George Barnett built a store on the bluff between the present-day bridge and the grain elevator. T.P. Boyd and his sons bought and operated a flour mill during those years, and a post office, named after the family, was established in 1884.

In 1889, Hank Southern bought the general store and moved it half a mile north. The town of Boyd developed at that location and was platted in 1895. A school was built and, later, a church that shared a minister with the Dufur Methodist Church.

The Great Southern Railroad began operation in 1905, carrying passengers, freight, mail, and wheat through the town. But in 1923, The Dalles-California Highway bypassed Boyd, and it became more convenient for travelers to shop in Dufur and The Dalles. The small town began its decline.

The railroad line was abandoned in the 1930s, and the school closed in 1938. After World War II, the church was abandoned and the school was razed. The post office closed in 1952. In 2009, cherry orchards grow where the church and school stood.

  • Aerial view of Boyd showing Boyd roller mill and 15-Mile Creek in foreground and Mt. Adams in distance, 1903.

    Boyd, aerial of, 1903, bb006484.

    Aerial view of Boyd showing Boyd roller mill and 15-Mile Creek in foreground and Mt. Adams in distance, 1903. Photo by Elmer Underwood, courtesy Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb006484

  • Absalom Bolton Stock & Wheat Ranch, Boyd, about 1958.

    Boyd, ranch at, 1958, bb006481.

    Absalom Bolton Stock & Wheat Ranch, Boyd, about 1958. Photo by Elmer Underwood, courtesy Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb006481

  • R.D. Boyd Roller flour mills near Boyd, April 1960.

    Boyd, flour mills near, 1960, bb006478.

    R.D. Boyd Roller flour mills near Boyd, April 1960. Photo by Robert L. Hacker, courtesy Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb006478

  • The Boyd union elevator #112 with the Boyd roller flour mill beyond, April 1960.

    Boyd, grain elevator at, 1960, bb006479.

    The Boyd union elevator #112 with the Boyd roller flour mill beyond, April 1960. Photo by Robert L. Hacker, courtesy Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb006479

  • Great Southern R.R. train at the Boyd Roller Mill, 1905.

    Boyd, G.S. train at, 1905, bb006485.

    Great Southern R.R. train at the Boyd Roller Mill, 1905. Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb006485

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Further Reading

Zopf, Nancy Ward. A Road, a Railroad, and a Country Store. The Dalles: Wasco County Historical Museum Press, 2001.