Nibley, Oregon facts for kids
Nibley was once a small, historic community in Union County, Oregon, United States. It was located about 11 miles east of La Grande, Oregon in the beautiful Grande Ronde Valley. Today, Nibley is no longer an active town, but its story tells us about early farming efforts in Oregon.
Founding a New Community
Nibley was started by two important businessmen from the Mormon faith: Charles W. Nibley and George E. Stoddard. They bought a very large piece of land, about 8,000 acres, from someone named A. B. Conley. The community was named after Charles Nibley.
In 1898, Charles Nibley, David Eccles, and George Stoddard created a company called the Oregon Sugar Company. They soon opened the very first factory in the Pacific Northwest that processed sugar beets. This factory was in La Grande and later became part of the Amalgamated Sugar Company.
Why Nibley Was Created
The businessmen hoped to grow a lot of sugar beets for their new factory. However, they found that not enough beets were being grown. To fix this, they formed another company, the Oregon Land Company, in 1900. They bought the Nibley land to encourage experienced beet farmers from their home state of Utah to move there. They hoped these farmers would help grow more sugar beets.
Life in Nibley
By 1902, Nibley was a busy little village. About 20 families lived there, and it even had its own post office. But even with new farmers, growing sugar beets was still difficult. There wasn't enough water for irrigation, which Nibley had hoped would become available. Also, the weather was often not good for growing beets.
Challenges and Closure
The community faced more problems in 1905. There was a serious sickness called typhoid, and the bad weather continued. Because of these difficulties and the low amount of sugar beets, the Oregon Sugar Company factory in La Grande closed in 1906.
Sadly, the community of Nibley officially stopped existing on December 29, 1906. The post office also closed down. Since Nibley was mainly built and run by a company, some historians didn't consider it a "proper" town. Interestingly, another town, Nibley, Utah, was also named after Charles W. Nibley.
