Suver Townsite (Suver, Oregon)
- Title
- Suver Townsite (Suver, Oregon)
- LC Subject
- Architecture, American Architecture--United States
- Creator
- Suver, Joseph W.
- Creator Display
- Joseph W. Suver (builder/contractor)
- Description
- This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest.
- View
- general view
- Provenance
- Design Library, University of Oregon Libraries
- Temporal
- 1880-1889
- Work Type
- architecture (object genre) built works views (visual works) townscapes (built environment) warehouses railroads (infrastructure)
- Location
- Suver >> Polk County >> Oregon >> United States Polk County >> Oregon >> United States Oregon >> United States United States
- Date
- 1888
- Identifier
- pna_20210
- Rights
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
- Source
- Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/SHPO/
- Type
- Image
- Format
- image/tiff
- Set
- Building Oregon
- Primary Set
- Building Oregon
- Institution
- University of Oregon
- Note
- Suver is located approximately three miles southeast of Buena Vista and six miles west of Airlie, in the southeast corner of the county. The area was settled between 1844 and 1847 by Joseph W. Suver and George Pyburn. Between 1847 and the coming of rail transportation to the region in 1880-81, this area of the county was intensively farmed. As the original Donation Land Claims were broken up and more land came under cultivation there was an increased movement for better roads and rail transportation to move products to market. In 1880, the west side Oregon & California Railroad was constructed through Rickreall, Independence and south through the site of Suver. In order to take advantage of the shipping opportunities the new transportation system afforded, Joseph W. Suver, pioneer of 1844, purchased the present site of (Old) Suver from his father-in-law, George W. Pyburn. On January 11, 1881, the plat of the new townsite was recorded by Suver. The Suver post office was opened on February 24, 1881, with Sam Cohen as postmaster. By the mid 1890s Suver consisted of a store, saw mill, two warehouses, grain elevator, dance hall, depot, blacksmith, shoe repair shop and several residences. In 1895 the Suver school was built, District 43. Between 1895 and 1925, Suver continued as a rural shipping facility and community center for the surrounding population. In the mid 20s the town began to decline, primarily due to the completion of highway 99W, one mile west of the townsite, and the corresponding decline in railroad shipping. In 1935, Fred Stum moved his store (constructed 1905) from its original site in (Old) Suver, west to the intersection of 99W. This new site, (New) Suver or Suver Junction, is occasionally confused with the original site. (Old) Suver continued to decline, but maintained its warehousing facilities, school and several residences well past the historic period.
